Spring Training

[JohnU]

Amir Garrett doesn't need to go to AAA, but neither do most of the rotation candidates. Most of them have nothing to prove in AAA, but the numbers dictate someone has to be in AAA. I'm not a fan of SP being put in the Major League bullpen unless that's their longterm role. It burns service time and stunts growth IMO.

I'd agree most pitchers would like to start, but if a pitcher would like to discuss his role he should be doing it in the managers office and not in an interview with the beat writers.

Lorenzen perhaps trade bait?

 

[eburg5000]

Rookie Davis placed on the 60 day DL, That one down and out. I doubt very seriously this guy had a chance to make the team anyway. As we discussed somewhere earlier.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Rookie to the 60 DL to make room for waiver claim Jairo Labourt. Keeps the roster at 40. It'll be interesting to see who the Reds waive if they add a nonroster invitee to the OD roster. Injured players to the 60 DL is the preferred method, but other than Rookie I haven't heard of any other injuries. Of course there's always those mystery injuries that haven't been reported that conviently pop up when a roster move is needed.

There's a few nonroster guys making a case. Kyle Crockett as a LHP in the pen. Brandon Dixon as a UT player with some power. Craig Pennington as the backup SS. Phil Gosselin in the same role as Dixon without the power.

Phil Gosselin isn't looking as good if Dixon continues to impress Price who had already taken notice of the kid last spring. Dixon plays infield and outfield which is a plus off the bench. The power is a bonus most UT guys don't provide, but Dixon may not hit for much of an average. The Reds usually like the veteran off the bench, so Gosselin has the edge there.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Lorenzen perhaps trade bait?

I've soured a bit on Lorenzen.

Stephenson wasn't very sharp AGAIN his second outing. Lack of fastball command cripples the guy's ability to pitch effectively. He's probably not going to pitch any better in a bullpen role. Keep waiting for a guy like him to improve and the Reds could be rebuilding another 5 years.

There are better options knocking on the door. I think it's time to show some of these guys the door.

 

[JohnU]

I think Goose and Maybe Pennington are just guys you sign because agents have to have a job. You sign a cheapie or two to keep the cash flowing in the off chance that a real deal comes along. That said, if nobody is better, one of these guys will make the club. I know there are a couple of players who ought to get a shot. Blandino, probably.

I'd guess Revere makes the club.

With pitchers, those mystery injuries are pretty easy to predict.

 

[JohnU]

I've soured a bit on Lorenzen.

Stephenson wasn't very sharp AGAIN his second outing. Lack of fastball command cripples the guy's ability to pitch effectively. He's probably not going to pitch any better in a bullpen role. Keep waiting for a guy like him to improve and the Reds could be rebuilding another 5 years.

There are better options knocking on the door. I think it's time to show some of these guys the door.

I think they can build an equitable rotation without Stephenson, though the time and resources are never justified. Naturally, they are going to hammer along until 2019 to see if Hunter Greene is ready to make the leap. I would think he won't until 2020. Still, there are some trade pieces that can yield a pitcher as good as Stephenson.

 

[eburg5000]

So far I think it's pretty safe to say of 5 starters Baily, Castillo, and Desclafani are in barring injury. I'm not sure of the other 2 after that. I think maybe Romano, Mahle, and Garret Finnegan I'm not sure of , Has he even pitched in a spring game yet? I know he pitched in an inter- squad game. I guess we will find more out about him this week.

 

[JohnU]

So far I think it's pretty safe to say of 5 starters Baily, Castillo, and Desclafani are in barring injury. I'm not sure of the other 2 after that. I think maybe Romano, Mahle, and Garret Finnegan I'm not sure of , Has he even pitched in a spring game yet? I know he pitched in an inter- squad game. I guess we will find more out about him this week.

I think Mahle will pitch the start of the year at Louisville.
I doubt he's there long.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I just noticed I had an inadvertent "Bullshit" rating on Eburg's post. Sorry Mr. Eburg.

Spring training stats aren't usually indicative of regular season expectations and I hope that's true for the Reds this season. Half way through the Cactus League and the Reds are next to last in hitting and near the bottom in pitching. With a shortened ST format you'd expect the hitters to be behind, but if that's true the Reds pitching should be ahead. Should get better as the they weed out the herd. We should start seeing some cuts in a week or so.

As for who makes the OD roster I know who I like, but that doesn't count. The first name on the cut list should be Oliver Perez.

Bailey, Disco, and Castillo were predetermined. A lot of beat writers had Finnegan in that group, but the Reds have been cautious in getting him in a live game. I read he's scheduled to pitch tomorrow.

I would think Romano is the front runner. Garrett has out performed the rest, but it's not how you start ST, it's how you finish. If Garrett starts the game in his next outing and continues to impress I think he's in. So today I say:
Bailey
Disco
Castillo
Romano
Garrett
Tomorrow I'll change my mind.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Billy Hamilton has more people giving him advice than he's reached base this spring. Price says he is confident BH will start clicking soon. I think Ben Revere should start looking for an apartment in Cincinnati.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I think Cliff Pennington is a lock to make the club. The options to backup SS are thin.

The last spot on the bench is the one up for grabs. Gosselin, Dilson Herrera, Brandon Dixon, and Blandino are the contenders. If it's not Dilson, his DFA will provide the roster spot if it's Gosselin or Dixon. I think it'll be Gosselin, but a late ST waiver claim similiar to Scooter last year could change that.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The bullpen has three spots locked down. Iglesias, Hernandez, and Hughes. After that I don't think it's written in stone. Lorenzen and Finnegan are still in the rotation mix, but one or both could be in the pen. Wandy Peralta is the LH front runner, but he needs to pitch better moving forward. Cody Reed and Robert Stephenson may still find their way to the pen. Kyle Crockett and Zach Weis have pitched well. Could be a late waiver claim that upsets the apple cart as well.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Jairo Labourt didn't stick around long. The Reds claimed him and tried to get him through waivers and stashed in the minors. The A's claimed him.

 

[eburg5000]

I just noticed I had an inadvertent "Bullshit" rating on Eburg's post. Sorry Mr. Eburg.

I didn't even see it, but I'm not beyond getting a bullshit rating.

As for Pennington I think he is the most experience of the bunch. Gosselin plays good defense

 

[JohnU]

My hunch was that Pennington rates a little better with defensive versatility. He's not Jack Hanrahan but he's not Edgar Rentawreck either. What usually worries me about this sort of player is that if he's in there because of an injury, all we need is a second injury and the 7-man batting order becomes a 5-man batting order since Hamilton is a predicable 1 for 5.

If they try to pawn off this about Billy getting more work in on bunts, he's still got the 3B reading his label every time he comes up. Then he starts trying to drag it past the pitcher. MLB defenses are not like the ones at the Midwest League.

Every year, pitching staffs come out of camp ready to face the world that is now 43 degrees, wind blowing in, and Eric Thames steps up with the scouting report of "didn't he play last year in Korea? Just throw him fastballs." A week later, they think they have it figured out. Then Manny Pina hits .849 against them and the coaching staff says, 'nah, the guy is just lucky."

So you go 1-7 against a team in your division and assume it all evens out in August.
Meanwhile ... rinse and repeat.

Until this dugout staff shows me it has some moxie instead of a nice line of canned bullshit, I will wonder if training in Arizona is better than renting a gym in Oxford..

 

[JohnU]

Looks like the pitchers are getting stretched out a little.
Cody Reed and Vance Worley are bringing some nice fat numbers with them.
Guess we need to give it another 10 days to shake out.
Votto doesn't have a hit yet. Maybe looking to dump the guy. Brandon Dixon might be outplaying Votto.

 

[eburg5000]

2-6-1 in spring training games so far. don't need to be perfect, Most of the time it seems to me that teams that win a lot of games in in the spring tank during the regular season, Probably because they play there regulars more and try tp win as many as they can, to give hope to the fans.
But I'd feel more comfortable if they would be around 500 and be more competitive. The Reds pitching is giving up a lot of runs

 

[JohnU]

I don't follow the games so if the weather is unusual, the runs might be higher or lower. In the case of the Reds, they seem to have a lot of guys who need to be slotted. I assume ST is partly to determine who pitches for the Bats and who pitches for the Moles.

 

[JohnU]

It is worth noting that the 2 pitchers who led the team in inning pitched last year were

Tim Adleman
and
Scott Feldman

Adleman is pitching in Korea this year.
Feldman is somewhere in America, I think.

So if the idea is that the team is upgraded, one would easily make that conclusion.

 

[JohnU]

Williams, interviewed by tHom and Welsh today, said the team is planning to ramp up its payroll in the next year or so. Details were not abundant but it wasn't a comment that was solicited.

Obviously some of that is automatic but the context was about being a contender, not just paying guys to be veterans.