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Alex Gonzalez

Gonzalez Clears Waivers; Red Sox Interested?

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Reds shortstop Alex Gonzalez has cleared waivers and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Red Sox may be interested. The extent of their interest isn't clear, but Rosenthal says they're considering Gonzalez and other options as they try to solidify the shortstop position. Now that Gonzalez has cleared waivers, the Reds can trade him to any club.

Gonzalez, 32, makes $5.4MM this year and is hitting .210/.258/.296.

The Red Sox showed brief interest in Bill Hall. The Brewers haven't yet placed shortstop J.J. Hardy on waivers and it's unclear if they'd trade him now, while he's in the minors.

Reds Predictions From John Fay

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John Fay has taken a unique approach to generating some more offseason predictions for this weekend. Rather than offer up ideas on what the Reds might do, Fay thinks he’s more likely to be correct if he takes a few guesses at what they won’t do.

  • The Reds will not acquire a veteran shortstop; Alex Gonzalez and Jeff Keppinger should be up to the task. If healthy, Gonzalez should start over Keppinger, says Fay.
  • Joey Votto will not be traded this offseason. Fay quotes Jocketty on this one; says the GM, "No chance."
  • Micah Owings will not play the outfield. He’ll pitch, as he well should.
  • The Reds won’t sign a veteran outfielder to a multi-year contract. If the Reds do sign such an outfielder, like Bobby Abreu, the deal will be for one-year. With the economy the way it is, such a deal may become increasingly more favorable to a player like Abreu.
  • As for Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr., however, neither player will suit up for the Reds in 2009. While both of these outfielders may also become amenable to a short-term contract given the current market, says Fay, "the Reds are set on moving beyond the Griffey-Dunn era."

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 Rumors: Gonzalez, Reyes, Beimel

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Let’s gather up the latest on the Reds.

  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer figures the Reds would like to add a young shortstop.  Alex Gonzalez was supposed to play winter ball but the plan changed.  The Reds still hope he’s ready for spring training.
  • Kerry Wood is not likely, but the Reds have an offer out to Arthur Rhodes and maintain interest in David Weathers after offering him arbitration.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon throws a few new lefties into the mix: Dennys Reyes and Joe Beimel.  Darren Oliver is not under consideration since he’d cost the Reds their second-round pick.  I imagine Oliver’s agent is hearing that from most teams.
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty also continues to talk to the agents for Mike Lincoln and Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Sheldon.

Wanted: Major League Ready Shortstops

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Both the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds have lost their starting shortstops to injury recently. Omar Vizquel had surgery to remove torn cartilage from his knee, while Alex Gonzalez’ ’sore knee’ turned out to be a broken knee. In both cases, the players are not expected to be ready for opening day and neither team appears to have a major league-ready shortstop ready to step in. The best options for the Giants appear to be Kevin Fransden and Rich Aurilia. Fransden is a natural second baseman while Aurilia has not been a regular shortstop since 2004. The Reds are now stuck with Juan Castro and Jeff Keppinger. Like Fransden, Keppinger is a second baseman by trade and Castro is a journeyman shortstop with a career  OPS of .605.

McCovey Chronicles recently suggested that the Giants needed to make a trade and their target should be Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays. Zobrist, a switch-hitter, has impressive minor league numbers that have yet to register at the big league level. Zobrist posted a .428 OBP in the minors with a 176:234 strikeout to walk ratio. However, in parts of two seasons with the Rays, Zobrist has seen those numbers drop to .234 and 47:13 respectively. Now Zobrist is stuck behind Jason Bartlett whom the Rays acquired to shore up their defensive deficiencies. In addition super-prospect Reid Brignac may be ready for the big leagues in 2009.

That leads us to two questions: 1) What would it take to land Zobrist from the Rays? For the Giants, Pat Misch might get the deal done. For the Reds, maybe Bill Bray.  2) Are there any better options out there that either the Giants or the Redlegs could land to fill their holes at shortstop? Let us know in the comments.

By Cork Gaines

Alex Gonzalez Is Out; Who’s In?

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Now that Reds shortstop Alex Gonzalez is out with a knee fracture, will Wayne Krivsky be on the lookout for a short-term replacement?

New manager Dusty Baker has shown a propensity to trust veteran fill-in middle infielders, so Jeff Keppinger may have an opportunity to play Lou Gehrig to Gonzalez’s Wally Pipp if Krivsky doesn’t dig up any help.  Bet Keppinger’s never been compared to Gehrig before, eh?  Moving Brandon Phillips to shortstop will not be considered.

The free agent market offers next to nothing even as a short-term Gonzalez replacement.  Unless…wait for it…Neifi!

By Big Mike Glab and Tim Dierkes

Alex Gonzlez about to sign with Cinci

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Three years, $14 million for Alex Gonzalez, via Gammons.  Depending on what you think of A-Gon’s defense, that might be a good deal.  Gonzalez doesn’t get a love of love from traditional statheads since his career OBP is a mere .292, but the bar is pretty low for shortstops.

He’ll be 30 next year, so there’s no reason to expect a major fall-off; Baseball Prospectus has his wins above replacement (WARP) at 3.2, 3.5, and 2.7 in the last three years.  If you figure he’s good for 3 wins, that’s less than $2M per win–a great, great deal in this market.  That’s based on BP’s fielding metrics, which have Alex as below average with the glove.  If you believe, as the Reds seem to, that he’s above average, it’s even better still.

Then again, it’s not quite as good a deal as Felipe Lopez will be for the Nationals in arbitration.  Felipe made $2.7M last year and will get a sizable raise, but he’s been worth over 5 wins each of the last two years.  I’m sure Gary Majewski will be worth it.

By Jeff Sackmann

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