Votto certainly seems feast or famine at this point. Not a whole lot of consistency to his game at the plate.
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Itās all based on whether I have him in my fantasy baseball starting lineup.
But seriously, heās always been bad in his first month, so iām not giving up on him fully yet. But the team should absolutely not pick up his option, pay the $7 mil buyout, and try getting him back at a lowered salary. I canāt imagine him getting any more than $5 mil on the open market, and even that is probably generous at this point. But I do hope he returns, even if itās with lowered expectations.
As far as the team goes and the previous discussion: This team has tons of SPers for next year. Connor Phillips and Lyon Richardson will be ready by maybe the end of this year or early next year. Add them to Ashcraft/Greene/Lodolo/Williamson/Abbott, and the team has 5 potential starters plus 2 for depth. With the young guys all making barely any salary and the likely departure of India (in the offseason I hope) lowering payroll further, I expect a somewhat major FA SP signing in the off-season, in addition to several high end RPs.
All of that is to say the team doesnāt really need all the minor league depth, but also doesnāt really need an SP beyond this year. Just get some innings eater with a 4.5 ERA to fill some innings for the rest of the year, and donāt give up a top 10 prospect and Iām okay with it. As said above by someone, though, I hope they do not go for someone big and sacrifice future assets for some overvalued and underperforming veteran in this sellers market.
Not a guy I want on my Fantasy Baseball rosters. Bad trends. BB/K ratios the last two years have been telling.
From an interview today or yesterday with Nick Krall on how the Reds are approaching the trade deadline:
At the moment, the asking prices are high. The White Sox have already moved two pitchers in Lucas Giolito (Angels) and Lance Lynn (Dodgers). The return demands were too high for Cincinnati. The club is less likely to part with coveted prospects to get a rental player. That would change if a player has club control beyond the next two months.
āFor us, itās really hard to give up players that we feel are going to be here long term when youāre trying to build a sustainable roster,ā Krall said.
The pending returns of injured players is also baked into the equation. Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo could both be back by the end of August. Relievers Tejay Antone, Vladimir Gutierrez and Casey Legumina are all on rehab assignments. All could be a boost to the club down the stretch.
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Votto breaks through his slump w a two run homer vs Dodgers today.
And was robbed of a 2nd one.
And now,a double.
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2 of 3 from the Dodgers on the road. This team is now 30-23 on the road. Impressive for any team. Very impressive for a team so young with so many rookies making solid contributions. I continue to wonder if the Reds might be best served by standing pat in this trading deadline. Yes, an innings eater would be nice, but I think Krall has the correct approach as mentioned in his quotes above, assuming he was telling the truth. Reds now in 1st place in the NL Central. Cards meanwhile had a bit of a fire sale today trading away Jordan Hicks and Jordan Montgomery. So they traded Harrison Bader last year to the Yankees for one season of Montgomery.
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Elly also goes 4-5 and Reds back in front of Brewers by half a game. Also, great pitching today.
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If they are going to bring Joey back thereās no reason to ask him to take a pay cut. Even if they pick up his option for next season at full value the payroll is only projected to be at $106 million. His money would not prevent them from making any moves in free agency or to buy out arbitration years of some of the kids. No need to insult him if you want him back.
I somewhat downplayed āinnings eatersā in a post above, as far as the remaining players on the trade market. But I didnāt do my own due diligence to look as see how Reds pitchers are being overworked, or not. And truthfully when you look at innings pitched, the Reds are in pretty good shape. Only Graham Ashcraft has exceeded 100 innings and he is at 105. After that the next highest innings pitched on the Reds staff is Luke Weaver at 86. Alexis Diaz has pitched in 49 games, but only pitched 46.1 innings. (that is not to say getting warmed up in the bullpen doesnāt exert some strain on the arm, even if you donāt go it, but it isnāt the same as game pitching.) So I get back to do the Reds need to make a trade for pitching just to make a trade? To get an innings eater. I am not sure they do. The staff certainly, at least by innings pitched, doesnāt seem overworked. The last couple series, even against the Brewers, the Reds pitching was acceptable. Against the Dodgers, better than acceptable. Greene and Lodolo should be back in August along with a couple others. Contrast the Reds to Baltimore, which is a somewhat similar younger team type roster. Baltimore has 4 SP right now with over 100 IP. They probably do need to get an innings eater. Hell, I would love Jack Flaherty, but the Cards arenāt sending him Cincyās way. Blake Snell or Josh Hader, but they will be expensive in terms of return. There are some under the radar players out there, but Iām just not sure the Reds wouldnāt be better off doing nothing.
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Innings eaters are an absolute necessity to a pitching staff. A guy who can regularly give you 7 or even 8 innings every four days with an ERA under 4 is a pure treasure. Mike Moore was that kind of hurler during the mid 80s when I was involved with the Mariners. He was an Eakley, Oklahoma kid whoād played at ORU. When he took the mound we knew we were in for a tight four plus hour game but we knew the middle and late relievers probably had a welcome night off.
I think the main fear of innings is in the bullpen. I read that the Reds have four of the top five relievers in the NL in relation to appearances. Diaz, Farmer, Gibaut all with 49, and Alex Young tied for fifth with 48 appearances. A few bullpen guys are close to returning, but I think a reliable middle reliever is the most important acquisition, just to give the above guys a lighter load.
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I am not saying innings eaters arenāt important. I am saying weighing the situation, I am not sure any names out there are worth the value the Reds would have to give up. MLB.com suggested a Reds Royals swap with India and prospects going to the Royals for Singer and Barlow. Iām sorry, I donāt like that. Both have ERAās over 5 and WHIP over 1.4. Plus India now is on the IL with plantar fasciits presumably making him less desirable as a trade piece.
ND I was speaking specifically to the situation now, not in general terms regarding innings eaters. So I will put the ball in your court, who is the innings eater you want to the Reds to secure before the end of the day tomorrow, and what are you willing to give up for him?
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I like the way Krall and his staff are approching the deadline, at least how they are presenting their approach in the press, and they have done enough to earn the fans trust to evalute talent. If thereās a deal to be made they are comfortable with great, if not, so be it.
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2 names to watch for the Reds: Brent Suter or Rich Hill. One more, I have mentioned, Jack Flaherty.
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Reds get Sam Moll, relief pitcher, from the Aās for Joe Boyle, the Reds 28th ranked prospect. Not a bad swap.
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Inning eater. Great add. Not sure we can win the whole thing but are absolutely a dangerous team if we hit.
Bauer pitching well in Japan right now. Canāt see him back in MLB this year. Or longer.
Boyle has a chance to be a super stud reliever. Crazy good stuff and velocity. Heās just Ricky Vaughn before the glasses right now. Heās Rule 5 eligible this year, so heād have to be put on the 40-man roster, and the Reds are going to have a major problem with too many guys needing to be kept on the 40-man.
Not super excited about Moll (that Mollaun guy is okay tho). But heās pitched well lately.
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