Reds Release Daryle Ward, Aaron Fultz
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds released veterans Daryle Ward and Aaron Fultz today.
Ward, 33, hit .259/.310/.407 in 29 plate appearances this spring. The Reds apparently couldn't squeeze him in for a pinch-hitting role. Fultz, 35, posted a 3.38 ERA in 5.3 innings.
Gammons On Matthews, Teahen, Harang, Peavy
12:07pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about Gammons' Harang note. Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about."
9:19am: ESPN's Peter Gammons had a new blog post yesterday discussing available players.
- Gammons names Geoff Jenkins ($8MM remaining, limited no-trade), Brian Giles ($9MM remaining, full no-trade), Gary Matthews Jr. ($33.5MM remaining, full no-trade), Marcus Thames ($2.275MM salary), Nick Johnson ($5.5MM salary), Jason Repko, and Jeff Baker as players being dangled. Gammons links Matthews to the Yankees but admits his contract will be an issue.
- Mark Teahen has drawn interest from the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
- Gammons says the Reds "have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season." It'd be a shame to see the Reds break up that rotation. Harang has about $36MM coming to him over the next three seasons if his 2011 option is exercised.
- Brewers third baseman Bill Hall expects his team to pursue Padres ace Jake Peavy if available this summer. Unlike C.C. Sabathia, Peavy is more than a rental.
Rosenthal On Jeter, Jenkins, Keppinger
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column last night.
- Rosenthal wonders if the eventual emergence of Yankees shortstop prospects Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez will prompt the team to ask Derek Jeter to change positions in the future. Neither player ranked among the Yankees' top 30 prospects in the Baseball America 2009 Handbook, however. Jeter's current contract runs through 2010.
- Rosenthal says Boston's talks for catchers Miguel Montero and Jarrod Saltalamacchia "remain stalled because of those clubs' respective asking prices."
- Rosenthal believes the Phillies are unlikely to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs.
- The Reds are considering trading infielder Jeff Keppinger, and Rosenthal wonders if the Astros would be a fit. He also speculates on Juan Uribe for Houston. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked about the Keppinger possibility on Friday.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Pudge, Gorzelanny, Miller
Your Wednesday links, with more to come…
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the Cardinals' payroll is down about $8MM heading into the '09 season.
- The Washington Post's Cameron Smith believes the Pudge Rodriguez signing "is a huge step for Houston."
- A bit of a shock out of Pirates camp: The club optioned left-hander Tom Gorzelanny to Triple-A Indianapolis.
- Chicago-area reporters don't expect the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family to be finalized before Opening Day.
- Minor league free agent Rob Flanigan has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
- According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, 24-year-old pitching prospect Adam Miller's career might be "in jeopardy as a result of decreased range of motion and strength in his right middle finger."
- Mark it, dude: Tim's weekly chat is going down on Thursday at 2pm CST.
Odds & Ends: Suzuki, Zambrano, Nationals
Links for Tuesday…
- Remember Mac Suzuki? According to MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel, the Royals’ first Japanese pitcher worked out for Kansas City and Cleveland and will audition for the Dodgers as well. He’s spent the last three years in the Mexican League.
- Carlos Zambrano‘s second-favorite team is the White Sox, according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. Big Z’s contract with the Cubs runs through 2012 or 2013.
- Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post he’s received a lot of phone calls about his outfield/first base logjam.
- RotoAuthority runs through all 30 closer situations. Print it out and bring it to your draft.
- Cole Hamels update: no structural damage to his elbow. ESPN’s Buster Olney says it’s inflammation.
- Hal McCoy heard from a scout that the Reds might be shopping pitcher Nick Masset, who is out of options.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis says about 42-44% of first-round draft picks have significant big league careers.
- "Only a physical and minor details" remain on Ivan Rodriguez‘s one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Astros, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle.
- Free agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez still hopes to play in 2009. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D’Backs’ interest only lies in post-retirement employment.
- According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets have begun the process of returning Rule 5 pick Rocky Cherry to the Orioles. UPDATE: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post says the O’s rejected Cherry and the Mets released him.
- This week’s chat has been moved to Thursday at 2pm CST.
Offseason In Review: Cincinnati Reds
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Reds. Here's what we wrote about them on September 26th. Changes for 2009:
Additions: Ramon Hernandez, Willy Taveras, Arthur Rhodes, Jonny Gomes, Aaron Fultz, Humberto Cota, Daryle Ward, Jacque Jones, Laynce Nix, Mike Lincoln (re-signed), Jerry Hairston Jr. (re-signed), David Weathers (accepted arb). Midseason: Nick Masset, Danny Richar, Micah Owings
Subtractions: Jeremy Affeldt, Josh Fogg, Gary Majewski, Matt Belisle, Ryan Freel, Corey Patterson, Paul Bako, David Ross, Javier Valentin, Jolbert Cabrera. Midseason: Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., Todd Coffey
In September I mentioned the Reds as a sleeper candidate for '09, given their rotation depth. Last year's front four are returning. Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, and Johnny Cueto combined for a 4.38 ERA in 754.3 innings. Even with regression from Volquez, I expect them to maintain that performance level. Owings and Homer Bailey are strong fifth starter options. The bar is low – Reds' fifth starters combined for a 7.47 ERA in 140 innings last year.
The bullpen was decent last year, and the loss of relief innings leader Affeldt was treated with the Rhodes signing. Subtract out bad performances from Majewski and Coffey and the pen shouldn't be worse.
Defensively the Reds ranked dead last in the NL according to The Fielding Bible II. The worst culprits: third base (Edwin Encarnacion), shortstop (Jeff Keppinger, Hairston), and left field (mainly Dunn). Reports on shortstop Alex Gonzalez have been positive, and the subtraction of Dunn will help in left field. Last September I pushed for Walt Jocketty to make an aggressive offer for Adrian Beltre, but Encarnacion will stay at the hot corner for '09. Taveras has the tools to play a great center field and help the corner outfielders.
The Reds scored 4.35 runs per game in '08, 12th in the NL. How will they fare in the post-Dunn/Griffey era? Keep in mind that it's also the post-Patterson/Bako era, and the Gomes/Chris Dickerson platoon should be effective. CHONE projections and the lineup analysis tool call for 4.42 runs per game which unfortunately still would've ranked 12th last year. This team still falls short offensively, even with strong years from the team's young sluggers.
Even if I generously put the Reds at 750 runs allowed, they project to win 77 games. It's difficult to see this team cracking .500 as it's presently constructed.
Bottom line: The Reds' rotation looks strong, but Jocketty failed to add the needed offense.
Odds & Ends: Bowden, Stanton, Baker
Sunday night linkage…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Dodgers "will not restructure Juan Pierre's contract to make him go away."
- Murray Chass likes Jim Bowden, while Hal McCoy has a negative recollection.
- ESPN's Peter Gammons wrote about teams clamoring for Marlins prospect Michael Stanton last July.
- Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News talked to Baseball-Reference mastermind Sean Forman.
- Aaron Gleeman analyzes Scott Baker's new extension with the Twins.
- RotoAuthority recently looked at catcher tiers for fantasy baseball drafts.
Jim Bowden – GM Trade History
By our count, Jim Bowden made over 168 trades as GM of the Reds and Nationals over the years. MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz compiled all of Bowden’s deals in this spreadsheet. Click here to see the other entries in the GM Trade History series.
Reds Ink Cueto, Ramon Ramirez
According to the Associated Press, via Yahoo! Sports, the Reds have inked pre-arbitration pitchers Johnny Cueto and Ramon Ramirez to one-year deals.
The contracts are likely in the $450K-$550K range. Cueto, 23, went 9-14 with a 4.81 ERA in 31 starts last season. The 26-year-old Ramirez spent most of ’08 in the minors. He went 1-1 with a 2.67 ERA in four starts and a relief appearance for the Reds.
Reds, Jay Bruce, Agree to One-Year Deal
CBSSports.com reports that the Reds have agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Jay Bruce. Reliever Jared Burton and nine other players were signed to one-year deals as well. The team announced the deals on Saturday.
Fifteen players remain to be signed by the Reds.