Projected Arbitration Salaries

[Kc61]

Hoffman is listed at $1.1 million.

Just sign him, he’s pretty good depth.

[757690]

Hoffman is listed at $1.1 million.

Just sign him, he’s pretty good depth.

Reds need to move away from pitchers with high HR rates.

[Mitri]

This is why you keep Hoffman, IMO. Five guys who might be solid in the pen without resorting to rookies, free agents, and flotsam.

You forgot Cionel Perez-- he could be a second lefty and is out of options.
Brandon Bailey might be another relief option as well.
Reiver SanMartin as a long relief/ spot starter? I get it.
Gutierrez as an interesting arm out of the pen? Okay. Sure.

But they're risky. Especially at the prices the Reds are likely going to offer.

If you see Hoffman as another of that ilk, he's depth that's relatively fungible. Use him for a few months, see what he offers, send him away when/if there are other, better arms.

If you see him as below that echelon, jettisoning him makes sense.

That said, if his salary is the difference between Givens and no Givens, that's an easy call to me. Get rid of him, post-haste.

It really depends on how cheap they’ll be this winter. Hoffman’s a guy I’d rather just move on from but he is a known quantity and makes completing the bullpen a bit easier. Low risk, low reward. If they’re laser focused on adding two guys as true upgrades I’d be fine with Hoffman as a final depth piece.

[mth123]

This is where I’ve landed. I could take or leave Sims but that’s just one less guy the Reds have to worry about bringing in. If he’s healthy I give him another year at that price. Hoffman and Garrett I would nontender. With the emergence of Sanmartin and Gutierrez the Reds have capable swingman arms. O’Brien, Green and Lodolo won’t need a ton of time in AAA. Go and use Hoffman’s money to lure Givens and another top lefty.

Givens
Cessa
Santillan
Sims
Warren
Wilson
2nd LHP

That’s a good start. No need for Hoffman, dude just doesn’t have an out pitch.

Forgot about Warren, but Hoffman looked OK in relief. If he proves to be not needed in Spring Training, I think you could find another team to take him and even get a lotto ticket in return and if injuries or other issues leave the Reds short handed, it will probably be a worse optoin who costs even more. The $500K saved on Hoffman isn't going to matter.

[mth123]

Hoffman is listed at $1.1 million.

Just sign him, he’s pretty good depth.

I agree. People are forgetting that a scrap heap dude witll be at least $600k if not more (See Bedrosian and Doolittle) at best you save $500K and likely do not find an improvement. Making these kinds of cuts usually leads to a $2 Million guy with a 7 ERA. Hoffmsan's presence does not prevent the Reds from extending givens or going after a late inning lefty.

[Ironman92]

Ok with keeping everyone minus Amir

He’s had his million chances

[Kc61]

Reds need to move away from pitchers with high HR rates.

Hoffman for $1.1 million is fine. Can start and relieve, looked good in the latter role last year. The price is right - last year Reds guaranteed more money for Sean Doolittle coming off injury.

If they want better pitching rates they need to spend at a higher dollar rate.

[757690]

Last year Reds guaranteed $1.5 million for Sean Doolittle coming off injury.

Hoffman for $1.1 million is a bargain. Can start and relieve, looked good in the latter role last year.

If you want better pitching “rates” you need to spend at a higher dollar “rate.”

A Costco hot dog and a soda is a bargain at $1.50. It’s also a lousy meal.

I agree about the need to spend at a higher rate. Move on from Costco to at least Kroger.

[Kc61]

A Costco hot dog and a soda is a bargain at $1.50. It’s also a lousy meal.

I agree about the need to spend at a higher rate. Move on from Costco to at least Kroger.

We’re talking about the 13th pitcher on the Cincinnati Reds’ staff. If not Hoffman, it’ll be table scraps. Worse than a $1.50 meal. Pay the man his $1.1 million.

[757690]

We’re talking about the 13th pitcher on the Cincinnati Reds’ staff. If not Hoffman, it’ll be table scraps. Worse than a $1.50 meal. Pay the man his $1.1 million.

The 13th pitcher on the Reds staff doesn’t need to be as bad as Hoffman. I do agree with you that he likely will be or worse. But they need to aim higher and better, imo.

[Falls City Beer]

I'd give Sims another shot. Garrett and Hoffman need to go. Hoffman reminds me of a typical Reds pickup during the 15-19 "rebuild". Get him outta here.

Sims was injured. And when he’s healthy he’s a pretty marginal arm. It’s not the money where Sims is concerned. I don’t care about that. They should be trying like hell to improve and not bringing back guys who spent months spitting the bit.

[Falls City Beer]

We’re talking about the 13th pitcher on the Cincinnati Reds’ staff. If not Hoffman, it’ll be table scraps. Worse than a $1.50 meal. Pay the man his $1.1 million.

This is race to the bottom thinking and is exactly why this organization is terrible.

The bullpen is a relatively inexpensive way to take this team from afterthought to serious contender. But they’ve spent 8 years crapping that particular bed. No need for that. Do better.

[Kc61]

This is race to the bottom thinking and is exactly why this organization is terrible.

The bullpen is a relatively inexpensive way to take this team from afterthought to serious contender. But they’ve spent 8 years crapping that particular bed. No need for that. Do better.

Sorry to be realistic. The 13th pitcher on the Reds’ staff isn’t going to be Kenley Jansen. We’ve seen the Reds go through every name on the scrap heap for bullpen arms. That’s the race to the bottom, not Hoffman as 8th or 9th reliever.

Reds need some top bullpen arms but there’s no way they’ll have 8-9 of them. Hoffman is a reasonable solution as a low-cost innings eater who looked good in relief and can throw an emergency start.

[Falls City Beer]

Sorry to be realistic. The 13th pitcher on the Reds’ staff isn’t going to be Kenley Jansen. We’ve seen the Reds go through every name on the scrap heap for bullpen arms. That’s the race to the bottom, not Hoffman as 8th or 9th reliever.

Reds need some top bullpen arms but there’s no way they’ll have 8-9 of them. Hoffman is a reasonable solution as a low-cost innings eater who looked good in relief and can throw an emergency start.

I think that’s debatable that Hoffman was good as a reliever. But the issue is less where they fall in the pecking order and more that there should be an urge to get better. Not return most of the relief corps that sank the team’s chances in the first 3 months of the season. Just because Hoffman and Sims weren’t the absolute dregs of a bottom of the barrel bullpen doesn’t mean they represent anything like a solution. And they should be focusing like crazy on upgrades, up and down the bullpen. But they did nothing last off-season so I’m not exactly holding my breath.

[kaldaniels]

When you are looking at the bottom 2-3 pitchers in the bullpen so long as the salary isn’t over 2 million or so just give me the best pitchers damn it. Not complicated.