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Fay, Jocketty Discuss Reds: Baldelli, Abreu, Nady, Swisher

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Once again, John Fay and Walt Jocketty have discussed some Reds offseason activity.

  • The Reds were very much in on Rocco Baldelli, and were offering about the same money as the Red Sox. In the end, it appears Baldelli made his choice based on geography. Of course, the Red Sox do have the better team, albeit in a much more difficult division.
  • At first, Fay interpreted this to mean the Reds now have $7.5MM available to spend; however, when asked, Jocketty said that might not be true.
  • Fay suggests Bobby Abreu might fill some team needs. According to Jocketty, "He’s still looking for a big contract," and thus, Jocketty says he’s "not sure he’s a fit."
  • Fay holds to the theory that the Reds and Yankees could match up well, with Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher being mentioned specifically.

Reds Rumors: Swisher, Nady, Baldelli

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John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has a few notes from Walt Jocketty…

  • Jocketty has talked with Brian Cashman of the Yankees "a lot" and that the Yankees are looking to move either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady.
  • The Reds remain interested in Rocco Baldelli, but "probably not" Ty Wigginton, noting that the Reds plan on keeping Edwin Encarnacion.
  • The Reds did not sign Jerry Hairston Jr to be the everyday shortstop, noting that Alex Gonzalez is progressing well from his injury.

C. Trent Rosecrans of AM1530 also spoke with Jocketty and has these notes to add…

  • Jocketty says the Reds are not being handcuffed by the economy.
  • Jocketty said that he had spoken with the Yankees "a couple of weeks ago" but not recently.
  • Jocketty spoke with Baldelli’s agent today speculating that Baldelli may prefer to stay in the American League.
  • Jocketty would be fine going to camp with the group in place but that the Reds are still looking to upgrade the bench, preferably adding a player with some power.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Reds Sign Jerry Hairston Jr.

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Jerry Hairston Jr. is returning to the Reds on a one-year deal reports Mark Sheldon on MLB.com’s hot stove blog. Sheldon writes

"A baseball source told MLB.com that Hairston and the club agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $2 million on Tuesday. It’s an incentive laden deal that could be worth up to $4 million. An announcement is expected on Wednesday."

Alex Gonzalez is not expected to be ready for 2009, so Hairston will be the starting shortstop in Cincinnati.

Odds and Ends: Aurilia, Sweeney, Nady

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Still more Tuesday links…

Reds Still Looking At Baldelli, Hairston Jr.

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The Cincinnati Reds remain interested in free agents Rocco Baldelli and Jerry Hairston Jr., MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports.

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told Sheldon that he has talked with their agent, Casey Close, during the weekend.

Jocketty said that he expects something to happen this week with regard to Hairston Jr.

The Reds have had no talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Andruw Jones and appear not to be interested, Sheldon notes.

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay also spoke with Jocketty. In addition to the Reds’ stance on Baldelli, Hairston Jr. and Jones, Fay notes that the Reds won’t be trading first baseman Joey Votto.

Jocketty also told Fay that Votto (Canada), Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto (Dominican Republic) might play in the World Baseball Classic.

Odds & Ends: Sabean, Yankees, Reds, Jones

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Links for Sunday afternoon…

  • Peter Abraham asks if Andruw Jones would be worth a look for the Yankees on a minor league deal… and promptly answers his own question: no. He’d rather see Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner fight it out.
  • River Avenue Blues takes a look at why the Yankees and Red Sox saw a drop in the rankings of their farm systems from 2008 to 2009.
  • Athletics Nation asks whether or not Brian Sabean is "out-GMing" Billy Beane this offseason with his splashes in the free agent market.
  • Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News doesn’t feel like the Reds have done enough to climb out of fifth place. He feels the Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, and Astros are all still better teams.

Olney’s Latest: Andruw Jones

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Buster Olney says that despite the Dodgers’ restructuring of Andruw Jones’ contract, serious regression in his abilities has resulted in minimal interest around the league. The Reds are not a good fit and the Mets aren’t interested. Regression may be directly related to a weight increase that could jeopardize his career. Olney writes,

"There is not a lot of confidence in the minds of evaluators that Jones is a candidate for a body transformation… he has never been known as a workout freak… he has looked bad in winter ball this year, reports one highly ranked executive.

The Dodgers will probably end up releasing him before spring training, and somebody will give him a chance — and he needs to show something, in a hurry, because there is a perception within the industry that he might be finished, despite his age, despite the fact that he slammed 41 homers in 2006."

Jones is owed only $5MM next season.

Jones Doesn’t Fit In Cincinnati

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John Fay has an update that addresses the recent rumors suggesting newly available Andruw Jones might be headed to the Reds–in short, Fay doesn’t see it happening.

As for reasons specific to the club, the Reds just picked up Willy Taveras to play center field, which is Jones’ position. Taveras’ status with the club makes it extremely unlikely that Jones would have a starting role, which he is apparently looking for.

More generally, Fay cites Jones’ rapidly declining OPS as a reason for the Reds to stay away. Unfortunately for Jones, that reason to stay away applies for every team.

Dodgers Rework Andruw Jones Deal

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SATURDAY, 11:23am: Buster Olney’s sources tell him that Jones will receive the $15MM he’s owed in 2009 over the next six seasons, without interest. Apparently the Dodgers are likely to call the Braves, Reds and Mets about potential trades. One source familiar with the discussions said it’s virtually certain that the Mets won’t be interested.

11:55pm: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the deal cuts Jones’ 2009 salary to about $5MM.  The Dodgers agreed to trade or release him; interested teams may prefer to wait for the latter.  Shaikin says the Jones restructuring is independent of the Manny Ramirez situation.

7:51pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Major League Players Association has approved the contract agreement, which will defer Jones’ remaining salary.  According to an industry source, Jones will either be traded or released before the start of spring training and perhaps sometime this month.

FRIDAY, 2:38pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Jones have agreed to rework his contract to save the team $12MM in ’09.  Jones is likely to play for another team in the coming season.

THURSDAY, 9:55pm: As pointed out in the comments section below, Andruw’s ’09 salary could be deferred across several years and would thus gain interest, resulting in a higher total payout.  That could work for both sides.  A blog called Fantasy Sports Experience recalls a similar situation with the Mets and Bobby Bonilla in 2000.

9:40pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has confirmed that Jones’ contract is being reworked.  It could be an extension or a deferred buyout. 

9:00pm: I just spoke with Simers, who tells me that the Dodgers "would do the deal with Scott Boras."  Jones’ 2009 salary "would be reduced to make him attractive" to possible suitors in a trade.  And the agreement would essentially free up money on the Dodgers’ side that would head directly towards Ramirez, another Boras client.  But it’s still unclear why Jones would want to take the paycut.  Is Boras going to pay the man out of his own pocket?  This kind of dealing is unheard of in the sports world, but you can never doubt the almighty Scott Boras.

8:38pm: T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times has heard that the Dodgers are working on a deal to unload outfielder Andruw Jones.

Simers claims that the deal would save the team $12MM and "send the guy, who couldn’t hit a thing, seeking employment elsewhere."  Jones is in the final year of a two-year contract and is set to make around $15MM in ’09.  He’s not just going to forfeit that money, so it’s not exactly clear what kind of a "deal" the article is speaking of.  A trade?  Buyouts don’t typically happen in baseball.  Nonetheless, Simers is onto something and it appears the Dodgers are readying the cash to make an offer to Manny Ramirez.

Reds Sign Willy Taveras To Two-Year Deal

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WEDNESDAY: Taveras’ deal with the Reds is worth $6.25MM over two years.

SATURDAY: The Reds have signed Willy Taveras to a two-year contract according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News. The terms of the deal aren’t yet known.

The 27-year-old figures to play center field and lead off for the Reds. He’s stolen at least 30 bases in each of the last four years, including 2008 when he set a career high with 68 steals in spite of a .308 OBP.

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