The bullpen, a fifth starter, bench help, and backup catching were cited by Reds GM Nick Krall as possible target areas, Krall told The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters, and the Reds could turn to either Major League or minor league free agents to address any of those needs. In regards to one particular prominent free agent, Krall seemed to close the door on the chances of Nick Castellanos returning to Cincinnati, saying “we have not been engaged with his representatives.”
It doesn’t count as any big surprise that Castellanos will be moving on, since he was looking for a hefty new contract pre-lockout, and the Reds’ offseason moves have thus far been geared towards cutting and managing payroll (while still making some effort to contend for a playoff spot). Since Castellanos rejected the Reds’ qualifying offer and because Cincinnati is a revenue-sharing recipient, the team stands to receive an extra pick after the first round of the 2022 draft should Castellanos sign elsewhere for more than $50MM.
More from around the NL Central…
- Bryan Reynolds has drawn trade interest from at least seven teams over the last year, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres are yet another club looking into obtaining the Pirates outfielder. Trading for Reynolds would be a huge way for the Padres to address their outfield needs, though needless to say, San Diego would need to make a major offer to get the Pirates’ attention. Pittsburgh has set a big asking price in any Reynolds trade, and in San Diego’s case, Rosenthal figures the Bucs would ask for top prospect CJ Abrams and more.
- The Cardinals “have considered” a reunion with franchise icon Albert Pujols, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. However, Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. was more non-committal about the idea of Pujols returning to the Gateway City, as DeWitt told reporters (including the Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel) that “we’ve got most of our club pretty well set.” It should be noted that if Pujols is best served as a part-time first baseman and DH, such a depth role would still fit even on a Cardinals roster that has many of its positions settled around the diamond.
- As for other Cardinals pitching needs, Goold writes that the Cards are expected to pursue more relief help, even after signing swingman Drew VerHagen on Friday. St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters that the club thought about re-signing Kwang-Hyun Kim, but the left-hander instead opted to return to the Korean Baseball Organization just a few days before the lockout ended.
Does this rule out a Castillo/Gray/Mahle trade if the Reds are SIGNING free agents and not trading players? Has CIN already done their payroll cutting with trading Barnhart and Miley? Or is the positions they might fill simply going to be filled to they can field a team?
Probably looking for minor league free agents and to pickup training camp cuts from other teams. Reds are the poster children for what happens when you don’t have a long range plan for building a winner. The Reds had a fifth starter, a backup catcher, and some bullpen pieces they elected not to pay reasonable salaries, because they had burdened themselves with poor commitments to the likes of Moustakas and Akiyama.
I agree with your post. However I must admit I was happy when they signed Moustakas and Akiyama and Castellanos. Two out of three did not work out and that’s too bad. I give them credit for trying. Problem is with smaller market teams when they shell out big bucks and it does not work out they have little money left to work with and they are stuck in the mud. This is what I see with the Reds. Only way around this is the owner finds some money (a lot) in between the couch somewhere, he sells the team and we get a deep pocket owner or wait till the bad contracts expire. Option three seems the most likely by far which is bad news for Reds fans.
The Moustakas signing was a head scratcher for a team with Suarez already signed long term at 3B and a lot of emerging young infield talent. The NL DH kind of bails them out. Akiyama may be a bust but with only $8 million left on his contract he shouldn’t be much of an anchor even for a small market team.
Barnhart was set to make $7.2 million. You don’t pay a backup catcher that kind of money.
Flat out one of the best hitters in baseball, wanted my Jays to get him a few years ago when he was previously a free agent. A true hitter, can hit it anywhere and everywhere.
@Mario93: Pujols still hangin’ around in 2022? That’ll be the day.
When the Cardinals John Mozeliak opens his mouth during any type of signing periods——- he talks in circles. Reality & Past History shows—- if Mozeliak hasn’t already Signed an impact player who is a definite upgrade and contributor—- he is not going sign anyone!!!
When is freeman signing?
Morosi said the decision was due by tonight. His reputation is riding on it.
He’d better hurry Mr Downvote.
@Drew Waters Bat- Probably with the Dodgers or the Braves on Monday, maybe even before.
I would think so.
He will sign with the Dodgers soon.
Bro. LOL. Abrams + for Reynolds should be a no go for the padres. They need to keep outfield prospects, not trade them away. They should just sign pederson or rosario for LF and Cruz to DH.
Abrams is not an outfield prospect, and Reynolds is a terrific player. It would take Abrams and a lot more to get Reynolds.
The sky is not blue. Abrams is already taking OF reps. Yes Reynolds is good, albeit id hate to see the padres trade trea turner 2.0 for 3 seasons of reynolds, especially if reynolds regresses at all. FA OF class too deep to give away future franchise cornerstones.
The Pirates have several similar prospects with the same profile. Middle infielder taking outfield reps. He is of no need of the Pirates at the moment.
Rosenthal figures wrong again. The Pirates would have to give up more than Reynolds to land Abrams (who in untouchable anyway so moot point)
Proven very good player at a very good price for the next 2-4 years for a very good prospect? Nearly every team would take the established major leaguer in a heartbeat.
3 year of reynolds <<<< the risk of keeping Abrams and Hassell.
One of those two very well may end be at Petco before September anyways. Id like to think that AJ has not forgotten about his Trea Turner blunder.
Reynolds is a proven good player yes. Abrams is elite prospect 5 tool at skill position. He’s much higher rated than Trea Turner was and it would take more than Reynolds to pry him away.
4 years of Reynolds. Control through 2025.
Lol, not sure if serious.
Dude is a 60 fv prospect, certainly not an elite 5 tool prospect. Padres fans are ridiculous.
Do your research, and wrong again I’m a Giants fan
MLB.com #6
He did at least some research to find the 60 FV at FanGraphs. And they rate his defense below average, so it seems he’s maybe not a five-tool player.
His defense projects to be very above average, arm strength has improved in last 2 years, he was only 20 last year.
Reynolds by comparison has a dWar of 0.4 for entire career
I don’t think the Pirates are willing to deal Reynols. This isn’t a Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, or Jacob Stallings. Reynolds is a young switch-hitting outfielder who does everything fairly well. The Pirates rightfully have an insane asking price. The Mariners and Marlins both checked into Reynolds, at the trade and transaction freeze deadline and the Pirates asked from the Marlins their 3 best prospects and the avaibility of J-Rod and Nolevi from the Mariners. It’s gonna take at least Abrams, Hassell, and possibly one more of Campusano, Gore, Weathers, or Paddack.
Million Dollar Man said it best “everyone has a price”
Pirates will need a massive haul but I think they will eventually part with him. (Which is in line with the last part of your post….not the first.)
Yeah, but there’s a massive difference between Bell, Frazier, and Stallings. Those aren’t guys you build around as the centerpiece of the team. Bell was an inconsistent bat with an awful glove. Frazier was a league average hitter with a decent glove at 2B, but nothing over-the-top special. He was a 2-WAR guy most of the time. Stallings, although a great defender and pitch framer, had a career year at 31-years-old. His bat already straddles the line between playable enough to be a regular, but also could be a 2nd catcher.
Reynolds has more than 3 years of control remaining, is a guy who hits extremely well, both for contact and with above average power, and is a quality outfield defender. Plus he’s only 27-years-old. Everyone has a price, sure, but Reynolds’ is in the stratosphere. Heck, it’s beyond the stratosphere and reaching the mesosphere. It’s gonna take both a King’s and Queen’s randsom for the Pirates to consider moving him. Of all the players on the team, they’ll put in 110% effort to extend him before trading him.
As a Padres fan, I hope they stay far away.
Reynolds, can he play the outfield? Our outfield is thin
Yea but the FA outfield class is deep. Shouldn’t have to trade our best prospect to address our issue in left field.
If you want someone of this talent and have limited money then you do.
We dont have limited money in SD and Hassell or Abrams could be ready soon. Not to mention, we could sign a FA that offers only slightly worse production than reynolds for under 14mm this year.
Yes we do have limited money, currently at projected 214m. Leaves less then 16m to not be a repeat offender. Plus we are at a record payroll already. If they want to add a top level outfielder and a dh they either have to shed payroll or get someone cheap. Reynolds is cheap.
Its not your money, Pete has shown he dont care bout no little tax.
And, if they do need to shed money, Ha-Seong Kim should be the first piece they look to deal. Love the guy but he’s never going to get starter reps and develop here!
Only slightly worse production for 14mm? What FA is that? Only three players in MLB had a higher offensive WAR than Reynolds last season – Vlad Jr., Tatis, and Soto. That’s it. On top of that, Reynolds was a Gold Glove finalist in CF. Who is the cheap FA you’re getting who can compete?
@ mlb1225;
What happens with the Pirates and Bryan Reynolds depends quite a bit on how other young players grow and perform.
I trust Ben Cherington to make the right decision.
Am looking forward to watching the young Pirates some this season on MLB.TV. Know that many of their future stars will not be at the ML level in 2022. Nevertheless, Cherington is building what I believe will be a sustainable contender for years to come. Live a few hours drive from PNC Park. We’ve already discussed making that drive a few times this summer to enjoy Pittsburgh’s downtown and well as the park. The Pirates are not in our market, but for some reason they excite me more than any franchise in MLB. Cherington and his staff are doing everything correctly – not shortcutting things, developing a solid FO, training and challenging the youngsters via the manager and coaching staff. Not everything will work out. But like anything in life – get in the right habits, stick with them, and in time the results will be there. The Pirates are going to be an MLB power.
Thank you BC Jr.
Is SD trying to trade for Reynols or Soto?
Both. Obviously.
I think they would love to trade Reynolds. No playoffs in 2022. 2023 doubtful unless a lot of young player click fast. 2024 contenders but only 2 more years of Reynolds and that would be the time to trade him. Why not move him now while at peak and healthy. Will take a lot but not as much as most people I seen saying.
I think you’re seriously underestimating the Pirates if you think their best shot at contention is 2024. 2023 they should be easy WC contenders and potential division winners. They have over a dozen good prospects coming up through the system that will arrive between now and 2023. They should easily get 3 good years of contending out of Reynolds.
I think you overestimate the prospects and underestimate the division especially the brewers. Appreciate your view.
Reynols would be a good fit if the Pads can unload Myers or Hosmer in the deal.
MLB’s free agent process is painfully slow, even after 3.5 months to think about it.
They had what 1 business day to put deals together. Next week will be really busy
The Cardinals need to get another big bat, and if they go with the team they have now they are not a playoff team. The reunion of Pujols would be a good story, but I would like to see them to get Soler or Cruz for dh.
The Cardinals are a clear playoff contender now.
Cards are definitely a playoff contender now, but something solid at DH is needed. Doesn’t have to be top shelf. Since Pujols hits lefties well with good pop, he would slot well for a year at $2.5million. And he could help Goldy at 1st. We’ve seen that when Goldy gets a little breathing room, he thrives with just a little rest.
They literally made the playoffs with this team last year…actually with A healthy Flaherty and Hudson they are a better team
@card, PLUS, the team does not have to drag Carp’s bones around and DeJong will have to play well to get to every day at SS again (highly unlikely). And so many players on this team have so much upside, I really do believe the Cardinals are underrated.
You could look at many things for why the cardinals will be better…Mikolas healthy…don’t have Carp…better bullpen…Gorman is ready…I get the Brewers are the favorites for the NL Central…but truly if the cardinals stay healthy I think they will win the Central
Padres and pirates did two trades last year. Padres want a great and cheap outfielder. I feel like there is something to this rumor.
Unfortunately, as a pads fan, me too haha
Where the rumor fails is Rosenthal suggesting they give up Abrams. Lmao.
The Padres don’t have the pieces if Abrams isn’t included. Only 3 MLB players had a higher offensive WAR last season than Reynolds: Vlad, Tatis, and Soto. Reynolds was also a Gold Glove finalist in CF.
I doubt Reynolds pop. I could be wrong, but I do. only 24 HRs in 2021 (career high) with 66% of those coming in the first half
I dont think they will part with Abrams (taking them for their word), and you may be correct that they don’t have the other pieces. Though Gore and Campusano might get them close.
Other than Scherzer ( Padres mainly wanted him and not willing to go crazy with Turner as well ) they were the highest bidders on the big guys Musgrove Snell Darvish Clevinger. If he is traded and Padres want him I won’t be surprised at all.
Juan Yepez won’t sell tickets like Albert Pujols, but he’s the better hitter right now.
Pujols needs to DH for a bad team with a short left field fence.
Agreed. Pujols burned that bridge when he left for the few extra millions (and zero play off) and is now nothing but a shell of himself. Albert you were the greatest right handed hitter of this era. Now we have a one day contract for you in September to retire as a Cardinal.
This has nothing to do with bridge burning. Pujols came back to town in 2019 as a superhero with tens-of-thousands of fans worshiping him. The bridge has been repaired for an overwhelming % of Cardinal fans. The issue is…that he isn’t good anymore. Yepez will likely hit lefities better and with a much cheaper prictag.
So the Reds need to replace players they already had and traded away. Is this going to be like the SS they haven’t replaced since 2020?
I said it before and here it is again. Drew VerHagen? Remember Brett Cecil? Same thing. I hope this guy pans out, but his history says no way!
One tiiiiiiiny little difference. $30 million over 4 years vs. $5.5 million over 2 years. Cecil became a leech and hampered the orgnization’s budget and desision making. VerHagen’s contract will have virtualy zero long-term or even short-term impact on the organization if he doesn’t pan-out
True on the finances, but they are\were bad pitchers. That was my concern.
Cards need another starter more than they need another bullpen piece. More than likely Hicks and Reyes both return to the bullpen so they don’t really have a need there unless there is an injury. But another starter would prevent them from having to rush Libertore or rely on someone like Oviedo. A reclamation project on a minor league deal is fine. They have the ideal situation for that type of signing.
They have 5 starters in the rotation with a lot of pitchers that can fill in for any injuries. They sighed Matz as the 5th starter, I highly doubt they’ll replace him before he throws a pitch.
If Pujols is chasing 700. He should give it up. Some players don’t know when to quit.
Come on home Castellanos to the north side
Why would the Buccos trade Reynolds now when they still have 4 years left with him and they are on the cusp of contending in the NL Central. 2 years from now, depending on how things go, okay. But now? That’s just stupid! In other words, it ain’t happening.
2 years left is when most players are traded. Why wait and risk his value going down. I am leaning towards it happening.
Set a really high asking price and hope he doesn’t end up in Westmoreland County Prison like the other guy.
Sometimes I really hate being a Reds fan.
I’m pretty sure Abrams is an untouchable prospect for Preller, but Reynolds looks like the type of player he would target. That would be a good pickup.
For Reynolds I don’t think he is untouchable. But I can see a package built around Hassle if he is.
Question to Preller: Who is the best fit for Pads, Olson vs Reynolds; and who would demand higher price tag in prospects?
The Pirates have no need to trade him and would be an important part in 2023/24 when the pirates are making a push. With him there it could be 2023 with decent pitching.
Reynolds isn’t going for anything but a block buster deal an Elite type prospect.
An elite prospect. One or two higher end prospects AND some change. like probable Pen arm(s) or bench player types depending on how the higher end prospects work out in the trade. Bench players are not as much of a concern now with the DH. THe higher end prospects need to be here in the window or possibly good trade bait at that time
Padres is limited in those areas except their top handful. Abrams obviously as the Elite. Gore and/or Hassell as higher quality. Pick some others below I assume Gore and Abrams are probably ones Padres would be ones that they don’t want to let go.
Pirates send Reynolds and Cash. Cash basically the amount the pirates are saving in Bryans the next couple years.
Just my opinion. Ben generally goes for quality over quantity so it makes sense to me that he would shot for the best in any organization