I haven't been over to RedsZone, or any of the other blogs yet, so I don't know what the general consensus is on this trade, but I really believe that this is for the best.
Wily Mo is going to be a good player. He's going to hit 35 home runs for the Red Sox if they play him everyday. It doesn't matter, because the Reds don't need that right now. We're talking about a team that led the NL in offense last year while finishing dead last in runs allowed. It's been clear for years that one of the houtfielders should go for pitching, and it's been clear as well that if anyone should go it probably ought to be Wily Mo. Not because he's a bad player. More because he's more of what the Reds already have. Lots of power, lots of strikeouts, and not terribly good defense.
I got my copy of Baseball Prospectus in the mail a few days ago, and they came right out and said it in their Reds capsule: with league average pitching the Reds would have won 90 games last season.
Nothing spectacular. Just league average.
Bronson Arroyo is going to be league average. I'm guessing there will be a lot of talk otherwise, and that's perfectly natural after watching pitcher after pitcher implode upon donning a Reds jersey, but he'll be fine. He's a good age, he's coming off two decent seasons, and he's going to be a solid number three for the Reds this year.
Aaron Harang, Brandon Claussen, and Bronson Arroyo. That's a start on a league average pitching staff. Maybe we'll see improvement out of Eric Milton, maybe the bullpen gets better. Hell, maybe Dave Williams puts up the same kind of numbers he put up last year, I don't think it'll happen, but they play the games for a reason. Maybe we hang around until June and then Krivsky makes a deal for another arm.
Or maybe we don't and he dumps Arroyo for prospects. An average arm is pretty good currency in July.
Whatever happens, I strongly believe the Reds are a better team today than they were yesterday. That's all you can really ask for.
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