Always reminds me of the Dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding when he boasted that any word that anyone suggested could be traced to a Greek word.
In this instance,757690 is the Dad inventing scenarios from any given circumstance to demonstrate the Reds/GM/Ownership are on the right track.
“The crows seem to be calling my name,” thought Caw.
JustaFan (12-01-2022),Revering4Blue (12-01-2022)
Well I know that you know that is hyperbole. I mean if you are talking offense alone. I don't think right now the 4th and 5th starters are going to be 26 man types. I like the rotation in fact. They'll be interesting. The pen needs health and luck. maybe 1-3 FA/promotion additions.
I'm not saying the pitching is fine. I'm saying most of it going into 2023 is not 26th man types.
The IF is fine. Maybe better than fine. Seems to me if Barrero fails, there is a conga line of high upside talent waiting for that to happen.
The OF...
Well you got me there.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
4th SP FA. No idea who. A reunion with Lorenzen or Cueto, Syndergard, Manaea, etc seems unlikely. I can almost see them making a play for Eflin. Wacha is probably going to get a 3+ year deal from someone, but not Cincinnati.
5th SP 1 of Williamson/Dunn Maybe Lively. Stoudt has an outside chance. Overton has a chance. Like almost every other team the 5th guy is just a guy usually.
You could actually flop this and apply the FA to 5th SP. The problem for the Reds is Greene, Lodolo and Ashcraft all had success of one sort or another. Ashcraft needs to regain his minor league K ability, and all three need to not get hurt. But graduating all three may have caused the Reds to think, "well we did it once..."
So, yeah, they could try to just be entirely promotions. What I do NOT want to see is a soft tossing lefty that cannot get guys out via the K trying to handle the shift ban. So no thank you to the Wade Miley's of the world.
It isn't that I'm not worried about the pitching. It's that for the most part I want to see the three we know are going to be in the rotation. If the 4th/5th SP's are in house today, I'm ok with that because I want to see those guys pitch too. ST has some interesting stories right now.
But the OF? That's a mess. Other than Fraley, I see nothing in house today. They need at least 2 FA starters in the OF.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
I think Cessa gets first crack at one of them. The nice part is he just goes to the bullpen if someone forces their way in. The other spot will be Overton/Dunn/Williamson/Abbott/Stoudt/Legumina with Dunn and Legumina both able to transition right to the bullpen. Are those good options for a playoff team? No, but it's actually not terrible depth for where the Reds are currently.
I think (hope?) they will bring in at least 1 NRI to try and hold the kids back a bit at AAA
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
CaiGuy (12-01-2022),Revering4Blue (12-01-2022)
MoneyInTheBank (12-01-2022)
JustaFan (12-01-2022),Revering4Blue (12-01-2022)
I would. Its hard to evaluate a starter on 10 starts. You have to see how the stuff holds up as the innings accumulate. Cessa was a reliever for a reason. I think him going back to starting and being effective for more than a short stint is a pipedream.
It's why I'm still skeptical of Lodolo and, to a lesser extent, Greene to be honest. Lodolo had 19 starts last year and missed half a season in 2021. There was no season in 2020. We have no idea if over 30 or so starts whether he'll hold up physically, or just lose his stuff and become a batting tee. I think the Reds need to add a number 2 type starter that they can keep over the next 3 or 4 years. If Greene and Lodolo do turn out as we expect, that would give the team a championship rotation in place when all the top prospects (none of whom are pitchers) start filling in these position and line-up holes. If I could only sign one guy, that's what I'd target. The OF will eventually improve from within either by moving some of the IF excess or trading some for OF help. Moving Cessa there doesn't help this team in the long run and significantly weakens the bullpen (which is needed to bring these young pitchers along) in the short run. They are playing for 2024 and later, lets make moves for 2024 and later. Moving Cessa to the rotation isn't that.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Revering4Blue (12-01-2022)
I like Eflin as a target. He's had an FIP under 3.7 each of the past three years. He turns 29 next year and doesn't have a lot of innings on his arm so he should be hitting his prime. The injury concerns are a risk, but that's why he's in the Reds price range and the injuries have been non arm related. Could be a really solid pickup for the Reds on a multi year deal.
*BaseClogger* (12-01-2022),malcontent (12-01-2022),mth123 (12-01-2022)
I wonder if Eflin can raise his ground ball percentage...
Last edited by WrongVerb; 12-01-2022 at 10:09 AM.
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