The Cincinnati Reds grabbed headlines this winter by announcing an increase in payroll and subsequently trading for an LA starter kit that included Alex Wood, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Kyle Farmer. In terms of on-field contributions, the move hasn’t exactly been a rousing success for the Redlegs. Wood has yet to pitch for the Reds because of a back injury. Puig’s .235/.280/.446 line has been accompanied by strikeout and walk rates moving in the wrong direction. Kemp chipped in -0.9 rWAR in 60 at-bats before his unceremonious release. In fact, whether by rWAR (0.6) or fWAR (0.3), Farmer has been the strongest contributor of the bunch.
And yet, while this buy-three-get-one-free deal brought Wood (~$9.65MM), Puig (~$9.6MM), and Kemp ($21.75MM) on relatively hefty deals, importantly, none carry financial obligations following the 2019 season. The players themselves may move on, but the payroll increase is likely to stay, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Reds see a window of contention now, and they want to capitalize. With only a little more than $57MM currently on the payroll for 2020 (per Roster Resource), count the Reds as buyers in free agency. They entered 2019 with a record-high $133MM payroll.
Of course, the Reds top two offensive contributors in rWAR this season are two players brought in on minor league deals: Derek Dietrich and Jose Iglesias. They may be ready to spend, but as they found out last offseason, that’s not always as easy as it sounds. Still, along with this week’s earlier report that said the Reds were in the market for a controllable hitter, it seems the Reds are itching to make an impact move.
Trey Mancini would be a great fit in Cincinnati if the Reds ponied up to get him at the deadline.
For where? I’m an orioles fan and he belongs at first base. They have Winker and Puig in the corners. Puig is probably temporary but I wouldn’t give Mancini a ringing endorsement in RF.
Puig is gone after this season and Winker can play CF.
A bat like his at that ballpark would be silly. Him hitting behind Votto would be cool to see.
It would be a big package going back to BAL, headlined by Greene or India.
Winker can’t play CF. He’s barely a LF. I’d like to get a nice package back for Mancini but I’m just being real here. Senzel could move to the infield but Winker is for sure no centerfielder. His arm is very weak and he doesn’t run well. If anything I could see them targeting a true Centerfielder.
Trammell should be the CF of the future and is almost big league ready as well right? I’m not a Reds follower but if he projects as a CF then and OF of LF- Winker CF- Trammell, RF- Mancini is legit long term.
Can Senzel play SS?
Upgrading pitching through the draft and sprinkling in the right FA signings will work in Cincinnati.
I understand Tramell is playing LF in the minors. I would imagine he may be able to play CF because he’s very athletic but I have no idea why he wouldn’t be now if that weren’t the case.
Thanks. I honestly think from left to right, Trammell, Senzel, Mancini works for a while as well. Winker as the 4th OF.
Baltimore can wait for Greene to put it all together, it will be a little while before they are contending once again. Cincinnati signed Gray long term & has Castillo under rookie contract status, adding a few more arms plus Mancini could be what they need to put them over the top.
Lorenzen looks legit late in ballgames for the Reds as well, plus the kid can swing it too.
Mancini? Don’t see it with Puig, Dietrich, Winker, Schebler and Irvin as alternatives.
for SS they should just extend Iglesias imho. As someone who watches every game that guy has been solid in every aspect of the game, especially defensively
How does Senzel move to the infield with Peraza, Dietrich, Gennett, and Iglesias already in the mix.
Puig and Dietrich are Free Agents in 4 months.
Schebler & Irvin are 4th OF type guys.
Dietrich is arb eligible but Iglesias and Gennett are FA. Peraza sucks quite frankly and I think Senzel belongs somewhere on the infield dirt. I’m not suggesting I think Mancini is an appropriate fit here but I don’t believe Senzel will be a CF long term.
The need to kick him up now!
Trammell has a weak arm, but he can cover center
Right, Sign Iglesias for 3 years, but the heir apparent A Rodrigues is batting over 300 in AA this season.
I get that. But the conversation is about this season. Not sure. I agree about Schebler being a 4th outfielder. He is a good corner outfielder with pop. Please trade him to St. Louis if he doesn’t fit in Cincy.
Do you know how bad Scheb has been this year?
In my book Peraza still has value. SS may not be the ideal position, and second is logjammed, but the guy is an above average defender, great speed, and has shown he can hit with some pop. Some team would take him.
Trammell has been awful in cf last I looked he led the team in errors although it’s been a while and he’s hurt now
Siri is the only true cf close to the majors
True, Siri is the best fielding option for center in AAA or MLB.
Winker can’t hit either.
Peraza has been an absolute bust on defense for them, and he can’t hit. Deal him now
Sure
That sure is directed at jl, who doesn’t think Winker can hit.
While I continue to believe the Reds will be a force in 2019, I’m not sure about the impact bat scenario. Peraza is still an awfully good fill-in on the infield. Gennett’s return pushes Dietrich to an outfield already manned by Puig, Senzel, and Winker. Irvin and Schebler are viable alternatives. The rotation has solidified. Perhaps a dependable swing man, who could fill in at starter, and fill in a so-so bull pen would be money better spent.
Jacoby Elsbury is still at the party
Is the Votto contract currently the worst in baseball?
Davis, Miggy, and Pujols say otherwise
Jordan Zimmerman chips in.
Not including this seasons salaries Pujols is owed $59 million over the next 2 years. Miggy is owed $124 million over the next 4 years. Davis is owed $69 million over the next 3 years and Votto is owed $100 million over the next 4 with a $7 million buyout for the 5th fit a total of $107 million. I’d argue that so far in 2019 Pujols is easily the least sucky of all those contracts currently. It’s disconcerting that Miggy has lost his power while it seems that Votto has lost his power and ability to hit for average. Davis is just flat out horrible now.
Votto always starts slow. Don’t know about the power, but he WILL hit for average.
Don’t know if that’s true. I hope so but it does seem that his hitting skills are diminishing. I don’t care if he hits for power, or if he has a new funky defensive swing. All I care about from him is .300 and .400.
Not even close
So, who is then?
It’s now bottom 5-6. I’m not going to give up on him rebounding to a point either but it’s definitely a rough one. Like Cabrera, if the power is really gone it’s tough to see them being useful. They’ll never be as bad as Davis because Votto and Cabrera at least have strong hit tools.
Chris Davis’s deal is putrid. I feel horrible for Oriole fans knowing that he is stuck there basically.
“Of course, the Reds top two offensive contributors in rWAR this season are two players brought in on minor league deals.”
One of the most inappropriate “Of course[s]” I have seen in a while.
And whence all the mention of Dodgers pickups but zero reference to Tanner Roark and Sonny Gray and their large salaries, and how they chose to tie up future money on Gray?
Of course, you’d think that….
Large salaries for your two starting pitchers that keep the ball in the bandstand ballpark? The reds can’t hit and it has cost them 12 games minimum. It’s almost the all star break and they haven’t turned it around yet. They should send Roark to a contender and get an outfield prospect.
Poor Boom Boom…everybody wants to get rid of him.
That limited skill set (1B only, RH) doesn’t usually get you much. And he’s a pretty good player, and cheap. It’s not like the O’s are poor; they can afford him as a bridge to when they can get relevant again, even as he starts to get more expensive.
They had a pretty good draft, and more than a few interesting arms on the lower levels. I’m not sure you speed up the rebuild by that much by trading away your best player.
The International calendar has flipped; O’s should be looking to acquire as many bonus slots as possible (they can add about 4M more).
I’d worry more about Hyde; their level of play is just awful. OFers chatting while extra bases get taken, Villar seems to be totally disinterested (remarkable for an arb-eligible guy), etc. Compare them to the Marlins, who are equally terrible but seem to having fun out there, even the vets.
Reds can keep increasing their salary but their team will continue to be subpar. Until they do a full rebuild.
The Reds have talent in the majors and minors. They have holes and I don’t know if you ever make this team a WS contender but they have some nice young players. I don’t think I’d blow this team up right now, There’s nothing you can do about all the money owed to Votto even if you blow it up. Other than that the books are pretty clear and you’ve got young talent. They’ve been rebuilding for awhile now.
Jays will take votto contract if you toss in trammel and a pitcher or 2
They have already done a “full rebuild”.
Great analysis. Smdh
I personally don’t think the reds need a full rebuild. Iglesias definitely should be offered a contract, he has been fantastic. Roark also should be considered for extension. If puig can play to the back of his baseball card, then he should stay as well. He is an excellent defender in rf. The big question is what can Alex wood do? He definitely needs to get healthy and pitch. Desclafani and mahle have been OK but I would personally send mahle down for wood if he can pitch as well as he is supposed to. Scooter will be fine once he is done with his rehab assignment.
DeSclafani and Mahle have been improving, I’d put Wood in the pen. It will take a while for him to build up to be a starter. I’d give him the ball in the 6th when Bell normally takes out his starter and let him pick up 2 or 3 innings. We need some fresh arms in our pen, they are getting heavy use.