Cincinnati Reds: Simulated offseason continues with free agent signing

As we enter Day 2 of the FanSided simulated GM meetings, Blog Red Machine made an addition to the relief corp of the Cincinnati Reds.

Every offseason, FanSided’s MLB division puts on a Mock Winter Meetings, where we, as site experts, get to pretend to take over the role of general manager for a week. There are several rules and guidelines to make all the moves and signings as realistic as possible. Essentially, Blog Red Machine will be playing the role of the Cincinnati Reds GM.

With Day 2 of the simulation in the books, the Cincinnati Reds were able to bring a new relief pitcher on board. After the mock trade during Day 1 saw Raisel Iglesias shipped to the Chicago Cubs, it was important for Cincinnati to replace their talented reliever.

The Reds accomplished just take with the simulated signing of former Houston Astros’ reliever Tony Sipp. Sipp made 54 relief appearances in 2018 for the Astros with a 1.86 ERA in 38.2 innings pitched. Sipp signed a “fake” 2 year/ $8 million contract.

The Reds got into a bidding war for Sipp’s services, but in the end were able to make the mock signing. Sipp adds a more dependable left-hander to the Reds bullpen and lessens their reliability on Wandy Peralta as the lefty specialist in the Cincinnati pen.

In this simulated offseason, Blog Red Machine has thus far made pitching the number one priority for the Cincinnati Reds. Sipp joins Mike Montgomery, Sonny Gray, and Ian Kennedy as the theoretical additions during this simulation.

Sipp rebounded well last seasons after his 2017 campaign did not end the way he wanted. In 2017, Sipp made 46 relief appearances with a 5.79 ERA and an ERA+ of only 71. His 2018 season was a drastic difference in almost every metric, but none more so than ERA+, which skyrocketed to a ridiculous 218.

With all the talented left-handed bats in the NL Central, such as Anthony Rizzo, Matt Carpenter, and 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich, having a talented lefty out of the bullpen like Sipp is a much-needed addition for the Reds in this simulated offseason.

Blog Red Machine is still hard at work, trying to secure the best deals possible to help make the Cincinnati Reds a contender in 2019. Stay tuned to see what other “fake” deals are signed during FanSided’s simulation of the Winter Meetings.