Rany on the Royals sizes up the pitching market for the Royals
One of his targets is Reds' Señor del Barco, Bronson Arroyo. Here's what he says:
"While the Reds are nominally a contender, they would appear to be in good position to give up Arroyo for little more than salary relief, as they have Mike Leake, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez and Travis Wood slated for their rotation. Arroyo is probably a little less risky than Burnett, but then his upside is that of a league-average innings eater. If the Reds picked up half his contract and settled for a Grade C prospect, I’d pick up the phone. But I’m not exactly eager to do business."
Until reading this, I had assumed the prospect of trading Arroyo was absolute zero. But Rany is a respected fella, and one that knows a thing or two, so maybe it's a little more than zero. The problem with moving Arroyo is that he's really not a payroll burden. The deferred money on his deal means he's only being paid $7 mil in '12 and $6.5 in '13. That's not chump change, but it's not like it's hamstringing the Reds. And if traded, the Reds would have to eat a significant salary salad to make it happen. He has $15 mil deferred on his deal, and I'd say the Reds would have to take responsibility for all of it, especially since that $15 mil deferment becomes an up-front bonus if he's traded. Of course, that could mean $6-7 mil of freed-up space this season to spend on a trade target like James Shields (who will make $7 mil next season. Hmmm).
The real upside to trading Arroyo right now is that it would free up a spot in the rotation for one of the younger, better pitchers. As Rany says, the Reds have Cueto, Homer, Volquez, Wood, Leake, and Chapman (and hopefully Shields) vying for rotation spots next year. Arroyo's salary (and his track record) grant him one of those spots, even if his performance doesn't. Again, the chances of moving Arroyo are slim to none and for a variety of reasons. But now that I think about it...
Aroldis Chapman will be going today for the Desert Dogs and throwing two innings
The plan is still for him to go three games in Arizona and a month in Puerto Rican winter ball so that he can build his arm up to five innings per outing. Also, on the injury front, Yasmani Grandal has a sore finger that is keeping him out of AFL play. Yonder Alonso had knee surgery after the season, but nothing major. He's working out in Florida now and doesn't plan on playing winter ball.
Yasmani Grandal talks about his injured finger
what he wants to accomplish in the AFL, how he learned catching, and how much easier it is to catch at higher levels.
MiLB.com interviews Reds' pitching prospect and 3rd round pick Tony Cingrani
Fair warning to OGCReds: you should change out of your school clothes before reading this one.
MLBTradeRumors gets to the Reds in their Offseason Outlook series
It's a thorough overview and worth the read. The only really new info though (at least, new to me) is that perhaps the Reds match up well with the White Sox for players like Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and Carlos Quentin. Floyd and Danks yes, Quentin no.
Good FayChat yesterday
He speculates that the top three most-likely-to-be-traded Reds are Yonder Alonso, Edinson Volquez, and Homer Bailey. He calls Travis Wood "the biggest disappointment of the year", and gives Paul Janish a 50/50 chance of being non-tendered.
Chad at RLN says he will never complain about Dusty Baker ever again
And curiously enough, it had nothing to do with Tony LaRussa's embarrassing series of gaffes in Game 5. No, Chad is most perplexed by Ron Washington's management during this Series. You know, he has a point. Neither gentleman has done much - if anything - to help his team win this thing.
HardBallTalk compares the pre-season projections of the top 2nd basemen
with their actual results. The projections of this bunch were all really close, aside from Dan Uggla who performed well under expectations. Here's what they said about Brandon Phillips, who beat his projected OPS by 29 points: "Phillips turned in his best offensive season since 2007, but since the Reds as a whole were a disappointment, it didn’t result in 100 runs or RBI."