The Official 2020 Cincinnati Reds Thread

I absolutely agree that the Reds MUST build something sustainable. Can they use some precious $$$ to sign some FAs for a year or two to improve the team in the near future? Sure.
However, MLB is littered with teams perennially toward the middle to bottom of the standings who just never quite make it into the top tier.
My biggest fear is that they sign some of these guys for immediate improvement who, long term, aren't going to be around. It's easy to name a few FAs who could help the Reds immediately. It's tougher to stick it out and put faith in the front office to make the club competitive on an annual basis rather than just a year or so.
I would much rather sign (at an affordable rate) a decent player who could fill a spot while the youngsters coming along could develop. A good example would be the catching situation. Why not keep what we have and buy a year for our young guys -- who look pretty good -- to gain some experience.
 
I also land on the side of "glad the Reds did not overpay for Grandal". Would have loved to have him, but that is a big overpay by the ChiSox in my opinion. He is now the 3rd highest paid catcher (behind Posey and Molina), and is making significantly more than guys who are much better players (Perez and Realmuto come to mind). If Grandal is worth $18M, what will Contreras get when his contract time comes along?

As for the Reds, I'm sure this means the ChiSox will trade James McCann, who would be a nice upgrade over what we have. He costs 5.4M versus 3.5M for Barnhart. Wonder what the White Sox would want for him.
 
I also land on the side of "glad the Reds did not overpay for Grandal". Would have loved to have him, but that is a big overpay by the ChiSox in my opinion. He is now the 3rd highest paid catcher (behind Posey and Molina), and is making significantly more than guys who are much better players (Perez and Realmuto come to mind). If Grandal is worth $18M, what will Contreras get when his contract time comes along?

As for the Reds, I'm sure this means the ChiSox will trade James McCann, who would be a nice upgrade over what we have. He costs 5.4M versus 3.5M for Barnhart. Wonder what the White Sox would want for him.
I still think the Reds missed the boat not being more aggressive to trade for Realmuto.
 
The price per year sounds about right. My guess is the Reds baulked at the 4th year. Stephenson was just added to the 40 man roster and looks like he'll be ready by the time Barnhart is done with his contract.

Hopefully the Reds will address middle infield with either Moustakas or Gregorious.
Are they still high on Stephenson? I got the impression his progress was a bit of a disappointment.
 
Are they still high on Stephenson? I got the impression his progress was a bit of a disappointment.
He's moved up to the 3 spot in their prospect list. He had a very nice year at AA and the Fall league. He could be a summer call up if he plays well at AAA and the big league club needs help.
 
I was unaware of the catcher Tyler Stephenson - thanks. Every time I heard "prospect" and "Stephenson" I assumed the pitcher Robert. Glad to see that he had nearly .375 OBP at AA ball. love to have an offensively productive catcher for a change. He should be given lots of chances in the spring, to see how close he is to being ready.
 
I was unaware of the catcher Tyler Stephenson - thanks. Every time I heard "prospect" and "Stephenson" I assumed the pitcher Robert. Glad to see that he had nearly .375 OBP at AA ball. love to have an offensively productive catcher for a change. He should be given lots of chances in the spring, to see how close he is to being ready.
Yeah, I'm pretty high on Stephenson. He had a little difficulty earlier in his way thru the minors, but that's what the minors are for -- player development. As you say, wolves, he had an outstanding year this year in AA -- so much so that the Reds put him in the Arizona League this fall, where he was outstanding.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty high on Stephenson. He had a little difficulty earlier in his way thru the minors, but that's what the minors are for -- player development. As you say, wolves, he had an outstanding year this year in AA -- so much so that the Reds put him in the Arizona League this fall, where he was outstanding.
Waiting on Stephenson is ok long term.

Hopefully the Reds can land at least one if not two big bats this offseason. Gregorius makes the most sense as the Reds really have no minor league SS that can hit. Signing Gregorious won't block anyone.
I still think you could get both Gregorious and Moustakas for less than $25M a year combined. That still leaves money for the bullpen and rotation.
 
Waiting on Stephenson is ok long term.

Hopefully the Reds can land at least one if not two big bats this offseason. Gregorius makes the most sense as the Reds really have no minor league SS that can hit. Signing Gregorious won't block anyone.
I still think you could get both Gregorious and Moustakas for less than $25M a year combined. That still leaves money for the bullpen and rotation.
Is there a market for Gregorious? Could the Reds play the waiting game and watch the market drop? Many teams are simply not paying big bucks to the middle of the road free agents. Reds could get both Gregorious and Moustakis for a bargain price.
 
Is there a market for Gregorious? Could the Reds play the waiting game and watch the market drop? Many teams are simply not paying big bucks to the middle of the road free agents. Reds could get both Gregorious and Moustakis for a bargain price.
There's a market for both I'm sure. I'd be happy with fair market value for each.
 
I will be surprised if the Yankees let Didi go. I know they declined to extend him for 17M plus, but he has been good for them. Is their plan to shift Gleybar Torres to SS and hope LeMahieu somehow replicates his 2019 at 2B? Maybe. But most baseball people thought LeMahieu was about finished and he was a utility guy, then all the Yankees got hurt and he had an amazing season. Cannot imagine he comes close to replicating it next year. If a bidding war for DIdi gets started, the Yanks will join the battle. I think they just felt that 17M plus was too high, and I agree. the only SS making more than that is Xander Bogaerts. Didi should not be the second highest paid SS...

Anyway, I'd be happy if the Reds could get Didi, but not paying more than $12-13M . He made 11.75M last year, and had a poor performance coming off of TJ surgery. He should be happy to get 1 year at 12-13M and re-establish his value as a premier SS. But of course, some idiot team will offer him 3 years at 19M per year, or something dumb...
 
That is awesome news! But $16M per year is a touch high - only below Cano and Altuve for 2B. Let's all hope he really delivers.
 
When you need to upgrade offense, you aren’t a premier market, and you said you want to go for it now.... you have to be willing to slightly overpay.
 
When you need to upgrade offense, you aren’t a premier market, and you said you want to go for it now.... you have to be willing to slightly overpay.
Agents aren’t dumb. They know when a team is trying to win right now. All teams overpay for FAs when they’re at the same level of urgency to win as the Reds. It’s just a matter of what degree you overpay.
 
After the non tenders and the addition of Moustakas (assuming it is 16M/year) the Reds payroll projection stands at $112.3M

If they expand payroll to $140M where would you like to see that money invested?
Personally I want Castellanos or a trade for a Bone fide OF hitter. I'd also like to upgrade the 5th starter, bullpen and catcher if possible. Gregorious would be a serious upgrade but probably not a good investment as the Reds would not have the money to upgrade other positions then.
 
After the non tenders and the addition of Moustakas (assuming it is 16M/year) the Reds payroll projection stands at $112.3M

If they expand payroll to $140M where would you like to see that money invested?
Personally I want Castellanos or a trade for a Bone fide OF hitter. I'd also like to upgrade the 5th starter, bullpen and catcher if possible. Gregorious would be a serious upgrade but probably not a good investment as the Reds would not have the money to upgrade other positions then.

They need bullpen help, no doubt. However, they needed another power bat, and sometimes, you have to take what’s out there. Castellanos is a Boras client, so he’s going to want way more than what the Reds could realistically pay. At least Moustakas played about 1/3 of the season at 2B, so he’s not transitioning to a new position
 
They need bullpen help, no doubt. However, they needed another power bat, and sometimes, you have to take what’s out there. Castellanos is a Boras client, so he’s going to want way more than what the Reds could realistically pay. At least Moustakas played about 1/3 of the season at 2B, so he’s not transitioning to a new position
I like the Moustakas signing. In fact I suggested a few months back that he should be a top priority for the Reds. I was merely pointing out that the Reds should have plenty of money to spend on other priorities such as a power OF bat and pitching.
Yesterday's non tenders of Peraza and Gausman as well as the earlier release of Dietrich freed up over $17.3M in payroll. Essentially the Reds turned those 3 players into Mike Moustakas.
The Reds paid a premium for Moustakas. I wonder if they felt that they could afford to pay a little higher assuming the Brewers were likely bidding against them. The Brewers stated they wanted to sign either Grandal or Moustakas. They ended up with neither. Did the Reds put a value on not only improving their club but also on detracting from the Brewers? If so, how much? Btw, the Brewers are now shopping Josh Hader. It seems as though Milwaukee is being forced to consider a rebuild. Is Hader a trade target for the Reds and at what price?
 
Agents aren’t dumb. They know when a team is trying to win right now. All teams overpay for FAs when they’re at the same level of urgency to win as the Reds. It’s just a matter of what degree you overpay.
True, but most importantly promises to win now to the fan base keep you at the bidding table. I still really like this signing. It does show the reds indeed want to put a better product out there.
 
Addison Russell was non tendered yesterday. His estimated arbitration salary was $4.5M.
Would the Reds consider him an option at SS?
 
Addison Russell was non tendered yesterday. His estimated arbitration salary was $4.5M.
Would the Reds consider him an option at SS?
He brings a lot of baggage but may be past a lot of it by now. He’s only 25 and still has a ton of upside imo. Definitely worth a look to see if he’s really cleaned up his act.
 
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