THURSDAY, 2:20pm: It’s official – Fogg has signed with the Reds. He’s no lock for the rotation though.
WEDNESDAY, 10:43pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Reds are just one of three teams pursuing Fogg. The other two are unknown, but Boston is not one of them. I wonder if these mystery teams are coming from Fogg’s agent.
7:04pm: Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the Reds are on the verge of a one-year deal with Josh Fogg, with a base salary of just $1MM. Ringolsby was not able to get confirmation from Wayne Krivsky quite yet, but Krivsky isn’t one to show his hand. Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News is also reporting the expected signing.
I had Fogg pegged for a $20MM deal at the beginning of the offseason. Many have suggested that GMs are simply being smarter about free agent valuations. I don’t think there’s collusion going on here.
The Reds now set up with Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Matt Belisle, and Fogg in the first four spots. They could use Jeremy Affeldt as a starter, or go with one of Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, or Johnny Cueto. As one MLBTR commenter pointed out, this might signal and end to the Reds’ pursuit of Joe Blanton.
