Dumpster Diving 2021

[corkedbat]

Is Wi;;ie Adams no longer an option?

[Crumbley]

I think Gordon has a shot of being just as good if not better than most of that list. We just wanted better so we have to pretend he’s not been a successful major league player.

The idea of team building isn’t to get guys who were good four years ago. Dee Gordon will get a lot of time at SS this year because ownership recognizes his name.

[Kinsm]

At this point in time they need to change the dumpster dive direction from MIF to SP.

[Bourgeois Zee]

At this point in time they need to change the dumpster dive direction from MIF to SP.

Keep an eye on LA. They just re-signed Justin Turner and will need to provide him a 40-man roster spot. They've got a full complement of players on the 40-man roster plus 10 useful guys they may look to add as Spring Training moves on. Zach McKinstry is on their 40-man and is fourth in line for ABs among 2B. He's a plus defender at 2B and could man SS in a pinch. (His arm is a bit short.) They also just acquired Sheldon Neuse as another utility guy-- he might be sent packing (3B redundancy) as well. I'd be all over either of them as a utility guy who could begin the year at SS.

[Old school 1983]

The idea of team building isn’t to get guys who were good four years ago. Dee Gordon will get a lot of time at SS this year because ownership recognizes his name.

I was just comparing him to the list of fodder. Agree with your point.

[Old school 1983]

He's a disaster defensively at SS and hasn't hit since 2017.

That list has hit...since never with the exception of Beckham.

[Old school 1983]

At this point in time they need to change the dumpster dive direction from MIF to SP.

I’d look into seeing what LA wants for price and Taylor. Half of prices money is being paid by Boston. Maybe throw a contract like Barnhart their way to offset the money to be paid by the reds but getting LA under the luxury tax.

[PepperJack]

Some of these may be decent options, and definitely names to keep an eye on, but listening to Krall speak recently, I would be surprised if the Reds are able to add much of anything of note, until maybe later spring cuts.

Much in the way they’ve added Simeon, Gennett, Dietrich and such.

[MG NorCal]

I’d look into seeing what LA wants for price and Taylor. Half of prices money is being paid by Boston. Maybe throw a contract like Barnhart their way to offset the money to be paid by the reds but getting LA under the luxury tax.

Price is available, but Taylor is 2021's Kike' Hernandez, only a bit better hitter. Dodgers would want a prospect, and certainly not Barnhart. Trading Barnhart, offensive liability that he might be, exposes the catcher's position if, God forbid......

[Bourgeois Zee]

Price is available, but Taylor is 2021's Kike' Hernandez, only a bit better hitter. Dodgers would want a prospect, and certainly not Barnhart. Trading Barnhart, offensive liability that he might be, exposes the catcher's position if, God forbid......

So target Price and Lux. For every $5M the Reds pay of Price's contract, another top 10 prospect comes off the Dodger pile. (Pick from Gerardo Carillo, Clayton Beeter, Bobby Miller, Luis Rodriguez, and Mitch White.)

Offer magic beans (Rey or Santana or Johnson) or actual major league help (Lorenzen or maybe Antone), but the price will necessarily be lopsided.

That keeps LA out of the salary cap jail and actually helps the Reds compete as well.

[Coopdaddy67]

I think you're overestimating how much the Dodgers care about the luxury tax. In the grand scheme of things, they'll be paying a fine <15 mil.

Why would they sacrifice top prospects to save that much money when they know this will only impact them during 2021? A huge amount of money comes off their books after the season.

[WrongVerb]

I’d look into seeing what LA wants for price and Taylor. Half of prices money is being paid by Boston. Maybe throw a contract like Barnhart their way to offset the money to be paid by the reds but getting LA under the luxury tax.

I worked out a trade at BTV that looks like this:

CIN gets:
LH Price
SS Rosario
$16M

CLE gets:
OF Taylor
OF Siani

LA gets:
RH Lorenzen
2b I.Johnson

The cash from LA plus the cash already being paid from Boston pays Price's salary for 2021, and costs the Reds $16M next year.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I think you're overestimating how much the Dodgers care about the luxury tax. In the grand scheme of things, they'll be paying a fine <15 mil.

Except it's not just $15M. It's $30M. (The fine plus the salary effectively doubles everything.)

[Ron Madden]

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal

A follower points out the Dodgers’ tax payment would not amount to a terribly large percentage of their payroll. Very true: Per @Fangraphs’ roster resource, team’s luxury-tax payroll currently $256.9M. By my rough calculation, tax would amount to ~$13.3M.

[Coopdaddy67]

Except it's not just $15M. It's $30M. (The fine plus the salary effectively doubles everything.)

Well, they said the fine is likely going to be between 13-14 mil on MLB Network, so take it up with them.

Regardless, why would they give up premium prospects when they know they'll be in position to reset things next year? That makes no sense. Hell, they could trade a few guys making decent money right now and acquire solid prospects in return. There's no reason they'd have to pay teams in prospects to get under the threshold if they wanted to do so.