2022-23 MLB Winter Meetings

[Big Klu]

Why should fans even show up for RedsFest? They can find something else to do.

#whereyagonnago

[Ron Madden]

Trying to get the thread back on subject.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results Sunday of the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee's voting as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling make up the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot, which features candidates whose primary contribution to the game came in 1980 or later.

The Contemporary Era Committee will convene Sunday at the Winter Meetings in San Diego, with voting results to be announced live on MLB Network at 8 p.m. ET. The announcement will also be streamed on MLB.com and the MLB app.

• Watch the announcement on MLB Network (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET)

https://www.mlb.com/news/2023-contem...of-fame-ballot

[WrongVerb]

Over-under on the number of non-rule-5 additions the Reds make by the end of the Winter Meetings.

I go with 1.

[mth123]

Over-under on the number of non-rule-5 additions the Reds make by the end of the Winter Meetings.

I go with 1.

Only 1 roster spot open, so I agree. Still plenty of chaff to cut, but they would have cut it by now.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Over-under on the number of non-rule-5 additions the Reds make by the end of the Winter Meetings.

I go with 1.

By the end of the meetings? Beyond Maile and a Rule 5?

I don't think they'll do anything.

Zero.

I suspect they're in a holding pattern tied directly to the draft pick lottery. They're going to wait to see that number.

If it's the number one or number two pick, that'll be the PR clarion call from ownership and Krall. Just wait! We're building through the draft! Be patient! Have we mentioned the top pick coming? We can't sign free agents now-- not with the young guys just a year or two or three or maybe four years away! (That's similar to what they did with Hunter Greene and Nick Senzel, though this is more cynically obvious as a cash grab.)

If it's not one of those picks, they'll still trumpet the signing and young talent. But the narrative will be about the "long haul" and "building for fewer peaks (because who would want peaks? ) and valleys". They might try to flavor that with some discussion of "bad luck" to parlay it into an extra year of ownership taking your money for their own. Some posters and fans will buy into it and argue about how "smart" or "necessary" all of this is. They'll mention "small market" worries and "fixing the system." Others will (rightly, IMO) point out that it's all fakery so that ownership can pocket many more of your millions with the least amount of fuss, attendance hit, or PR bother.

It won't change until they get new ownership or the they get exceedingly lucky and have five or six players all develop together unexpectedly.

[Ron Madden]

The Winter Meetings return Sunday to the place they last left, just as the Hot Stove gets hopping.

Here are 8 can't-miss Winter Meetings predictions

A team that has never picked at No. 1 will win the Draft lottery

A nice, new wrinkle to these Winter Meetings will be the first-ever lottery to decide the order of the top six picks in next year’s amateur Draft. All 18 non-playoff teams from 2022 have a shot at No. 1, with their percentage odds based on the final standings.

So who will land that coveted No. 1 pick? Look, if I were capable of telling you lottery results before they happen, I wouldn’t have to speculate on where baseball players would sign, because I’d be the one signing them.

But here’s a fun -- and certainly foolproof -- way of solving this riddle.

Just a few weeks ago, the largest lottery prize in history -- the $2.04 billion Powerball -- was won. The winning ticket was sold in Altadena, Calif. The best baseball player to hail from Altadena was left-handed pitcher Jim Merritt. And Merritt’s best season was in 1970, when he was a 20-game winner and All-Star for … drumroll please … the Cincinnati Reds!

Combine that super scientific breakdown with the fact that the Reds have decent odds of winning this lottery (13.2 percent, fourth best among the 18 participants), and it all makes sense. The Reds have never had the No. 1 overall pick, so they’re due
.

full article here:
https://www.mlb.com/news/2022-winter...gs-predictions

[RED VAN HOT]

Regarding Rule 5 pick, the three most likely places to stash a player are back up infielder, 5th outfielder, and bullpen. The Reds minors are flush with infielders some of which will likely move to the outfield. Thus, IMO, the Reds are most likely to select a bullpen arm. LHP is the biggest weakness, so that's where I think they are most likely to go.

[mth123]

Kameron Misner is a legit CF who is emerging from his "fleaness." He's 24, hits lefty and had an .816 OPS at AA (with 16 HR and 32 SBs). Probably not the defender Siani is, but bat looks better. If Fraley is going to man RF and possibly DH at some point and Friedl, who looks stretched in CF, sticks to LF where his arm plays, they may need a LH bat to tandem with Senzel in CF. Probably not a straight platoon, but anything is better than just going with Senzel again.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Kameron Misner is a legit CF who is emerging from his "fleaness." He's 24, hits lefty and had an .816 OPS at AA (with 16 HR and 32 SBs). Probably not the defender Siani is, but bat looks better. If Fraley is going to man RF and possibly DH at some point and Friedl, who looks stretched in CF, sticks to LF where his arm plays, they may need a LH bat to tandem with Senzel in CF. Probably not a straight platoon, but anything is better than just going with Senzel again.

Pretty sure Krall has mentioned Senzel twice as an infielder.

You might get your wish.

[WrongVerb]

Pretty sure Krall has mentioned Senzel twice as an infielder.

You might get your wish.

Hopefully he means infielder for some other team.

[Roy Tucker]

like to see fans give the front office crap at redsfest.. if they dare to even let fans ask them quesitions

I’d like to see it too but I very much doubt the Reds will let that happen.

I’d pay good money to see Phil Castellini at an open mike session.

[LeatherPants]

I’d like to see it too but I very much doubt the Reds will let that happen.

I’d pay good money to see Phil Castellini at an open mike session.

I think there was something with the season ticket holders yesterday, but I haven't heard anything that happened during it.

[Ron Madden]

Cincinnati Reds in a much different spot than their last trip to the Winter Meetings

As the baseball world descends upon San Diego for the winter meetings, which run Sunday through Wednesday, it’s a reminder of how quickly the Cincinnati Reds tore down their roster.

The last time the Reds were at the winter meetings, which had a two-year hiatus due to a pandemic and a lockout, they were one of the league’s splashiest teams.

They signed Mike Moustakas to a four-year, $64 million contract, their biggest free-agent signing in club history. They actively pursued Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius before adding Wade Miley, Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos later in the offseason.

The Reds are back in a rebuild, largely waiting for their top prospects to arrive in the big leagues. Moustakas is the only player who remains from the Reds from their biggest dip into free agency, and his contract has turned into an albatross due to his performance and health.

Three years after the Reds committed $165 million to their free agent signings, they reside at the bottom of the league. They’re unlikely to contend for a playoff spot before 2024 in a best-case scenario.

Despite the bleak outlook for the upcoming season, it’s important for the Reds to show tangible improvement in a lot of areas.

Reds General Manager Nick Krall said last month there was “a little” payroll flexibility, and that was before some money was freed by trading Farmer and releasing arbitration-eligible players like Aristides Aquino and Jeff Hoffman.

“The approach doesn’t change because we’re going to the winter meetings,” Krall said. “We’ve touched base with free agents, touched base with every club. We’re trying to figure out who is going to be in that range to help us that we can bring onto the club.”

The outfield carries many question marks, and the Reds have checked on free-agent center fielders with Nick Senzel recovering from surgery for a broken bone in his toe.

When Reds Manager David Bell was asked about which positions have set starters for next year, he pointed toward the roster at the end of last season. Stephenson and Joey Votto are returning from injuries, but Jonathan India, Jose Barrero and Spencer Steer round out the infield. Senzel is “going to factor in center field just like before” alongside Jake Fraley and TJ Friedl.

“Over the next year or two, our team is going to continue to get younger,” Bell said, “but I think going into it, the team we ended it with, a lot of those guys will have an opportunity to be on this team.”

“The position I’m in, that’s exciting, I’m part of the organization, but at the same time, we’re focused on the guys we have that will be on our major league team next year,” Bell said when asked about watching prospects in spring training. “Focusing on the path to winning as quick as we can, and I see a path to do that in 2023.”

The Reds have the fourth-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft during the league’s inaugural draft lottery, which will determine the order for the first six spots.

Following a 100-loss season, the Reds could drop as low as the 10th pick if the ping pong balls handed them another loss.

full article here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...gs/ar-AA14TzZw

[Ron Madden]

I’d like to see it too but I very much doubt the Reds will let that happen.

I’d pay good money to see Phil Castellini at an open mike session.

I didn't get to go this year but I heard Bob Castellini was there for the Player Introductions but Phil wasn't there.

[Ron Madden]

Crime Dog gets the call to Cooperstown

Slugger Fred McGriff, who hit 493 home runs in 19 seasons, was elected unanimously to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Sunday.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced the results tonight for the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee's voting, electing Fred McGriff to the Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling made up the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot, which featured candidates whose primary contribution to the game came in 1980 or later.

Candidates needed to receive votes on 75% of the ballots cast by the committee to earn election.

The results ensured that “The Crime Dog” finally has his day. Until this long-awaited recognition, the view of McGriff’s career had been impacted both by the steroid era and the 1994 players’ strike. His prime years came just before the offensive totals league-wide became bloated, affecting the appreciation given to McGriff’s counting stats. And if not for the strike, the power-hitting first baseman likely would have reached the vaunted 500-homer threshold.

The 59-year-old McGriff, who played 19 seasons for the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs and Dodgers, came up empty in 10 attempts on the BBWAA ballot, maxing out at 39.8% support in his final year in 2019. This was his first appearance on a small-committee ballot.

In this particular process, a voting body that included one of McGriff’s former teammates -- Greg Maddux -- and his former Blue Jays boss Paul Beeston was particularly well-positioned to recognize his impact and importance. He was recognized for his 2,490 hits, 493 homers, 1,550 RBIs and 1,305 walks -- a combination of numbers that only 12 players had reached at the time of his retirement. Of those 12 others, only fellow Contemporary Baseball Era ballot members Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro, both of whom are associated with performance-enhancing drugs, are not in the Hall.