FanSided

3 scary free agents the Reds should avoid this offseason

When Reds GM Nick Krall goes trick-or-treating this offseason, he needs to avoid a few spooky houses.

By Drew Koch |
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Aaron Hicks
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Aaron Hicks / Patrick Smith/GettyImages
2 of 3
Next

Happy Halloween, Reds Country. Game 4 of the World Series takes place tonight, meaning we're less than a week away from the official start of the Major League Baseball offseason.

The Hot Stove is always simmering, even during the regular season, but teams will officially be able to sign free agents in the coming days.

The Cincinnati Reds, while much improved from a year ago, still have some holes in their roster that need to be filled. Free agency affords a team the abillity to do so, but who are three scary free agent targets the Reds should avoid?

1. Reds should avoid free agent outfielder Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees released Aaron Hicks during the season despite the fact the the veteran outfielder still had more than two years remaining on his contract. Hicks received over $27-million from the Yankees as a parting gift and signed with the Baltimore Orioles last summer.

Hicks will be a free agent this offseason, but the Cincinnati Reds would be wise to steer clear of the 34-year-old. If the Yankees were willing to eat $20-plus million of Hicks' salary, there's every reason to believe that his best years are behind him.

Aaron Hicks has been little more than an average ballplayer since the 2018 season. Though he has a relatively good understanding of the strike zone (12.7-percent career walk-rate according to FanGraphs), there's not much else to get excited about.

Hicks played much better after landing in Baltimore (.275/.381/.425), but his slash line with New York (.188/.263/.261) was awful. If the Reds are able to pursue him as platoon bat versus left-handers, perhaps that makes sense. But in no way can Hicks be paid as an everyday player.

Several Cincinnati Reds fans have been advocating for the team to pick up a right-handed hitting outfield power-bat this winter, but Hicks hasn't eclipsed double-digit homers since 2018. Furthermore, injuries have derailed his career. Only once in the past five seasons has Hicks played over 100 games.

2. Reds should avoid free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel picked the absolute worst time to board the struggle bus. Kimbrel is arguably the biggest reason why the Philadephia Phillies are no longer in the MLB Postseason. Kimbrel gave away Game 3 of the NLCS and faltered again in Game 4.

Kimbrel was, at one time, the most feared closer in the game. When the right-hander, with that odd pre-pitch posture, stepped onto the mound, more times than not, it was curtains for the opposing batter. That's no longer the case.

Kimbrel inked a one-year/$10-million deal with the Phillies this past offseason and went 8-6 with a 3.26 ERA and 94 punch outs in 69 innings of work. Kimbrel has a career ground ball-rate of 38.4-percent according to FanGraphs, and Reds fans know all too well how poorly that plays at Great American Ball Park.

Craig Kimbrel isn't a horrific option for other ball clubs, and someone will inevitably secure his servives based on the 35-year-old's regular season numbers. But Kimbrel lost his job in high leverage situations during the MLB Playoffs and doesn't seem like the right fit in Cincinnati.

3. Reds should avoid free agent starter Lance Lynn

You want to see something scary? Just look at the number of home runs Lance Lynn allowed in 2023. Sheesh! The hulking right-hander allowed a league-leading 44 round-trippers to opposing batters last season.

But it gets better, or worse depending on which way you look at it. According to Baseball Savant, Lynn would've surrendered an expected home run total of 56 last season at Great American Ball Park.

Lynn still has the ability to get batters out. The veteran posted a 28.7-percent whiff-rate in 2023 and a 23.6-percent strikeout-rate. But Lynn's walk-rate, which was only 3.7-percent a year ago, jumped to 8.3-percent last season.

The Cincinnati Reds will definitely be in the market for a starting pitcher this offseason, and with three left-handed starters potentially in the rotation next season, a right-hander should be part of the equation.

But Lance Lynn coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, and seeing nearly 20-percent of his fly balls end up in the seats is a disaster waiting to happen. The Reds should be very scared of signing Lynn in free agency.

manual

Next
Home / Reds News