Feb. 26, 5:37pm: The deal is now official (h/t John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, via Twitter).
10:25am: Reds manager Bryan Price confirmed the agreement with John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, though he notes that the agreement is still pending a physical (Twitter link).
Feb. 25: The Reds have agreed to a minor league deal with free agent outfielder Ben Revere, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). Revere will receive an invitation to Cincinnati’s big league Spring Training camp, and he will earn between $1MM to $1.5MM if he should crack the Reds’ 25-man roster.
Revere will provide Cincy with a veteran backup option amidst a generally inexperienced crop of outfielders in camp. The 29-year-old Revere hit .275/.308/.344 over 308 plate appearances with the Angels last season, modest numbers that still represented a solid improvement over his disastrous 2016 campaign with the Nationals. He also again looked like his usual dangerous self on the basepaths, recording 21 steals in 27 chances and earning a strong +4.5 mark as per Fangraphs’ Baserunning (BsR) metric.
Cincinnati plans to deploy a four-man rotation of Adam Duvall, Billy Hamilton, Scott Schebler, and Jesse Winker in the outfield this season, which could make it hard for a fifth outfielder to make the team’s big league roster. Still, Revere’s ability to play all three outfield spots is a plus in his favor (even if defensive metrics indicate he is average at best at all positions), and at worst he could also provide the Reds with some minor league depth. Hamilton’s name was often floated in trade rumors over the offseason, so Revere could also step into the mix should the Reds swing a last-minute deal before Opening Day.
Bartolo Colon says good luck in Cleveland, Denard Span.
That good move
That bad grammar
I think the Reds are gonna outperform expectations this year and could be the Brewers of 2018. There’s a lot to like with the young players they have that will contribute this year. Their lineup can stack up against the Cardinals and Brewers offensively,they just need the pitching to reach some of its potential. The Cubs of course are still the class of the Central but who believes the Cardinals or especially the Brewers have that much better staffs.
If any team is the Brewers of 2018, I’d expect it to be the White Sox
The Reds have zero pitching. Not a single starter pitched more than 130 innings last year ave they’ve made no efforts to improve. The Reds are a joke. Great offense but no pitching.
The Reds have the pitching. Last year all 5 of the Reds starters came into the season injured, so they were forced to go with all young arms. A rotation of Castillo, Bailey, Desclafani, Finnegan, and one of the young guns (Stephenson, Garrett, Romano, or Mahle most likely) is much improved and definitely not the worst in the league and not even the worst in the division
Part of having a good romain is being on the mound to pitch.
Bailey has had about 26 starts and a 130 IP in the last 3 sequins and those innings have been horrible. Can he be depended on to even pitch 150 innings much less be successful?
Describing has missed the last 1 1/2 seasons. How did you know what you’re going to get from him in 2018?
Finnegan missed most of 2017. He was decent in his first full season as a starter but he also had a FIP of almost 6. How do you know if the work load want to much for him?
Castillo was great in his 15 starts but can he repeat his rookie performance and give you 175 UP?
Not sure how the collective status of their starters can be counted on to be anything “decent”. If this were spades, at best, the reds could say they have 1 and a possible 2 (maybes are valued as 1/2). They suck.
I’m shocked they didn’t trade some of their offense for pitching.
Fresh… Describing= DeScalfini.
Finnegan is hurt already, Stephenson is having neck pain, oooops, there’s half of the rotation already down before the season starts. Odds are Bailey will be Bailey and have a 7 win year…..against 12 losses. And yes, I am a diehard Reds fan, a realistic Reds fan
When did you hear Finnegan was hurt? And Stephenson is scheduled to pitch tomorrow, they said his neck pain was minor
The bullpen only has 1 reliever in it though. Lorenzen has shown flashes but he’s inconsistent. Maybe some of those guys who miss out on the rotation can help the pen out cause its a bad one. Not to mention they’ll be replacing zack cozart with Jose peraza for at least half a year til we see Senzel.
Offense for pitching isn’t really getting done this year. Prospects for players is about the only thing happening. The reds don’t have any expendable pieces that would bring back a better starter than what they have. They don’t need a Dan straily type pitcher back on the team right now. Let Stephenson, Finnegan, Garrett Mahle etc figure it out.
Wandy Peralta was solid last year as well. And don’t forget that they added two relievers with solid track records in Jared Hughes and David Hernandez. So I’d say they have 1 elite reliever, 3 solid relievers, and one (Lorenzen) who’s range of outcomes could be anywhere from average to elite. The Reds’ pen definitely isn’t in the top 10 in Major League Baseball, but it’s certainly much better than it was before. I’d bet on it being a middle-of-the-pack bullpen, ranking somewhere between 12-20 in the league.
What’s lettuce got to do with it
Finn isn’t hurt
Knickscavsfan obviously doesn’t know baseball
Prove me wrong using facts. I DO need to apologize for saying the Reds “were a joke”. That was unneeded and probably made me come off as a troll”. My bad.
Why not do some actual research before commenting? Your laziness is a joke. Luis Castillo looks like a possible ace in the making and has no innings limit this season. A healthy Desclafani is not a bad #2 along with a healthy Bailey and Finnegan. Then you got young promising pitchers like Stephenson, Romano, and Mahle ready to put in a full seasons work. To not think this pitching staff has talent and promise is laughable.
Wow…. Really? So I say the reds pitching staff is awful and you point to unproven prospects, several guys who missed significant time last year and in Bailey’s case several seasons of lost innings and a promising guy who pitched all of 15 games last year. If that’s the case then my Yankees have an awesome staff with Adams, Sheffield, Acevedo and German all ready to step in and pitch like all-stars if one of the 5 starters go down.
Look.. In order to have a “good staff” they have to be healthy. Seeing that several of the guys mentioned missed with arm related injurious you pretty much have to hope they can simply stay healthy and give you innings and HOPE that they are at least able to give you mid rotation level production.
I’m shocked at all this backlash. Show me a lie or an irrational word said?
In fact, the Reds starting staff only, finished in the bottom 5 in all of mlb, forget about just the NL, in WAR, IP, ERA and FIP. Where’s the lie? I hope your prospects pan out but you need 2 or 3 guys to give you innings and a era under 4 and some decent inning eaters to be considered “good”. Reds are far from that. Good luck.
The reason why Reds fans are still optimistic is because that’s all we have. They traded their rotation that was very good through the 2013 season. Since then they’ve been snake bit with injuries. If you take away our optimism, we’re going to cry ourselves asleep.
Nobody’s got any idea what this Reds’ staff is going to look like. If they catch some breaks health-wise, Cincinnati will spend the summer chasing a wild card spot.
If they suffer through anything like the last two years with pitching injuries, they’re a 90 loss team.
It’s that simple.
Best post on board on this subject. I agree 100%. It all depends on health and what the promising young pitchers do. If Senzel can play a decent SS, the lineup will be potent (again barring injuries).
Everything will have to break just right – career years, no injuries, and all the luck on their side – for this pitching staff to even be in the upper half of the league. I’d like to see them sign a Lance Lynn to at least anchor the rotation, but that’s unlikely. I simply can’t watch Homer Bailey any more. The only reason he’s still in the rotation is his contract which is enough to make even the most optimistic fan cringe. I hope they surprise everyone, but I’m not holding my breath.
Kinda. Castillo looks like a legitimate #1. (Thanks, Miami). If Disco and Bailey are healthy, they don’t have to have anything near career years to be a solid 2 and 3. For the bottom of the rotation, there are a dozen options.
The problem is the pen. Iglesias is top shelf. Peralta looks good. After that it should be a little better than ‘16 and ‘17, but there’s a lot of question marks.
Saying the Reds “just need the pitching” to be good is like saying I just need a million dollars to be a millionaire. They have some good arms no doubt but ALL of the starters except Castillo need to improve over last year (return effectively from injury and avoid it again or take the next step in development). I’m not saying it can’t happen but it’s unlikely. If just half of them take a big step forward they will be a threat in 2019. That’s what I’m hoping for anyway.
reds are an interesting team, one that isnt getting enough attention. they have a deadly offense, a great future with senzel as well as a farm system that is very underrated. i just dont see it this year for them as they dont have enough pitching, but you never know
They have to get 5 innings a night out of the starters. If they can do that they won’t overwork the bullpen which should be much improved. If the Reds are winning the first couple months and getting good starting pitching(unlike 2017) then it be a good season. They should be improved overall and if not a new voice is needed in the dugout. This should be as competitive as the Reds have been since they started the rebuild.
Stack WHERE?
Reds 2018 record will be 84- 78 … missing the playoffs but much improved
74-88, I fixed it for you.
Dum ass
I’m not sure they crack 70 but I hope they do.
At least slpdajab55 is smart
Not with a orediction like his.
orediction
That’s great
78-84
slpdajab55 I like your optimism bud, I’m thinking if things pan out they’ll be around .500, and then really start making strides next year
My prediction is closer to 80-84. I think they could very well be a .500 team, with an outside shot at a wild card (and the 85-90 wins it takes to get there) if a lot goes right, but could also see them closer to 72-90 if the pitching can’t stay healthy again, so that’s why I’m going with the 80-84 prediction. I definitely don’t see them losing MORE than 90 though.
Someone Explain/Comment: Is 29 in baseball the same as 75 in human/mortal years? The man is 29. Isn’t that still prime?
He’s a corpse.
ok. had one bad year. but hit .300 a year before, then .270 last year, and 20 SB. How in the world he settles for a Minor league deal? crazy.
Because it’s been a crazy off-season
Because nobody cares about batting average anymore.
Because batting average isn’t all that there is.
because his batting average is empty and really doesn’t amount to much. He’s a decent bench option cause of his speed but he doesn’t bring much else
Revere hit .345 as a pinch hitter last year. He’s more than just a baserunner.
I’m still surprised he settled for a minor league deal. The Angels gave him $4MM after he batted .217 in 2016.
Singles. Has a weak arm too. Chris young got a major league deal though so I’m a little surprised but not completely.
That’s weak analysis. Revere, like Maybin and Valbuena, got off to a disastrous start in 2017.
However, the second half of his season was solid, going from a BA of .229 and OPS of .562, to .336 and .770. He also walked more and struck out less in the second half.
Obviously he is capable of being either player, but dismissing his season as a bust isn’t telling the full story.
unfortunately, he never walks (career 4.5%) and has no power.
While he’s probably good enough to reasonably warrant a major league deal, the market was a bit congested this season.
Happy for him though, as the Reds are seemingly his hometown team (grew up in Kentucky)
I like this
I’m trying to figure out why the Orioles didn’t sign this guy but did sign Pedro Alvarez.
This could be a signing like Scooter Gennett last season. Revere can give you a lot of options and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Duvall get dealt to get Winker regular PT.
Lol ben revere is no scooter gennet
What does Ginnet even have to do with the Orioles signing Alvarez and the Reds signing Revere?
Revere is a never was. At least Ginnet has flashes of stuff.
I think he was commenting on how Scooter was acquired by the Reds for basically nothing (waiver claim, I believe), just like Revere is kind of acquired for almost nothing (minor league contract).
i remember when revere hit a homerun once.
And contributions made to the club for little to nothing spent is the comparison I was making.
As long as he;s not the one who is in charge of dumping the water bucket on a walk off, it’s a nice depth move.
story?
When he was playing for Toronto, Donaldson had a walk off homer, and when revere came to dump the bucket over him, he spilled the whole thing on himself. It was hysterical. Look it up on Youtube.
Knew he wouldn’t be back, but will miss him in Anaheim this year. I always liked Ben. Should have received an MLB deal worth more, but maybe his agent was aiming too high all offseason.