Following up on his statement that Matt Harvey will remain in Cincinnati, Reds general manager Nick Krall added that he expects Billy Hamilton to remain with the team as well (link via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Hamilton, like Harvey, had been claimed on revocable waivers and could’ve been traded to the claiming team — the identity of which remains unreported.
Unlike Harvey, however, Hamilton is controllable beyond the 2018 season. He’s eligible for arbitration one last time this winter and figures to receive a raise on his current $4.6MM salary. Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested earlier this summer that his team wasn’t all that interested in moving pieces controlled beyond the current season, and the decision to retain Hamilton meshes with that line of thinking.
Hamilton, 27, would’ve been an ideal pickup for a contender seeking a defense/baserunning upgrade in advance of the upcoming Sept. 1 roster expansion. It’s not uncommon for contending clubs to carry pinch-running/base-stealing/defensive specialists through the month of September and into the month of October (e.g. Terrance Gore and the Royals in 2014-15), and no one in baseball has more steals than Hamilton’s 206 dating back to 2015. Hamilton has also posted sterling defensive marks in that time, including 37 Defensive Runs Saved and a 33.1 Ultimate Zone Rating.
Rather than joining a new team for the stretch run, it seems that Hamilton will instead remain with the Reds into the 2019 season (barring an appealing trade offer this winter). While he’s never developed any real semblance of on-base skills, Hamilton has nonetheless delivered consistent value on the basepaths and in the field which have helped to overcome his deficiencies at the plate. He’s a career .246/.299/.332 hitter through 2624 plate appearances, and his 2018 results (.239/.304/.321) are more or less in line with those career marks.
Hamilton is a known favorite of Reds owner Bob Castellini, who has said in the past that he hopes Hamilton will spend his entire career in Cincinnati (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick). Castellini’s affinity for Harvey reportedly served as a factor in the team’s decision not to trade him, and it seems possible that the same is true with regard to Hamilton.
I understand keeping Billy because you can move him in the off season. I don’t understand not moving Harvey, unless the claiming team simply refused to negotiate.
I guess we can’t underestimate Bob’s Love.
Or they want to resign him.
It’s really simple to understand. The boss likes him and wants to keep him. The owner’s opinion is really the only one that matters. Everyone else’s opinion is just white noise.
Trading him would not have precluded them from signing him in the offseason
No but I can hurt.
If Cinci is not wanting to trade Hamilton, why even put him on wIvers?
It’s a recipe for disaster when your club owner develops personal feelings for particular players and cites that as a reason for not making a deal. When does building to win in the future out-weigh “loving” certain players?
It’s his team, so he gets to make the decisions. If you want to make “better” decisions, then I’d suggest you make a lot of money and buy the team from him. Otherwise, either accept his decisions or find a new team to root for.
Wow, that’s pretty harsh to expect fans to find a new team every time they disagree with a move made. Disagreement and debate is allowed, that’s part of what makes baseball fun.
I agree completely when it comes to everyone but the owner. Disagreeing is one thing, that’s fine, but it gets to the point when you just cannot live with the decisions made by the only person that really matters, then changing your fandom is the only other option. Owners are not going to bend to the will of the people unless it hurts the bottom line.
Personally, I am a Rockies fan and the Monforts have done some pretty egregious things over the years, but I have accepted them (begrudgingly at times) because I can’t change them. Once I get to the point that I cannot accept something they do, then I will find a new team to root for or, more likely, just leave the sport altogether.
Who daid they couldnt live with the decisions.
The poster stated an opinion.
You disagreec with decisions, but jumped all over orher people for doing it.
You also claimed you accepted it, because you can’t change it.
So, you can change the manager’s decisions?
That isvwhat you implied. You said it was okay to disagree except with owner.
You threw a bigger fit over rhe comment than the poster even came close to.
You’re a childish htpocrite.
Perhaps, you should find another board
The worse version of Jarrod Dyson.
He’s much better in the field and on the bases than Dyson.