Off Season

[JohnU]

The vast bulk of players who get traded are just organizational paperwork for the front office. You look for ways to upgrade the minor league system, make coaches, scouts and agents happy and eventually you get lucky enough to find a diamond in the pit of crushed marble.
The objective for affiliated ball in the last 15 years at least, is NOT connected to winning, though there is some consideration to attendance and success that every franchise has to have. You can't have a team of losers every year in any baseball town, and I sort of feel bad for fans of these teams who come out to see a guy, maybe buy a ticket a week in advance, only to learn he has been traded for 2 other guys you never heard of.
I go to some SB Cubs games and honestly I have zero interest in the players unless they are playing Dayton, then I watch for gamer or two. Usually it's just another 1 for 4 game. Meh. The bulk of Midwest League rosters are NDFA guys who are either 18 or 23, depending on which island they came from.
I watch too much indy ball now and even though the teams are nobody you ever heard of, they are also put together by a manager/GM who doesn't have a farm system. They ARE trying to win, even though what they win is just ... well, not much. Still, hard core fans get to buy a tee shirt announcing we are the champion!
The churn is as much but for different reasons. Often, one our our better players gets signed by affiliated and becomes part of the churn. The players just play because ... fuck yeah, it I was 24 years old, I'd be playing ball for money!

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The MiLB baseball business has grown into big business. Teams that were valued at $500k 30 years ago are worth upwards of nearly $50M today.

The Internet has been a godsend for minor league baseball owners. Between national marketing, national sponsors, and Internet rights the owners of the affiliates are doing quite well by comparison to their predecessors. Fans will buy the MILB package just to follow their teams Johnny Numberonepick.

Independent ball..... that's a whole different business I'm sure.

 

[JohnU]

Independent ball..... that's a whole different business I'm sure.

Indy ball naturally lacks the horsepower to market its brand, such as the South Bend Cubs do. It's easy to identify with the name and by extension, assume that the guys playing for SB are "prospects who will all be Kris Bryants" in the future. Almost none of them will make AAA ball.
indy ball, conversely, has much less money to market and none of the glitz. The MLB teams that have affiliated franchises also dump more money into the ballparks to make them more like the playing fields they need.
Most indy ball owners lose money or just don't care if they make it, though there is a budget, a ballpark lease, a salary cap ... all depending on the league. Roster restrictions apply.
I prefer the indy ball because the team I am seeing isn't just being seeded there. Players aren't out of position just because Superpick is getting his reps in before he gets moved up to Double-A.
It all depends on expectations. It's just baseball.

 

[JohnU]

So losing Cozart, Wallach and Vincej ... no surprises.
I thought Feldman had a chance of coming back, maybe still does.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The names aren't surprising, but I'm guessing the Reds were surprised to see a couple of them claimed off waivers.

Someone in Miami likes Wallach and wanted him back. The Reds got him from Miami in the Latos trade. If it weren't for the active catchers going on paternity leave he probably would have never gotten called up in the first place. The Reds haven't protected him from the rule 5 draft the past couple seasons and probably thought no one would be interested.

I thought purchasing Vincej's contract and calling him up in September was surprising. I guess they wanted an extra SS glove at the time and probably thought they could outright him back into farm system fodder later.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The Reds have trimmed the roster all the way down to 33 players. That's cutting pretty deep, but maybe not deep enough when your losing 90+ games every season.

The problem with cutting it down is it doesn't grow back on it's own. Whether it's through draft, trade, or free agency, this team needs to acquire better talent.

Trading has been the preferred method. I'm not sure they have any pieces remaining that another team would want bad enough to make it worthwhile for the Reds.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I thought Feldman had a chance of coming back, maybe still does.

Feldman is coming off knee surgery and I'd think his suitors will be few. The Reds may have more interest than most teams depending on the price tag. The Reds are always looking for a scratch and dent bargain.

The problem is you often don't get what you bargained for.

 

[JohnU]

The Reds have trimmed the roster all the way down to 33 players. That's cutting pretty deep, but maybe not deep enough when your losing 90+ games every season.

The problem with cutting it down is it doesn't grow back on it's own. Whether it's through draft, trade, or free agency, this team needs to acquire better talent.

Trading has been the preferred method. I'm not sure they have any pieces remaining that another team would want bad enough to make it worthwhile for the Reds.

Sounds to me like Williams wasn't happy with some of the fodder he was given. There are a few guys they probably want to protect.

But it also smells like a couple of two-fer deals are in the works. That might mean ... say, Duvall to the Buffaloes for Frick and Frack. I have no idea what sort of farm system the Reds need or want.

I think we have been sold the line that drafting, signing, developing smarter is better than cashing it all in on a couple of glory boys. The problem is that we are trying to swallow the idea that the pitchers this team has really ARE going to mature into a top rotation/bullpen. So far, I see the cream of the crop floating in the rehab bowl, and rehabbing ain't pitching. If you ain't pitching, the rest of the league just gained on you. Just having a bunch of pitchers doesn't mean they drafted smart, developed properly and have anything other than a lot of David Holmberg type mistakes.

As for Feldman, yeah .... he was working on one spoke but as far as scrap pitchers go, he was the guy you could call up for the 26th man on the day-night doubleheader. All in all, he's not a terrible pitcher. The knee (pointing to mine) is a weird piece of equipment.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I think the biggest problem facing Dick Williams is that he's still missing key components to winning and the club doesn't have any players nearing free agency remaining to trade. Now they're left with the decision of which team control players do they want to part with to fill the gaps.

It's going to be interesting to see how Williams prioritizes the clubs needs over continuing to stockpile prospects.

 

[JohnU]

I think the biggest problem facing Dick Williams is that he's still missing key components to winning and the club doesn't have any players nearing free agency remaining to trade. Now they're left with the decision of which team control players do they want to part with to fill the gaps.

It's going to be interesting to see how Williams prioritizes the clubs needs over continuing to stockpile prospects.

Looking at the list of FA this week, it appears about 130 choices are out there, ranging from Alpha to Zeta.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

If the alphas are the top free agents then the Reds are looking at the zetas. For the most part the free agents the Reds have brought in the last three seasons have been more a part of the problem rather than a solution.

With arbitration cases and contract raises the payroll will increase without adding any free agents. There's some money deducted by departing free agents. The Reds are also in the penalty phase of the international signing rules and won't be spending as much there. So overall they may spend more on free agents this season. But I'd only be guessing to predict how much money Dick Williams has in his piggy bank.

 

[JohnU]

Well crap, the salaries are going to increase for the whole world except for people like me.
If the Reds are going to adjust downward to avoid keeping pace with the salary structure, eventually we will have to create a league for teams that aren't capable of competing financially.
The key people in this are Peraza and Mesoraco.
I think looking at the roster for at least this year, we can expect 75 wins without upgrading if any of these rehabbers get done rehabbing. I think I'd do a real overhaul on the pitching. I mean -- deal off Reed and Stephenson and maybe Iglesias or Lorenzen. I don't know exactly what that means or who they should get but they can't keep hoping these guys are going to magically turn into the 1970 Orioles.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The Reds wouldn't be the first team to inhabit the realm of perpetual rebuilding.

If the pitchers they already have in place aren't going to develop into a descent staff it's hard telling just how long the road back to contention might be.

Let's all hope Dick Williams at least has a clue as to where the road begins.

 

[eburg5000]

I see where Barnhart won the Gold Glove. No one else on the team won one. I thought Billy Hamilton had a good chance this year, But there is a lot of really good centerfielders out there, which really clouds things up for Billy.
Votto is in the running for MVP, But I would really be surprised if he won it.

 

[JohnU]

I see where Barnhart won the Gold Glove. No one else on the team won one. I thought Billy Hamilton had a good chance this year, But there is a lot of really good centerfielders out there, which really clouds things up for Billy.
Votto is in the running for MVP, But I would really be surprised if he won it.

Of the bunch, Hamilton is the one who should get one. Not clear is what the people who vote on this are seeing. When Hamilton isn't in there, GABP plays like Yellowstone.

 

[eburg5000]

I'm not sure either. I think there could be a lot of politics involved though.

 

[JohnU]

Can you say BURKE BADENHOP?

CINCINNATI -- The Reds made their first move to add veteran help to their bullpen on Wednesday when they signed right-handed reliever Kevin Quackenbush to a Minor League contract, according to a source.

The club has not confirmed Quackenbush's deal, but it comes with an invitation to big league camp at Spring Training.

Quackenbush, 28, spent all four of his Major League seasons with the Padres, and he had a 4.08 ERA over 193 appearances. Last season for San Diego, he was 0-2 with a 7.86 ERA in 26 1/3 innings over 20 games.

In 22 games at Triple-A El Paso in 2017, Quackenbush had a 3.90 ERA.

Although he has a 1.29 career WHIP, Quackenbush struggled last season with a 1.82 mark that included an average of 5.5 walks per nine innings.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

At least "The Hopper" was coming off a good season in Boston before he sucked in Cincinnati. The Quacker has never been very good.

If he's worse than Burke Badenhop I'd be hard pressed to call him an upgrade. I hope this doesn't continue to be the off season strategy of upgrading.

 

[JohnU]

At least "The Hopper" was coming off a good season in Boston before he sucked in Cincinnati. The Quacker has never been very good.

If he's worse than Burke Badenhop I'd be hard pressed to call him an upgrade. I hope this doesn't continue to be the off season strategy of upgrading.

I think the idea of getting cheap relievers is pretty sound and this is probably as cheap as it gets for guys who at least know how to get to the airport for a road trip. Road trips = airports. I got it.
Still, this is going to be more or less the same thing ... even if the starters hold up, another reliever flushes it down the can. When the bullpen is among the worst, fixing it by borrowing pitchers from the rotation, only to make the rotation bad ... relievers are cheaper than starters, so we're back to that.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I can't remember the last time the Reds signed a MLB experienced pitcher to a minor league contract and he pitched above expectations. By the time these guys enter the realm of minor league free agency their most valuable asset is they're expendable. He's the guy you call up and DFA the next day.

Sometimes you see a guy coming off injury that can be a cheap quality signing, but those seem on the rare side as well.

The Reds have had more success with the guys they've claimed off waivers. Alfredo Simon and Dan Straily are two good examples of pitchers that the Reds were able to squeeze some value out of. Not only did they initially pitch well, but they were able to flip them for Eugenio Suarez and Luis Castillo. Can't beat getting a guy for the waiver fee and league minimum and flipping him for a younger more talented player.