Sonny Gray

[JohnU]

Banter is concluding that this guy is all but in a Reds uniform.
Cost is Shed Long and a draft pick, as per the story, which isn't confirmed.
Personally, I would rather go elsewhere for pitching but you get what's on the fringes for now.
There is still money to sign Keuchel, which IMO would be the thing to do. Kluber is too expensive.
Obviously, you can't have too much mediocre pitching and Gray would replace Bailey and/or Harvey.
Where that leaves the really really mediocre pitchers is curious.
I don't see Romano making the rotation, or Stephenson or a couple of other guys.
Mahle to the minors again?
Cody Reed is an interesting study. Is he a trade piece?

 

[carson]

Reds brought in a trio of average starters and All Star outfielders in Kemp, Puig...and didn't have to give up any of their major prospects. I'd say that's a win. I know a lot of Reds fans want a Kuechel deal, but I think he's too pricey and may not be willing to come to Cincy. Surely the Homer contract has to resonate with some in the FO. Dallas is 31 and looking for a deal in the 5-year range. ERA over the last 3 seasons: 4.55, 2.90, 3.74. I'm not giving that a 5-year deal.

Derrick Johnson is an outstanding pitching coach. If anyone can get Gray back to form, it's him. Reds should try to sign Pollock to a short-term deal and head to ST with a much, much better roster than they had last season.

 

[JohnU]

• Cincy can afford Keuchel but I'd go 3/66 for him, not more.
• Dealing Long assures me that Senxel is going to play 2B in 2020.
• Trammell is the CF of the future, but I'd agree -- Pollock would be OK. Puig is maybe worth a comp pick if he sticks around. So is Wood.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I'm puzzled by signing guys with a year before FA...This isn't a contender needing 3-4 plug-ins to finish...Not unhappy the Reds unloaded Bailey, and got a couple names I recognize for him, but surprised any team would take on a contract just to release Bailey and give up 2 position players that played regularly just to clear roster room. Dodger math and Reds math aren't the same currency I suppose.. Maybe the Reds are just giving Senzel and Trammel another year before throwing them into the 25 man roster ?

My potential optimism is tempered by recent events with our additions. Roark and Gray have gotten pounded enough the last few years with better teams than the Reds, so I'm wary of their pending results in tiny GABP. Wood has terrible throwing mechanics and had mixed results between injuries, generally in big parks in Atlanta and LA. Castillo couldn't get anyone out for half his starts last year. DeSclafani depends on health, a high school velocity fastball and contact staying in the park. You can fill in the blanks with a half dozen Reds younger pitchers that all appear to be best used as "situational relievers" or 5th starters on mediocre staffs. The bullpen was among the worst in the NL, and hasn't been addressed at all. Iglesias is the only guy I trust there...The Reds have two 3b, four LF, and no RF or CF. The defense got worse in the offseason, even if they did improve by a couple hitters. I'm just not sure they can outhit what they give up.

A .500 team in 2019 is possible, and would be a dozen game improvement, but it still isn't getting a playoff spot...and most of the additions will be FA fodder after the season. It looks more like a ploy to sell a few more early season tickets than any kind of strategic plan with legs, to me. It IS a different approach than the "rebuild" they've used the last several years, giving the impression they at least aren't still tanking this year.

 

[JohnU]

Gray is a lot cheaper than I expected he would be. I am frankly a little surprised it took this long to come up with a trade that generally unloads a guy the Yanks didn't need.

Gray, Roark and Wood add some decent stability this year but not much more. One assumes that they will give Wood a QO, and probably will do the same with Puig, which is worth something in the draft.

If they sign Keuchel, and I think they will, that gives the Reds a couple of 4A pitchers they can throw in for maybe a trade for Kluber.

Not sure if this "gets the pitching" but it's better than the riff-raff they had in 2016-17.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I'm not a big fan of the Sonny Gray trade with the extension added on. I think they gave up to much for a pitcher the Yankees wanted to dump. Trading Shed Long.... maybe, but throwing in the 36th pick in the June draft is what I didn't like. The media types keep making it sound like an insignificant pick. It's equivalent to a late 1st or early 2nd round pick. There have been some pretty good Reds prospects come from that position. It's really close to the slot that the club drafted Taylor Trammel.

The Reds are hoping Sonny Gray is the equivalent of the extension they gave Bronson Arroyo. I hope he's not the equivalent of the 2018 Bronson, but for four years.

The Reds needed to sign someone past 2019. I'm not convinced they chose the right guy. We're going to find out soon enough if Derek Johnson knows what he's doing.

 

[JohnU]

I'm not a big fan of the Sonny Gray trade with the extension added on. I think they gave up to much for a pitcher the Yankees wanted to dump. Trading Shed Long.... maybe, but throwing in the 36th pick in the June draft is what I didn't like. The media types keep making it sound like an insignificant pick. It's equivalent to a late 1st or early 2nd round pick. There have been some pretty good Reds prospects come from that position. It's really close to the slot that the club drafted Taylor Trammel.

The Reds are hoping Sonny Gray is the equivalent of the extension they gave Bronson Arroyo. I hope he's not the equivalent of the 2018 Bronson, but for four years.

The Reds needed to sign someone past 2019. I'm not convinced they chose the right guy. We're going to find out soon enough if Derek Johnson knows what he's doing.

I think they can sign Roark, which doesn't get me giddy. None of these guys are anchors for a top staff but they have something of a track record, which differs from Stephenson and Romano and a few others who started out poorly and never got better. Dunno...the next free agent season will tell us more. As staffs go, I think this one is the 2rd best overall in the NL-C. That's not really optimism. I just don't think the Brewers will replicate, the Pirates are 2-deep and the Cardinals may be fooling themselves.

 

[Redsfan1507]

With a rotation that all struggle to complete 6 innings, the Reds bullpen as it is now, dooms this team without a big offense. A .500 record in 2019 would be a huge improvement, providing the short term contracts ending at end of season don't leave without return. Somehow, the Reds have got to have half a dozen young guys mature to real answers so they can take over by ST 2020. If given a chance, and healthy, I think Senzel can hit his way into the lineup. Trammel may get one more year in AAA, but the Reds need a CF, and he''s the only one in town.

 

[JohnU]

With a rotation that all struggle to complete 6 innings, the Reds bullpen as it is now, dooms this team without a big offense. A .500 record in 2019 would be a huge improvement, providing the short term contracts ending at end of season don't leave without return. Somehow, the Reds have got to have half a dozen young guys mature to real answers so they can take over by ST 2020. If given a chance, and healthy, I think Senzel can hit his way into the lineup. Trammel may get one more year in AAA, but the Reds need a CF, and he''s the only one in town.

I think they can cobble something together with Siri until Trammell is ready, which is more about his contract. He's already good enough to be the LIDR that the pundits seem to think they need.

There's a projection that says the Reds will score about 120 more runs this year based on metric forecasts. That's not nothing since they were minus 123 a year ago.

The addition of Grsy, subtraction of Home and all that is how they think 81 is do-able. It doesn't say they can get lucky and win 88. So yeah, these are short-term fixes but if we notice them, I'd guess the 30 GMs out there do as well.