Cincinnati Reds Links 11/21/2015

According to Jon Morosi, the Reds and the Baltimore Orioles have discussed a possible Jay Bruce trade, but as of last night, there's no "momentum" toward an imminent deal.  As MLB Trade Rumors points out, it's difficult to know exactly what Bruce is worth at this point in his career.  Is the Jay Bruce of the last two years what we can expect from him going forward?  Or is he primed for a Votto-like bounce back season where he returns to pre-2014 form?  Either way, here's hoping the Reds remember what happened that other time they traded an outfielder deemed past his prime to the Orioles.

Anybody know enough about the Orioles farm system to suggest some prospects we should be hoping for if these trade talks regain momentum?

In a reminder that the Reds are actually going to have to field a team and play 162 games in 2016, the Reds signed a right handed pitcher named Blake Wood to a one year Major League deal yesterday.  Wood figures to be a bullpen piece.  One on hand, this is a pretty massive shrug of a deal.  On the other hand, seems like they should have been able to get this guy on a minor league deal, right?

In other Reds transactions, the team added Robert Stephenson, Sal Romano and Stephen Johnson to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule V draft. Notably, Aristides Aquino was not put on the roster, and is therefore eligible to be picked by another team.

In bizarre former Reds news, Russell Branyan was arrested this week for breaking into his ex-wife's Nashville home, stealing some items, and "tamper[ing] with the thermostat inside of the home, making it extremely cold."  His motivations for such a bizarre act are unknown, but clearly there are some issues here.

For the lawyers among us, The New York Times has an interesting look at safety in the ballpark, and how much the fine print on the back of your ticket really protects the teams from liability should an injury occur, particularly if that injury comes from a foul ball hit into the stands.  It's an detailed article about an interesting question.

Finally, if you can believe it, The Kid is 46 today.  Happy birthday, Ken Griffey Jr.