Dealings in Denver?

Hard to imagine any Reds fan that is not a Twitter follower of beat writer John Fay. If you are, you saw this earlier today…

Make of that what you will. Conjecture can go in many different directions. We hear “nothing is close” and we giggle. Some times that’s code for “we really are close to a deal but you’re going to blow smoke up your rear end”. Some times it’s legit.

Who knows in this case. You might be led to believe these front office folk are there on a mission especially with a meeting scheduled later this evening which actually might be taking place about now.

I know this, making a deal can sure help in winning a title. C. Trent Rosecrans of CBS Sports provides a timeline of how World Series champs have made deals that have helped deliver a ring. The last ten have made at least one trade. Some more than others and some have done very little. It is interesting to go and view these transactions.

As I stated the other day, the Reds haven’t exactly been in the habit of making these trade deadline deals. With the big boys in Denver, you might think something is in the works and they want to make sure all bases are covered.

Nothing major has transpired today. Sorry, but this lack of news is not a shock to me. The recent rumor has the Reds still looking at Denard Span (this from FOX’s Ken Rosenthal) and it is believed that the Reds could land Span if Tony Cingrani is involved in the deal. The Twins are looking for young arms and Cingrani certainly fits the bill. What also makes Cingrani desirable is that he is a lefty. Those lefties are always getting a little extra. Look at what Cole Hamels ended up getting and he’s never won more than 15 games in a season.

Wait. I’m left handed. That explains so many other things…

So back to the big boys in Denver. You see, I saw a couple Reds fans tweet (maybe even more than that) that they are there because the Reds are looking at Dexter Fowler and/or Carlos Gonzalez. One makes sense while the other doesn’t. Fowler does make sense. He’s having a breakout season with a slash of .302/.384/.527 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI. As a lead-off guy (a Reds weakness), his slash is even better: .341/.404/.551 with 5 HR, 19 RBI. He will be eligible for arbitration beginning next year so the fact he’s a Scott Boras client is, for the moment, not a big issue. On down the line, it would be.

CarGo does not. Sure, it would be wonderful to have his lefty bat and have him in left field. The drawback is his contract. He is signed through 2017, so it’s highly unlikely this would ever be explored, but Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd has surprised in the past. CarGo’s salary is as follows: $7.5MM for 2013, $10.5MM for 2014, $16MM for 2015, $17MM for 2016 and $20MM for 2017.

What can be of concern with Fowler would be the numbers at Coors Field and away from Coors Field. (Some say the same about CarGO, but I doubt the name CarGo would even be on any table.) For Fowler, his slash at Coors is .337/.434/.620. On the road: .258/.317/.409. Being in the NL West he plays a few games Dodger Stadium, AT&T Park and PETCO. All Will Hurt your offensive numbers.

I’ll liken this a bit to Mat Latos, but kind of in reverse. Many thought his home numbers would greatly suffer because of GABP’s love of offense. Hasn’t exactly been that way although his home number are higher than those he has at PETCO. That said, Latos has pitched far better at GABP (5-2, 3.89 ERA, 1.183 WHIP) than on the road (3-1, 4.86 ERA, 1.380 WHIP). Sure, the long ball has bitten him, but his ERA and WHIP are reasonable.

Should this be a concern? I ask/say that because GABP is a hitter’s haven. It’s not as spacious in the outfield at GABP. Less ground to cover on defense. Plus, the least hitter friendly park in the NL Central is PNC Park. Wrigley Field is a “depend on the wind”. Busch III is starting to show it can be a hitter’s park. We know Miller Park can be. If Fowler is on the Reds radar, he could be a good fit.

But is he available? That is, as they say, the $64,000 question.

On the other hand, this could all be for naught and the guys just want to get together outside of Cincinnati to have a steak and a few drinks.

Right…