The Reds announced that they signed Fred Lewis to a one-year deal (Twitter link). It's a $900K major league deal, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon (on Twitter). Scott Leventhal and Damon Lapa represent Lewis.
Until last week, Jay Bruce was the lone left-handed hitter in the Reds' outfield. Drew Stubbs, Jonny Gomes and Chris Heisey all bat from the right side, so the team signed Jeremy Hermida and Lewis, two left-handed hitters.
Lewis, 30, hit .262/.332/.414 in 480 plate appearances for the Blue Jays after they acquired him from the Giants early in the season. Though he mostly played left field, Lewis did play some center and right in 2010. He contributed 31 doubles and 17 steals, mostly as Toronto's leadoff hitter, before the Blue Jays cut ties with him at last month's non-tender deadline.
Lewis has less than four years of big league service time, so the Reds can keep him through 2013 by offering arbitration.
The signing presumably eliminates the possibility that the Reds sign Scott Podsednik. The team also officially announced its one-year deal with Edgar Renteria.
For some reason I just really like this deal. A lot.
I agree that it’s a pretty good deal for the price. I think he will do well for the Reds.
Did he come up when Dusty was still managing the Giants? Or is there no connection. Either way I think this is a solid move for Cincy and he could turn into a solid leadoff hitter.
i really liked lewis but i didnt like his diva attitude and terrible defense. his bat and swagger i was impressed by
It fits the Reds considering their financial restraints and need for a platoon player for Jonny Gomes/lead off hitter.
I guess this eliminates the chance of Hermida making the team, unless he has a Carl Crawford-type spring
It’s funny when Fred came to TO first everyone loved him, but eventually everyone got tired of him. He’s lucky he had Cito at the helm or he wouldn’t have even got that much playing time.
can somebody tell me what’s so special about this bum? 270s career average, strikes out a ton, bad defense, diva attitude…
not many 4th OF can put up a career .270 avg
How is a .270 career average “a bum?”
You will see. Horrible defense. Great speed very bad baserunner. 3rd grade education. Should I continue?
Do you have statistics to back those claims up? With the “3rd grade education” remark, I am going to go with a big “NO” on that one.
fred lewis is a really nice bat coming off the bench and can even pass as a starter, for 900k there’s really nothing to hate about this move. unless he starts b***ing about playing time…
thats the thing. he doesnt want to be a bench player and thats the reason toronto didnt want to resign him. i really like lewis off the bench but mark my words he will be complaining about playing time
ya, he probably had no business getting 480 plate appearances last season and even that wasn’t good enough for him so i wouldn’t at all be shocked by him complaining more, but if he gets off to a hot start or something and the reds are able to ride him for a while and get enough production out of him before he turns really sour (like what happened in TO last season), the 900k can be easily justified.
agreed! thats exactly what happened in T.O last year. we played him while he was hot and then he came back down to earth just in time for snider’s return from injury. thats when the drama started. i remember him saying something along the lines of “it amazes me that i dont play everyday, i dont get it”
i remember a travis snider interview where he said he and fred lewis used to talk together about their situation and their playing times, hearing that made me even more amazed at how clueless fred lewis is. you’d think after 2 minutes of a 22 year old top prospect explaining to you why he feels he deserves more playing time you’d be like, “oh…true, ya”
Just curious if somebody could link to an article about his bad attitude. Also, did the Jays have much in the way of clubhouse leadership?
As for what the Reds see in him, it’s his ability to find first base. As for his poor defense, watch Jonny Gomes for awhile and get back to me. Upgrades are relative.
I never understood why he complained about playing time near the end of the season. Since he was playing with an injury (heel?) and had surgery after the season.
This is actually a solid signing for that amount of money.
Lewis is not that bad. Just don’t go thinking he has speed and the ability to steal bases. That was the big knock against him here in Toronto; the media saw a guy who ‘looked’ fast, and when he failed to steal bases effectively they really started to dump on him. His lack of speed also hurts him on D since he’s terrible at reading the ball off the bat from the outfield.
$900K is a good deal for lewis. he is a fast base runner and average base stealer
My Opening Day lineup:
Lewis………….LF
Phillips………..2B
Votto…………1B
Bruce…………RF
Rolen…………3B
Stubbs……….CF
Hernandez……C
Renteria/Janish……SS
Arroyo…………P
That depends…Gomes will definitely be starting over Lewis if they face a LHP.
They’ll be facing Zack Greinke on opening day…
off topic here but im still damn pissed that the Reds outbid the Jays for Chapman lol
same. But it was a risky signing for both teams. It wasn’t like he was a surefire top prospect at the time
The 1 good memory I’ll have of Lewis is when he took Jenks deep for a 3 run shot in the 9th to give Jays the lead, but other then that not much at all.
he doesn’t really lack speed… he’s pretty fast actually
but he doesn’t know how to run on the bases or read and take good paths to balls
Well, he’s no Crawford or Werth but I’m sure you’ll all agree with me that he’s better than Podsednik?
angels have NO OTHER EXCUSE TO NOT SIGN podsednik.
Good luck Freddy, I’m going to laugh when your complaining about playing time…..you had 480 at bats! Not a bad deal though 900k. As a Jays fan I’m looking forward to seeing rajai Davis flying around the Skydome!
Looks like the Reds have stopped collecting old Cardinals and are focusing on ex-Giants now. Have fun with both !
Haha I think this is sarcasm, either way, that’s what I’m taking it as.
Oh good lord, not this crap again. *rolls eyes*
Every free agent or trade acquisition player has played for at least one other team. There are plenty “ex-Reds” floating around the league as well.
I wonder if Jeremy Affeldt ever played for the Reds? LOL
Ladies and gents, keep in mind all this negativity surrounding Lewis is in the past. A smaller contract and non-guaranteed starting spot may actually be a humbling experience, and Cincinnati may represent a fresh start. He’s also nearly five (5) years younger than Podsednik
Lewis should be starting. He’s one of the best cheapest players around. His wOBA is above average and his UZR has generally been positive throughout his career. Sure he takes bad routes and occasionally drops easy pop flies, but not many. It’s only because of old school coaches yanking him around, by using their eyes and not looking at the stats, that prevent Freddy from fully realizing his innate talent.
His career average UZR is negative… anyways, there is little doubt in my mind that Chris Heisey should be the man for the left field job for Cincy. You can’t ignore the fact that he accumulated 1.3 WAR in just 200 AB’s, and that he’s the only one that can play defense out of the three left field options. But if it’s between Fred Lewis and Jonny Gomes, I’d take Lewis in an instant. I don’t think Gomes should get anything more than occasional starts versus tough southpaws.
Lewis should not be starting. Ever.
Fred did a real good job for toronto but I noticed his attitude did take a bit of a slide when the inferior hitting and fielding “project” travis snider came back from injury. Fred can be a fulltime LF and is a steal at 900k for cinnci.