Here are a few links to peruse on your Saturday, as Redsfest continues in Cincinnati:
- Joey Votto and Yonder Alonso aren't bothered by trade rumors and speculation, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon writes in two separate pieces. Votto concedes "it would be disappointing to get traded," but it doesn't appear he'll have to face that possibility this offseason – GM Walt Jocketty said during the GM meetings that the Reds won't move the 2010 MVP this winter.
- Jocketty says the Reds have identified six starting pitchers as potential trade targets, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). While the GM didn't name anyone specifically, Fay guesses that James Shields, Gio Gonzalez, and Jair Jurrjens are on the list.
- The Reds are looking for a veteran infielder who can play shortstop, tweets Sheldon. They were interested in Ramon Santiago before the 32-year-old agreed to return to Detroit.
- Sheldon also says that manager Dusty Baker hopes the club can give the closer's job to a specific pitcher. Baker's thoughts on the topic: "We're going to look in-house. We're going to look at trades or free agents and try to come up with a guy, a main guy. The one thing we don't want to do is have a closer by committee."
I’d guess Jurrjens isn’t on the list. Between Bailey, Cueto and Volquez the Reds already have their share of injured SPs. Why add another pitcher to make 20 starts????
i agree. the reds need a guy who can stay healthy AND put up good numbers. and yes, they’re going to have to give up a lot to get it
Dusty Baker eats Rotator Cuffs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
That’s why he doesn’t want a closer by committee. It makes it harder for him to blow out arms…
But closer by committee is fun.
I give the closers job to Sam LeCure. No matter how bad the situation was when he was ran out there he always seemed to get out of it. As for SP, if it isn’t Shields I really don’t want any part of any pitcher on the market.
Wow that’s really limiting your options… My guess is the 6 pitchers are all someone could consider as a a number 1 or 2 in our rotation.
Red should go after Alex Gonzalez good for defense and has been playing for a while even though he is terrible at hitting maybe Cozart for Gonzalez but the Reds might not be willing to give up one of their good prospects just yet
Gonzalez is a free agent, so why would they have to give up their starting SS to get him? Plus, he’s a former Red and didn’t really work out (although in his defense his child was very sick.)
i think he meant cozart for gio gonzalez, but it would take more than cozart to get him
Well, I’ve never seen Gio Gonzalez hit, but I imagine he sucks at it, too. In any event…pretty sure he meant Alex.
original poster said “cozart for gonzalez” and i think he meant gio gonzalez since the reds are trying to trade for a pitcher, but slasher thought he meant alex gonzalez. Unless the first guy actually meant alex, which would be interesting as it would be the first free agent for a prospect trade…
Dusty already lookin like a fool and it’s only December.
He’s in mid-season form
Alonso for Jurrjens?
DEAL!
Braves dont need another left handed bat. save JJ for someone else
Really curious who the other 3 are … starters whose names have been in the MLBTRumor mill over the last few weeks:
Danks -Whitesox
W. Rodriguez – Astros
Cahill & McCarthy – A’s
Garza – Cubs
Niemann & Davis – Rays
Guthrie
Since there doesn’t seem to be much discussion about Billy Hamilton, I’m just wondering what the Reds are planning.
It looks like Cozart and Phillips will occupy the middle infield, so there might be a jam for Hamilton…
He’ll be in High A next season … they have a couple seasons before they have to decide on him
does anyone else worry about shields transitioning to GABP?
You can probably say that about any pitcher they target.
look at his hr/fb ratio and its correlation to his era and fip. gabp=higher hr/fb.
The Reds might look at shields? They better give us Alsonso and a reliever in the bullpen
Hamilton to CF sounds like a good idea for the near future. Maybe they could accelerate that move by trading off Droofus SKrubbs. I don’t think any reasonable Alonso package is going to net the kind of pitching the Reds (and their fans) need and want. I’d be much more content with a darn good bat and average (optimistic, I know) defense in LF. The dude can flat out rake. He’s most definitely undervalued by everyone outside of the RedLeg nation, and probably justifiably so. But that’s OK. I’d rather he be smacking the ball all over GABP as a Red than to see him do so anywhere else for a marginal return…especially if a FA Joey Votto walks in a couple years (which I expect he will, if not traded sooner). So yeah, we want solid gold in return for an Alonso package. Maybe it’s pie in sky thinking, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, right?
After all, some genius once traded Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez. Oh, wait…….
After all, some genius once traded Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez. Oh, wait…….
Hamilton’s bat is probably not good enough for CF. .278/.340/.360 avg/obp/slg in Single A at age 21. Those are SS/2B numbers.