Rumor Royalty: John Fay (Reds)

John Fay covers the Reds beat for the Cincinnati Enquirer.  John also has a popular Reds blog.  He kindly answered some MLBTR reader questions today for our Rumor Royalty series.

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MLBTR: How do you perceive the relationship between Wayne Krivsky and Walt Jocketty?

Fay: On the surface, everything is fine, but I don’t see what happens behind closed doors. I think if the Reds win this year, you could very well see the arrangement continue. Jocketty said as much when I did a story about the two this spring.

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MLBTR: Any idea what the Reds offered for Joe Blanton and/or Erik Bedard?

Fay: Baltimore wanted Jay Bruce, the Reds weren’t going to do that. I believe they offered a package that included Homer Bailey and Joey Votto, plus a third player. I think the A’s wanted Johnny Cueto and the Reds never seriously considered that.

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MLBTR: Do you think the catching concerns with Dave Ross and Javier Valentin will lead to a trade? If so, any ideas who Krivsky might favor?

Fay: The Reds were and probably still are pursuing a catcher. The thing that complicates it a bit is how well Paul Bako’s worked with Cueto and Edinson Volquez. I think Bako stays on the club when Ross comes off the DL. Valentin will strictly be used a pinch-hitter/emergency catcher. Catching is so thin around baseball that there aren’t many options. The only name I’ve heard mentioned is Gerald Laird from Texas.

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MLBTR: Do you expect Ken Griffey Jr. and/or Adam Dunn to be traded this year?

Fay: It depends on where the Reds are as far as contention when the trading deadline approaches. If the Reds are out of it, they’d be silly not to move them. I still think there’s a good chance they’ll extend Dunn’s contract. But, again, that depends somewhat on how he plays and the teams plays.