Though the Reds didn’t ultimately make Shohei Ohtani’s list of seven finalists for his services, the team put together a detailed presentation in hopes of luring the two-way star to Cincinnati. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com wrote an insightful article detailing the Reds’ pursuit of Ohtani; the team shared the contents of its presentation with MLB.com and the Cincinnati Enquirer. Despite the fact that they could only offer him a maximum $300K signing bonus, GM Dick Williams and the entire Reds organization believed they could come up with a pitch attractive enough to sway Ohtani in their direction. “I’d like us to think that we might have a chance. I’ve followed this kid,” Williams said at the the beginning of the process. “I think he’s wired differently. He’s clearly shown he thinks out of the box.” The baseball operations, business, creative services, and marketing departments all worked together to tailor a presentation that included a 120-page book and 12-minute video. One of Cincinnati’s selling points was having Ohtani pitch in a six-man rotation (something he was used to doing in Japan), while playing the outfield and getting at-bats as a pinch-hitter. The Reds pulled out all the stops, including the addition of testimonials from Hall of Famer Barry Larkin and former MVP Joey Votto. Though they ultimately came up short, the release of the presentation’s contents to the media is generous to say the least, and provides a rare and fascinating insight into the player recruiting process.
More items from the National League’s Central Division…
- Although he cautions that the club isn’t necessarily on the cusp of a big announcement, Cardinals GM Michael Girsch says that the club has “some sense of optimism” regarding their pursuit of a big bat (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The Redbirds seem to have a desired hitter in mind, and reportedly feel good about their chances of acquiring him. “We’re not at the goal line, but we’ve made progress,” says Girsch. While Girsch himself didn’t mention any specific names, Goold notes in the article that the Cardinals have been linked to Miami outfielder Marcell Ozuna, while the Marlins have shown interest in St. Louis pitchers Jack Flaherty and Sandy Alcantara.
- A hitter isn’t the only thing the Cardinals are pursuing. Recently, they’ve been linked to Rays closer Alex Colome as a potential means to fill a clear need at the back end of their bullpen. Somewhat intriguingly, Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Colome began following four Cardinals-related accounts on his Instagram on Tuesday night (hat tip to NBC Sports’ Drew Silva). It could be nothing at all; social media activity certainly doesn’t have a strong correlation with transactional news. But while there are no reports of a deal in place, the flurry of follows has piqued curiosity and stirred the rumor mill. At the very least, it gives us another reason to closely monitor an interesting hypothetical.
- Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are exploring the idea of adding a fourth outfielder through trade or free agency, in order to allow Jordan Luplow to begin the season at the Triple-A level. GM Neal Huntington notes that Luplow “didn’t have a ton of at-bats down there a year ago.” Indeed, Luplow only has 87 career plate appearances at Triple-A, and his .205/.276/.385 major league slash line indicates that his bat could benefit from more development at the minors’ highest level. The 24-year-old Luplow was drafted out of California State University Fresno with the Pittsburgh’s third-round pick; the right-handed outfielder is 24 years old, according to Fangraphs.
Weighed
Go away Cardinals. Rebuild. You are not close.
hollidayfever
So being projected for 85 wins without any moves from last years roster isn’t being in contention? You need to lay off the bath salts
davie acavando
No you are not close, deal with it……. get rid of Matheny!!!
teufelshunde4
Agree with get rid of Matheny. But your wrong that they aren’t close..
Wainofan
86 wins =world champion cardinals. We don’t have to build a 100 win superteam to win it all
barkinghumans77
By what standards are they not close?
davie acavando
Not close as they won’t sniff a Wild Card
cards81
The only thing I sniff is a hater…it’s ok Davie I’m sure your team might one day sniff as many WS trophies as the cardinals
JKB 2
To say they are out of it and will not even “sniff” a wildcard is just wishful thinking on davie acavando’s part. Davie confuses his hate with actual baseball knowledge
brucewayne
Thank you! The Cubs and Cardinals are both gonna have great young teams
brucewayne
and compete for the title for the next 10 years and more!
teddy 3
I’m sure your comment will be heard and they will go away as you suggested. #idiotic
cygnus2112
Man, that sounded like a desperate, feeble plea…
cards81
Weighed must be a cubs fan…sorry weighed cardinals don’t tank
JKB 2
Why do you say weighed must be a Cubs fan?
And he did not say Cardinals would tank he suggested they do not have to even try
cards81
lol because only a hater cubs fan would say the cardinals aren’t close…and suggesting that we rebuild would almost certainly mean tanking like the cubs did…so i don’t understand JKB what you mean by “he suggested they don’t even try’?
RedFeather
Someone is a bit jealous
st1300b 2
FA outfielders for the Bucs?
Well they did well a few years back with a rehab guy, but scrap heap is all they’re looking through.
neworleanstaints
I heard Stanton really wanted to go to Pittsburgh. Sarcasm? Hmm…
Cardinals17
One high profile player turning Down the Cardinals doesn’t make them a bad team. Sure, it’s frustrating that the Cardinals front office continues to throw out big names and generally be on the short end of the stick. However, major leaguers are major leaguers and the right combination can beat the high profile players teams.
teufelshunde4
All we heard for a month was Stanton wuld be a Dodger or a Giant.. blah blah blah. I laughed my ass off when Stanton said he just culdnt see himself in a Giants uni. And LA fans ignored their own trams reality they could go read on Cots and easily see the numbers in black and white.
Stanton played his NTC it was his right. That is no indictment of STL or the franchise. Any attempt to make it one is bs
cjuluca
Flaherty, Bader & Alcantara for Ozuna. Get it done.
mlb1225
I think The Pirates should look at Daniel Nava. A big problem they had last year is leaving runners in scoring position, averaging 3.49 runners a game in 2017. Nava is a career 301 hitter with runners on, and a 277 hitter with RISP. This could help them score runs late in a game if they need a cluch hit. Nava would also be cost efficient. Plus, he’s a switch hitter, and can play outfield, and first base well.
stloucats
I love how Cubs fans have become experts on rebuilding after a couple winning seasons. They should know all about losing.
Sirsleepit
“The 24-year-old Luplow was drafted out of California State University Fresno with the Pittsburgh’s third-round pick; the right-handed outfielder is 24 years old, according to Fangraphs.”