The Reds agreed to sign Russ Springer to an $850K deal, according to Bob Tompkins of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk. The 41-year-old right-hander threw for five teams and received offers from all of them, but he couldn’t turn away the team he rooted for as a boy.
“All of a sudden I went from being not really excited to looking at it as a kid again when I was pulling for [the Reds] during the Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, George Foster days,” Springer said.
He will report to Triple A Louisville and pitch for ten days to two weeks before joining the major league team. Springer, who pitched for the A’s and Rays last year, will make a pro-rated portion of $850K.
Springer has posted a 4.52 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over the course of a 17-year career that began on the 1992 Yankees. His deal with the Reds is not a surprise, since they were known to be in the market for right-handed relievers.
give me a break russ springer? the reds are in first place and ownership and management both dont know how to act congrats on winning the nl central cardinals
yeah when I read “Russ Springer” I did the Tim Allen’s “Huh” noise. I figured David Weathers, sure, Russ Springer? uh….
spend money to make money reds will blow it history will repeat itself just like the bengals
horrible signing. Burton is an upgrade over this guy, and he’s already on the payroll. What a waste of money and a roster spot
The guy signed for $850,000…how is that a “bad signing?” This can’t hurt the Reds. He can’t be any worse that what’s up there right now, even at 41 years old!
So if he doesn’t work out…they’re out $850k? Whoop dee doo. They need the bullpen help, and even in a very slim margin of Russ Springer it helps.
You same people were griping about the Gary Matthews signing to a LESS contract and how he was a waste of money, too. You obviously don’t pay attentions to payrolls and the going market for players today, do you?
It’s a win-win for the Reds – if he does well, they win on the production, and if he doesn’t per well, they’re only out $850k.
Be cool people…Jocketty is going to get more help for that bullpen. Springer is just a small addition.
He must have looked really awful, since all five teams that saw him pitch offered him a contract.
Are the Reds still going after another righty now that tey signed Springer?
He had a better season last year then some of our guys are having this year. If he can pitch better then the guys up here now, I have no problem with this signing. If you guys don’t like 40+ year old pitchers, I guess we should just go ahead and DFA Rhodes while we’re at it lol
The thing that jumped out to me was his walk to strikeout ratio… He had only 17 walks to 58 strikeouts. That is pretty darn good. His ERA is better than half our current relievers are if you look at his season ERA last year At half the major league minimum. I don’t think this is a bad idea to try. Plus he said if he flops in the minors then no big deal. I look at it as the Reds and by the way 4 other teams, why not give him a shot and see what happens.
I do think we might see something else happen though before the deadline from a trade standpoint.
Why is it that reds never do the normal thing? They are always the “Secret Team” when it comes to trade talks. They always make that unheard of, head scratching transactions. It’s weird. But they are in 1st sooooo, I like it. What the hell, that a boy Walt! I once questioned the Rolen acquistion. Wasn’t a fan of Arthur Rhodes before he came to Cincinnati. I’m O for whatever at guessing what Walt is thinking. GO REDS!!
Underwhelmed, as usual…
Would rather have seen David Weathers…At least he had some connection to the Reds…After all the time he spent w/ the Reds…You know it is killing him that the Reds are in a position to do something special…And he’s not part of it.
Eh…I like David Weathers too, but I’m sure much more than sentiment came into the equation when looking at relievers to bring into the mix. 😉
Underwhelmed, as usual…
Would rather have seen David Weathers…At least he had some connection to the Reds…After all the time he spent w/ the Reds…You know it is killing him that the Reds are in a position to do something special…And he’s not part of it.
Maybe Duaner Sanchez is next on the list ; )
Maybe Duaner Sanchez is next on the list ; )
Nice! Even better!
Rob, the Reds tweeter account reports this is a minor league deal. That makes alot of sense. The sentence “He will report to Triple A Louisville and pitch for ten days to two weeks before joining the major league team” makes it sound like it is a major league deal, which does not make sense. That’s why I was upset. Like the Matthews deal earlier, this is Walt stockpiling low cost but some upside options for a playof run, which like you pointed out earlier, is a good thing.