Are you astonished? Shouldn’t be. This is the status quo or the Cincinnati Reds…and that’s not always a bad thing.
(Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)
Being quiet means two things: you will actually be quiet or you’re lurking and waiting for that one player to be snared. Reds GM Walt Jocketty did the latter last winter. He waited some things to work themselves out and was eventually able to nab Ryan Madson. While that didn’t turn out as expected, many in the MLB interweb association commended Walt for the signing.
With John Fay writing that the Reds payroll could be $92MM for next season (or as he heard from an insider, maybe “start with an eight”), there is some wiggle room if the $92MM is more in play. I agree with Fay that if that first number is an eight, the Reds will only be able to re-sign Ryan Ludwick or seek a closer.
That brings me back to the point about lurking…that’s what Walt does, another point Fay makes but not in those exact words. Rather than seek the big money, big name player, Walt looks for value. I refer to Ludwick again as he is the epitome of the Reds receiving such value. I doubt many thought the Reds would get what Ludwick provided for them.
And cross Michael Bourn off your wish list. I turn the floor over to Walt…
"“You think we can afford him?”"
Apparently, there are those that believe the Reds can afford Bourn and have said Bourn is a “natural fit”.
The money aspect alone does not make Bourn a fit, but there are other reasons, too aside from that fast guy that crashed into the wall yesterday.
Bourn’s value is not as offensively driven as one might think. From our friend William Tasker over on The Flagrant Fan.
"He is your prototypical lead off batter. But his .348 on-base percentage does not fill you with excitement. His range of on-base percentages have been rather static the last four years and range from a low of .341 to a high of .354. He has never scored a hundred runs in a season. He has never had 200 hits in a season. He came close in 2011 with 193 but hit safely only 171 times in 2012 despite 700+ plate appearances. He’s not a .300 hitter. He has struck out 295 times in the last two seasons combined."
I can concur with every word.
No “Juan Pierre to the Reds” rumors either. Pierre inked a one-year, $1.6MM deal with the Miami Marlins. That’s twice as much as he made this past season with the Phillies ($800k).
And what will the Reds do in case Devin Mesoraco struggles again in 2013? No Dioner Navarro call up as he’s now a Cub (one year, $1.75MM). Navarro will be the #2 catcher in the Windy City. The Cubbies also have Wellington Castillo who served as their #1 after Geovany Soto was dealt to the Texas Rangers.
Talk of surprises, Melky Cabrera signed a two-year deal with the Blue Jays? The fact the Jays got Melky isn’t a surprise. Aren’t they in the middle of everything these days? The fact Cabrera agreed to anything more than one year is. I would have thought Cabrera would do a one-year deal somewhere, anywhere in order to regain some form of respect among MLB front offices.
Of course, the Jays are taking a roll of the dice here. Will you get Atlanta Melky, Kansas City Melky or San Francisco Melky?
Admit it. You had his name in the back of your mind if the Reds were unable to bring back Ludwick. Maybe even instead of Ludwick.
So if you’re waiting for that big announcement, I highly doubt that will happen.
If it does, then maybe there is something to this whole Mayan thing…