Grade the Reds' offseason

[Coopdaddy67]

As I said in another thread, I think folks need to stop blaming Krall and prepare to evaluate him on what he does in June/July.

You want to blame someone for this offseason? Bob Castellini is the right guy.

[Red Raindog]

At this point in time an F and I’m rapidly losing interest in them..... which is saying something because I have been a fan for over 60 years.....


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[KronoRed]

I...incomplete, they did nothing.

[powersackers]

Solid B. They didn’t spend money and that makes us more flexible and they didn’t trade prospects which does the same. Jose Garcia could be the starting SS by mid May, and for the next decade, and hold his own while developing at the MLB level.

We can trade for bullpen or SP help at the trade deadline if we’re in the hunt.

If Garcia doesn’t earn the promotion and play league average or better then my grade is probably wrong. But I’ll stick with it.


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[Captain Hook]

I was one of the few that gave a passing grade but just barely. IMO the Reds have a competitive team despite the lack of activity this off season. The only real loss from a playoff team was Bauer and I did didn’t expect him to be back. Sometimes the best move are the moves you don’t make. The SS situation isn’t ideal and it would’ve been nice to have signed a decent SP to add some depth to the rotation but those things didn’t happen. If they would’ve I’d of handed out an A. They get a C from me simply because they didn’t tear things down and there is some hope going into the new season.

[Bourgeois Zee]

As I said in another thread, I think folks need to stop blaming Krall and prepare to evaluate him on what he does in June/July.

You want to blame someone for this offseason? Bob Castellini is the right guy.

Oh, there's plenty of blame to go around.

I suspect Krall knew his budget when he signed on to the job. He also knew the personnel. Plenty of SS have been traded and signed this off-season. Expecting the GM to find a warm body to play shortstop isn't out of the realm of possibility. He added Hoffman's exorbitant salary instead of non-tendering Stephenson, for example. That extra cash could have signed Villar, for sure. That's a really bad understanding of his own budget AND a poor allocation of resources.

Not only that, the GM's job is, in part, PR. He talked about bullpen help. He got that done. But he focused most of his initial interview and off-season discussion on the SS position, then did nothing to acquire one. That's worth the failing grade.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I was one of the few that gave a passing grade but just barely. IMO the Reds have a competitive team despite the lack of activity this off season. The only real loss from a playoff team was Bauer and I did didn’t expect him to be back. Sometimes the best move are the moves you don’t make. The SS situation isn’t ideal and it would’ve been nice to have signed a decent SP to add some depth to the rotation but those things didn’t happen. If they would’ve I’d of handed out an A. They get a C from me simply because they didn’t tear things down and there is some hope going into the new season.

I think I'd love that have had you as a teacher in high school.

Krall signed Doolittle and Bedrosian. He dealt for Noe Ramirez, Hoffman, Perez, and Perez and assorted other bullpen guys. He signed a Rule 5 guy and a never-was waiver claim.

Meanwhile, Bauer, Iglesias, Casali, Goodwin, and other MLNB players were jettisoned.

[REDREAD]

Solid B. They didn’t spend money and that makes us more flexible and they didn’t trade prospects which does the same.

I am not arguing your grade, it's nice to hear other opinions.
But, do you really think the Reds have any financial flexibility left to add at the trade deadline?
They wanted Villar, yet lost him because they couldn't add 1.5 million more to their offer. Well, also they only offered him a minor league contract. Not sure what the deal is on that, but I suspect they only have enough money to carry Villar or Gordon, not both. They wanted to bring them both in to compete.
The point is, I think they are tapped out financially. There will be no help coming at the trade deadline. It's far more likely
that more salary will be shed (although not a certainty).

I hope Garcia does play well, but he sure was overmatched last year at the plate. He was so overmatched that I hope the Reds go with Farmer/Holder and let him to continue to develop. Our offense was 26th in runs scored last year. Hopefully it will do better this year, but if there's no DH, and the bottom third of our order is Barnhart/Garcia/Pitcher, that's going to put more pressure on the other 6 guys.

[RedTeamGo!]

97% at D or F.

Wow.

[Roy Tucker]

97% at D or F.

Wow.

Speaks volumes. And RZ tends to be more optimistic than the general Reds fan public.

[757690]

He added Hoffman's exorbitant salary instead of non-tendering Stephenson, for example.

Hoffman isn’t eliglable for Arb until next off season. He will likely make close to league minimum this season, if he makes the team.

[Griffey012]

Hoffman isn’t eliglable for Arb until next off season. He will likely make close to league minimum this season, if he makes the team.

I actually thought that was a solid deal. Stephenson ran his course here and never able to overcome his inconsistency. Hoffman was a former top 10 pick who has also never seem to put it all together, but getting out of Coors is a nice upgrade for him.

And as you stated he isn't owed much money if they don't like what they see.

[bounty37h]

I'm going w a d, first thought was f but giving doubt for acquisitions i don't know much about and will wait and see. I am excited its baseball season as always, but have never been less excited about reds baseball. Coming off 1st playoffs in years-even if only because of expanded playoffs-i would have hoped for improvement in some form and just don't see it.

[CarolinaRedleg]

I said D. Jettisoning BobSteve and Iglesias (it felt like Iggy of recent vintage needed to come in with a clean ninth and the lead to be effective) might be addition by subtraction. Doolittle and Bedrosian could be good gets.

The lack of a viable shortstop is grounds for front office malpractice, though.

[RedsManRick]

Easy F.

They gave away / let useful players go for virtually no return. They failed to address their one absolute glaring weakness, somehow making it worse that it already was. And all that happened in the context of the executive who brought the organization into the 21st century noping out when he learned where ownership wanted to take things.

It's likely that this whole rebuild era will have peaked at a last minute, short-lived wild card appearance.