Those free agents many posters wanted the Reds to sign would have taken the place not of Jones and Strop, but of Antone and Sims (and Reed).
They certainly wouldn't have taken the place of Lorenzen (who would have been given a lot of rope as a six-year vet), Iglesias (a long-time vet), and Stephenson (who was dominant last season and a four-year vet. These are the relief arms who were largely the reason the Reds struggled to win early. (Especially Lorenzen.)
If Reds had added established relievers, I doubt Sims gets dropped. He's out of options and was widely viewed as part of this pen. As for Antone, he pitched some at Prasco and would have - and did - earn his way in.
(Stephenson wasn't much of a cause of Reds' early struggles - he was on the IL for a month after his first outing.)
Mainly, though, the pen is a unit. And if someone failed there should be others to pick him up. Reds could have added some better guys, the bounce back pitchers wound up traded, released or sent down.
Last edited by Kc61; 09-22-2020 at 06:51 PM.
Within two weeks, the Reds' pen was:
Iglesias
Lorenzen
Strop
Garrett
Stephenson
Mahle
Jones
Reed
Sims
Strop fit your bill as an established relief arm, so he'd obviously stay.
Perhaps the first relief arm that goes packing/ is never picked up is Jones. Let's replace him with one of those established relievers.
The second would be between Reed, who'd done very well in limited innings as a relief arm and was a four-year veteran despite many injuries and Sims, who had also shown flashes of dominant stuff but whose numbers were largely AAA-driven. As a lefty, Reed would have the edge, especially since Raley and biddle (as projects) wouldn't have been signed at all.
As to Antone, again, there wouldn't be room for him even if he did dominate in Prasco. No one aside had options. Jones was gone. In this reality, Raley was never signed (and not on the team to be jettisoned). Strop had pitched pretty well early, so he wasn't going anywhere.
So you run the risk of losing your two best relievers in signing more established relief arms that might or might not be better than what they already had.
If Reds had signed two better FAs maybe Strop never even gets signed. Or maybe Reds keep an extra reliever on a thirty man roster with more bullpen talent.
Sims, Reed and Antone were already here, in the organization, so at some point they likely get a chance in the pen. I doubt Reds DFA any of them at the outset.
All hypothetical. Bottom line, I hope next time around Reds invest a bit more in the pen, with less trial and error.
Last edited by Kc61; 09-22-2020 at 07:42 PM.
Those guys are the same type of reclamation/bounceback candidates the reds signed. They just worked out. Per usual, the higher priced free agent relievers have largely not performed to their pay. Pomeranz has been outstanding but the rest wouldn’t have put us in a materially different spot and we have more money next offseason to throw at Bauer or whoever else.
I’m just glad the Reds have a good bullpen when it counts. And are getting some good innings from cheaper, in house options.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
Griffey012 (09-23-2020),Ron Madden (09-22-2020)
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
Griffey012 (09-23-2020),Ron Madden (09-22-2020)
Last edited by Kc61; 09-22-2020 at 10:31 PM.
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