Let’s play Reds GM, 2022 off-season fantasy world edition

[Wonderful Monds]

Now that the dust has settled from the trade deadline and we’re all wondering what happens next for the Reds, I figured might as well fast forward to talking offseason moves since there’s little else to look forward to at the moment.

Let’s do a little “what if you were the Reds GM” exercise. Assume for some reason the Reds have a max payroll of roughly 150m again, due to the Castellinis discovering a sense of shame again or whatever reason you wanna imagine. Who do you sign or trade for to right this ship?

If I’m not mistaken, others here have laid out that the Reds have 90m committed for next year, so that’s our baseline.

Move 1: Reds trade Allen and Abbott to the Cubs for Ian Happ, extend Happ 5 yrs/85m

-Happ has versatility and has been pretty solidly breaking out this year. Other analysts I’ve read seem to think his production is pretty sustainable. The Cubs should be pretty putrid again next year at least and Happ is an impending FA after next season. Those prospects should be enough for a season of Happ, although you might need to throw a Callihan in there and/or maybe a post-hype Senzel.

Payroll: 105 mil (after backloading Happ’s deal slightly)

Move 2: Sign Wilmer Flores, 2 yrs 8mil

-Flores has been a nice player to have around for a while. Usually OPSes right under .800 and plays around the IF. He’d be my stopgap to our various potential 3B guys in the minors.

Payroll: 109 mil

Move 3: Sign Mychal Givens, 2 years 8mil

-Letting this guy go was a mistake. He’s a bulldog out there and would greatly help to stabilize the middle innings of a god awful bullpen.

Move 4: Trade Callihan to Tigers for RP Joe Jimenez

Payroll: 113 mil

-This guy is having a breakout year in Detroit after a career previously filled by being quite bad. BTV says this trade checks out. I’m skeptical just Callihan gets it done, but it probably wouldn’t take a whole ton more if it didn’t so we’ll just roll with it. Probably a good pickup for his last 2 years of control.

Payroll: 117 mil (estimating 4 mil in Arb for Jimenez)

Move 5: Sign Michael Conforto 1 year 15 million + 1 year player option 18 mil

-I’m assuming Conforto now needs a make good contact after rolling the dice and coming up empty for this whole season. Padding his resume in GABP would probably do the trick. If the team sucks, you can probably get a decent prospect for him at the deadline too.

Payroll: 132 mil

Move 6: Sign David Price 2 years 15 million dollars + 1 year option with 3 million dollar buyout

-Step on up David Price, you are the new Wade Miley for the Reds. A much needed veteran presence in the rotation to eat innings with some upside. He’s been a good reliever for LA this year, but I imagine he’s probably looking to start again if the opportunity arises.

Payroll: 140 million

Move 7: Sign Omar Narvaez, 1 yr 4mil
-A capable backup catcher is definitely needed at this point given TySteve’s precarious injury status. Narvaez has mostly been a disappoint for the Brewers. A one year reclamation deal would probably be up his alley at this point.

Move 8: Reds trade PTBNL to Astros for CF Lewis Brinson

Payroll: 144 million

-Here is your post-hype Brandon Drury Award hopeful for 2023. Brinson has been nothing but awful for most of his major league career. He’s 28 right now. The hope here is that he has some untapped potential leftover. As a backup OF, he might be worth one last chance.

Payroll: 145 million

Move 9: Reds trade Nick Senzel and Austin Hendrick to the Dodgers for CF Cody Bellinger and cash

-We’ve got some money leftover to play with, so screw it. Bellinger is the ultimate reclamation project. High upside, high potential to continue sucking. Maybe the Dodgers are enticed by a buy low Senzel. Maybe they’d like the pedigree of Austin Hendrick, who’s been a bust so far in the Reds system. Either way, it’s an opportunity for the Dodgers to move on from Bellinger and buy a couple players with high upside in exchange.

Payroll: 155mil

Roster:

C Stephenson
1B Votto
2B India
3B Flores
SS Barrero
LF Conforto
CF Bellinger
RF Happ
DH Steer/Encarnacion-Strand

Bench:
Moustakas
Farmer
Narvaez
Brinson




Rotation:
Greene
Lodolo
Price
Ashcraft
Williamson

Bullpen:
Diaz
Antone
Sims
Hoffman
Givens
Jimenez
Stoudt
Santillan/Cessa/Sanmartin

At that point you could run out an everyday lineup that’s something along these lines:

2B India
RF Happ
LF Conforto
C Stephenson
1B Votto
3B Flores
CF Bellinger
DH Steer/Encarnacion-Strand
SS Barrero

Is this gonna be the new Big Red Machine? No most definitely not. But they have a lot of upside if things click. If you have a couple of the young guys take off like Barrero or your pick of corner IF guys to DH, Greene or Lodolo takes the next step, or Bellinger finds a career second win in GABP, they probably win the division. At very least, you’d think they’d be a pretty serious shot at the wildcard.

And if things don’t work out, the only long term commitment you’ve really made is Happ, so you can reload the team in a different model and roll the dice again next offseason.

[Kinsm]

As the fantasy GM I talk Bob Castellini into selling the club to the Mathile family.

Mathile's are billionaires, son played in the Reds minor league system, have Cincinnati roots (Vandalia based for over 50 years now).

My fantasy off-season complete!

[VR]

In reality…it would be ok to now trade one of the top 100 prospects, along with Moose, for a bag of powdered donuts. If they push back, just plain donuts.


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[Old school 1983]

At the deadline, KC was said to be shopping Barlow, Staumont and Michael Taylor. See if you can work a trade for the 3. Maybe see if they’ll take Farmer, Senzel, and a B level prospect for the bunch. Taylor gives a year of stability in CF so the Reds can figure out who to shift there. Barlow and Staumont shore up the pen a bit.

On to fantasy land. Sign Edwin Diaz and Aaron Judge.

[Wonderful Monds]

In reality…it would be ok to now trade one of the top 100 prospects, along with Moose, for a bag of powdered donuts. If they push back, just plain donuts.


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Moose has 1 year left on his contract, that’d be a huge waste of a prospect.

[PuffyPig]

We now have 3 threads that essentially deal with the same topic, the Reds in 2023.

[LeatherPants]

In reality…it would be ok to now trade one of the top 100 prospects, along with Moose, for a bag of powdered donuts. If they push back, just plain donuts.


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So ownership can pocket more money? They’d love you as gm.

[InsaneinthBrame]

With trade deadline deals I figured the team just saved 8M+
Instead of pocketing it (which I think the owners will do) I like the idea of using that money to sign Conforto now use that 8M as signing bonus /pay for rest of year and 8M salary for 2023 plus a 2024 1.5M buyout. that way he can build back his value.

[JCM11]

The Reds don't have anything close to 90 million committed in salary next year. It's around 55 million before the pre arb guys are added so I would guess 70-75 million tops before spending in FA. Now if they want to do stupid things like pick up Minor's 13 million option, and tender contract for Cessa and Moran then it could be 90 million.

[Wonderful Monds]

The Reds don't have anything close to 90 million committed in salary next year. It's around 55 million before the pre arb guys are added so I would guess 70-75 million tops before spending in FA. Now if they want to do stupid things like pick up Minor's 13 million option, and tender contract for Cessa and Moran then it could be 90 million.

If I had another 10-15 million or so, let me sign Brad Hand to shore up the back of the pen a bit more and add another lefty.

[Wonderful Monds]

Also on second thought, since he’s on his last year I’d just bite the bullet and DFA Moose and use his roster spot on someone like Tim Beckham for a few milli