Despite the fact that Reds GM Walt Jocketty told reporters the team won't be trading Homer Bailey, some within the organization feel they'll have to overpay to sign him to an extension at this point, which could eventually change Jocketty's stance, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that the Reds would only move Bailey if they felt it improved their 2014 club (All Twitter links). More from the NL Central…
- The Brewers are one of a few teams to have shown interest in Carlos Marmol, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
- The Brewers could get jump back into the Ike Davis market, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Much like their interest in Logan Morrison, Milwaukee's interest is contingent upon Corey Hart's decision, says Martino.
- The Cubs will be in on Masahiro Tanaka, tweets Bruce Levine of WSCR. As he notes, the potential ace could greatly accelerate their timeline to compete.
Priority for the Reds should be signing Homer longterm, but they need to decide quickly if that is going to be feasible for them or not. If it isn’t, NOW is the time to get some value for him.
I think it’s safe to say that they Cubs will pay the max posting fee. The only question is how far are they willing to go to compete with the Yankees and Dodgers to sign him?
CHC has a few solid arms in the minors (Edwards, Johnshon, Hendricks, etc.) but they desperately need that top of the rotation arm. Tanaka fits the bill from a talent and age standpoint.
I say the go all-in. They are a big market team that isn’t spending money. The front office has said it will spend money on young, controlled players.
If we get him then I would assume Samardzija would be kept as well. Tanaka, Samardzija, Wood, E Jack, and Arrieta/Rusin (Possibly Baker if he comes back) is a pretty darn good starting 5. Bullpen would be nice too with Russel, Strop, Wright, and possibly Rusin or Arieta. Just need a couple more arms for the bullpen then
Villanueva in the pen too. I would fully support resigning Shark if we get Tanaka. If we don’t I think it would be wise to trade Shark and get more pieces for the future.
If we had even a decent bullpen last year, we could have had an extra 10-15 wins. I like Strop (so did Orioles fans for awhile). They said youll fall in love with him and he’ll break your heart. Ive yet to be heart-broken. Russel is always solid. Villanueva and Rusin for long relief seems ideal. I am eager to see what Vizcaino can do. He throws gas. But can he perform at the highest level?
I am not super familiar with how signing players from overseas. My understanding is that the player can negotiate with all the teams who post the max, to determine the contract they will actually receive from there and with what team? If thats the case, i feel as though they go pretty hard for him. He sounds legit, and the Cubs need a guy like that if they want to compete in a few years. Minors are full of young position players, OF, etc, but lack the SP they will need.
That being said, I dont see them going well above a crazy contract like some think. If in a few years they have a ton of young cheap position players, they would have a plethra of money to spend on signing FA pitchers to lead their rotation and could still have a decent payroll.
I really hope they get him.
All I want for Chirstmas is Tanaka in a Cubs uniform. Its the perfect fit. Remember how nuts our fans went for Fukudome? (Yea i know he didnt pan out). Imagine the buzz Tanaka would generate if he pitches up to expectation. Not only that, but as you said, it also creates a logical extension for Shark. A rotation of Tanaka, Shark, Wood, Arrieta, Jackson. No doubt a top-half of the league rotation. Quite possibly top 10.
Exactly. I fully agree with your point about the pen too. In a perfect world, this off-season will end with the Cubs landing Tanaka, resigning Shark, adding 2 more pen options, and rounding out the lineup. I’m not expecting a big hitter signing, I just want some protection in the lineup for Castro and Rizzo. Both obviously had down years, and I think that was in part due to mixed signals, and no protection. A future rotation of Tanaka, Shark, Wood, Johnson, Kendricks/Edwards would be awesome with our soon to be lineup.
I have high hopes for Edwards. But I’d like to see what he can do at AA. Even career AAA pitchers have dominated Single-A. So lets see how this year goes. I dont know much about Johnson. Except he his one of our only pitching prospects. I think Rizzo and Castros struggles were due to 2 things… 1. Pitchers had a scouting report for Rizzo and knew how to pitch to him. 2. Theo, Jed, and Dale all made Castro take more pitches and made him passive so he could take more walks. For God’s sake the man is one of the best pure hitters in the game. I would gladly sacrifice walks if he is going to hit .300 and get 200+ hits. Notice what happend in the last month of the year when they told Castro to go back to his old ways. He went back to being aggressive and HITTING.
Agreed. Castro needs to go back to swinging. I remember reading an article about Yadier in which it talked about him taking less pitches, but his numbers were better. The reason was that he was looking for the pitch to drive. Castro needs to do the same. He will never be the guy that walks a ton, but he can easily be the 200+ hits guy again.
This will be a huge year for Edwards to see what he can do at AA. Johnson seems solid, but most people think he’s a mid-rotation arm.
The Tanaka to the Cubs thing just keeps on chugging along. As a Cubs fan, I am starting to think it is becoming a possibility. 6/120 is probably somewhere close to where Tanaka lands. Even if the Cubs don’t reach this far, switching to Maeda (ala Sanchez/EJax) seems reasonable. Posting(s) dependent of course.
Cubs and Yankees in on Tanaka. This could be an incredible bidding war should he be posted.
Everyone is going to be in on Tanaka. With all the silly money out there from the TV contracts, everyone has stoopid money. The cheap teams have more money than they can spend but just don’t want their fanbase to know. Tanaka when he gets posted will go to the club he wants to go to. I hope it’s Seattle because of the Iwakuma connection. They pitched together for 3 years in Japan and Kuma can help the young kid make the transition to the pressures of MLB.
I see a lot of teams getting into it if the max is only 20 million. I dont see a lot of other teams besides Yankees, Cubs, and Dodgers giving him a contract like they could/will
A-rod suspension better be upheld if Yanks are gonna pull off a Tanaka signing, Yanks would hate to Seattle “Yankeed” them again on Tanaka after doing the “Yankeed” thing on Cano. lol
Consider several things on Seattle:
1. Seattle closer to Japan vs Yanks and Cubs.
2. Seattle’s history on Japanese players.
3. Tanaka’s Ex-Teammate Iwakuma
4. Iwakuma’s great success…
5. Seattle being a Pitchers Ballpark
6. Seattle’s payroll only at $65M after Cano, and LOTS more payroll flexibility
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I find it surprising that Jocketty on multiple occasions has said he will trade players if it makes the 2014 team better, yet the Reds are still in the mix for Bronson Arroyo who will make the team worse.
How would resigning Bronson make the pitching staff worse? Bronson was a innings eater, he’s not a strikeout pitcher but, a really good contact pitcher! As a 5th starter I would take him over Edison V who the Pirates just signed! Also not sure why if Bronson would make the Reds worse while multiple teams are interested him?
I agree. He’s a great pitcher for what he has, especially pitching at GAB.
Signing Arroyo would mean that one of Latos, Cueto, Leake, Bailey, or Cingrani would not be in the rotation. All 5 of those pitchers are better than an aging Arroyo. By adding him and pushing one of those players out, he makes the rotation worse, and therefore makes the team worse. If they go to a 6 man rotation, then you are taking starts away from all of the pitchers.
If Jeff Samardzija does not want 55 million dollars over five years then give the money to Tanaka. We will go from the Shark to the Tank. I don’t want to see the Cubs trade prospects to the Marlins for Logan Morrison. Why trade for this guy when you can sign Corey Hart. Sign Hart to a one year contract so that he can “Build Value” for the next season. I wish the Cubs would have sent Samardzija to the Angels for Mark Trumbo. The Cubs seem content on obtaining an outfielder. Trumbo on makes 525K. The Cubs would have saved money by making this trade. I read one story talking about Logan Morrison being a left handed bat that walks. He barely walks. His power numbers have diminished. If the Cubs acquire him, it should be for lower talent. The Cubs would assume to much risk and loss of value by trading good prospects for this guy.
ill pass on Trumbo. he hits bombs but our defense is poor as it is. ill take Lake in LF. i agree on Corey Hart. he would have been a nice signing. if he were to tear it up, then flip him at the deadline. if not, then it would have been a minimal loss
Ike Davis is like their version of Rickie weeks. How about weeks for him. We’ll cover his salary.
Ike Davis is like their version of Rickie weeks. How about weeks for him. We’ll cover his salary.