Red Reposter - Gilding the Lilly

JD Sussman at FanGraphs sizes up Tony Cingrani
We still don't know who will take over for Johnny Cueto, but we're all pretty sure The Superhero Named Tony will get the call. Sussman doesn't really say anything new about the kid, but it's good to remember that we can sometimes get carried away with our own prospects. Tony has cooked Triple-A so far, but Sussman is quick to point out that man cannot live on fastball alone. It may be his bread-and-butter pitch, but he's going to have to find some meat-and-potatoes if he wants more than just a cup of coffee in the bigs (food metaphors!).

Ted Lilly and the Dodgers are not getting along all that well
Lilly began the season the DL but thinks he is ready to go now. The Dodgers disagree and asked him to make a few more rehab starts. Lilly refused, forcing the Dodgers to make a decision. The team doesn't want to activate him and doesn't really have room for him even if they did. It looks they will part ways with the 37-year-old vet, either by trading him or releasing him.

I think the Reds should take a good look at him. If he is healthy and ready to go, he could serve as a cromulent replacement for the injured Johnny Cueto. Lilly only started eight games for the Dodgers last season because of a shoulder injury, so the Dodgers filled out their rotation this year with free agents. When Zack Greinke got hurt, the team chose Chris Capuano over Lilly. They don't have a place for him now and they need to make a decision, so he could potentially be had for cheap. He makes $12 million this year, but the Dodgers would have to eat a good portion of that in any deal. When he has been healthy in recent years, he has been good. Since 2010, he has made 71 starts and posted an ERA around 3.50. He is a bit homer-prone, but if the price is right, I think he could put up some Arroyoesque numbers for the Reds.

Jonathan Bernhardt discusses the bevy of high-profile injuries around baseball
He mentions a number of possible replacements for Cueto. Sam LeCure could step into the rotation, which seems unlikely, or they could bring up a prospect like Tony Cingrani or a journeyman like whomever. Basically though, he says it sucks: "The situation there will become clearer as we move into next week, but considering how good Cueto is and how important he was to this rotation last year, there is obviously not going to be a replacement for him that delivers the value he does once every five days."

This jerk at Slate seems like an economist type
but he doesn't know shit about baseball.