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We've had quite a crazy week here in the world of Reds fandom. The Reds beat the Cubs 2-1 in their series, swept the Giants in four games, and promptly got swept by the Padres. I hate it when the Reds play in Petco, by the way. However, something happened that just doesn't happen that often. Walt Jocketty awoke from his midseason slumber. He rolled over in his flattening beanbag chair, hitched his undies up a bit, wiped the Cheeto dust from his fingers onto the carpet, and picked up the phone.
What did he do? He signed one of the top international Free Agents, and then traded Jair Jurrjens for Harold Riggins. Jair Jair was signed by Jocketty on May 20th, and has spent his entire year at AAA. It was a no risk, see if we get a flash in the pan, kind of move. Jurrjens had some good games in Lousiville, but also had his bad games. He wasn't going to get his shot with the Reds, so they flipped him for something else. It's a far fall for a guy that was pitching in the All Star gave at age 25. For the Bats, Jurrjens had a 4.46 ERA in 34.1 innings. His K/9 was 7.1 and his BB/9 was 3.4, which isn't awful. He was getting knocked around for a 11.0 H/9, though.
What the Reds got in return was Harold Riggins. He is a 24 year old, right handed, 1B, who has spent his time in AA this year. Riggins isn't considered to be much of a prospect. He is a former 7th pick from the 2011 draft out of North Carolina State University. He hit pretty well in his first two seasons at Rookie ball and Single A, but his numbers have fell each year from A+ to AA. He's basically your average player, and more of an organizational filler. He isn't going to hit for great contact, strikeouts too much, will take a walk from time to time, and has a little pop. He's hit around 20 home runs the past two seasons. He is currently slashing.263/.351/.447 with 7 homeruns and 25 RBI. The Tim Riggins connection will probably be too big to ignore, though
What else did Walt do? He signed Raisell Iglesias, a International Free Agent from Cuba. You should already know a decent bit about him. He throws in the mid 90's and has good secondary stuff. The Reds plan on turning him into a starter. He's a small guy. At 5'11 and 160lbs he won't strike fear into the hearts of hitters, but should fill out and the Reds' scouts believe he'll be able to throw harder. At 24, his development is a bit behind, but he did spend 3 seasons in the Cuban Major League (or whatever you call it). It's not like he is a raw prospect.
We have been waiting for Iglesias's visa issues to clear, and it seems that they have. It appears Iglesias will report to AAA Louisville to add to the plethora of pitching prospects the Reds are building throughout their farm league system.
The #Reds have optioned Cuban defector/star pitcher Raisel Iglesias to the @LouisvilleBats: http://t.co/rkGMb8yLXz
— Jonathan Lintner (@JonathanLintner) July 3, 2014