7:23pm: The Reds have already re-signed Farmer to a new one-year, Major League contract. His non-tender was likely something of a procedural move, allowing the team to bring him back on friendlier terms, but he’s back on the 40-man roster for the 2021 season already.
7:00pm: The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve non-tendered right-hander Archie Bradley, whom they acquired from the D-backs prior to the 2020 trade deadline. He joins fellow trade acquisition Brian Goodwin as well as catcher Curt Casali, righty R.J. Alaniz and infielder/catcher Kyle Farmer among Cincinnati non-tenders.
The 28-year-old Bradley, a former first-round pick and elite pitching prospect, couldn’t have pitched much better for the Reds after being acquired. He totaled 7 2/3 innings during the regular season and allowed just a run on four hits and no walks with six punchouts. He did yield a run in his lone postseason appearance, but it’s somewhat unexpected to see the Reds cut ties with him rather than pay him a raise on 2020’s $4.1MM salary.
While it won’t be a kind free-agent market for right-handed relievers, Bradley seems positioned to do better than most of his non-tendered counterparts. Since moving to the ’pen full-time back in 2017, he’s been outstanding; in 234 2/3 innings, most of it spent as the D-backs’ closer, Bradley has a 2.95 ERA with averages of 9.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9. That’s all come while playing his home games in a decidedly hitter-friendly setting.
Bradley did see his fastball velocity dip to an average of 94.4 mph this year — about two miles below its peak in 2018 — which could be a red flag. But the Reds thought enough of him to trade for him as part of a playoff push at the deadline, and Bradley won’t turn 29 until next August.
Casali has been a productive part-time backstop for the Reds over the past three seasons, hitting .260/.345/.440. He was only owed a raise on a $1.4625MM salary, which seems like it should’ve been a reasonable price, but most clubs are striving to pare back payroll, and backup catcher is clearly a spot the Reds felt they could do so.
Goodwin’s non-tender was reported earlier in the day and comes as less of a surprise after his bat took a step back from his solid 2019 levels. The 29-year-old Alaniz didn’t pitch in the Majors in 2020 and wasn’t arb-eligible, so his non-tender was simply because the Reds simply wanted an extra 40-man spot.
holy mackerel
Not sure I understand this move.
Yeah they traded Naughton for Goodwin and Fairchild for Bradley, those were like top 15 prospects in the Reds system when they made those moves.
They basically just threw away prospect capital…
Reds have now traded Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray for nothing.
And Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray have done nothing thus far other than be names on a prospect list.
Even if they amount to nothing, they are highly valued prospects right now who could be used to upgrade a team that wants to win. They would reverse that deal without a second thought in hindsight.
Agree completely with JDGoat. At the time it was debatable, but in hindsight that trade did not work out in the Reds favor.
This mindset is so dumb. They have value even if they haven’t played in the bigs yet. Downs pushed the Dodges over the goal line to get Betts. And no, Puig did not get them Bauer. He was the 4th best asset traded in that 3 team deal at best.
First off, I am not dumb…I just disagree with you. There is no need for insults. What you are saying is your opinion, not a hard fact. Yes, they had value, but the Reds extracted quite a bit out of Bauer and Bradley. It got them in the playoffs. They don’t make the playoffs in 2020 with Downs and Gray sitting in the alternative site. As far as the Dodgers deal, they could have gotten Betts with any of 5-7 other prospects not named Downs. He was not the linchpin of that deal.
No one called anyone dumb… they said the ‘mindset’ of saying prospects “haven’t don’t anything” just because they haven’t reached the majors yet is dumb. And for lack of a ‘less offensive’ word it kind of is… like Downs still has really big value whether he pans out down the road or not he is still currently a big asset that could net a solid return if the Red Sox were to try and trade him. And he WAS the linchpin for Betts… granted they did have several other (higher regarded) prospects the Sox would have taken (Lux, SPs, etc) — he WAS the centerpiece of a deal that got them Betts. I nor no one else is “calling you dumb” nor do I have any opinion that you are… the only point being made – and that I agree with… is that it’s foolish to say that ‘prospects who haven’t made the majors yet because of youth not performance — haven’t “proven anything” — like that’s just how prospects work. And the point being made is/was that the Reds essentially gave up big time assets (prospects) and got nothing in return. Whether they pan out in the future or not… at this very moment… they are/would still be very valuable assets.
Verdugo was the centerpiece of the Betts deal. Keep in mind Boston was ready to do the deal for Verdugo & Graterol until they saw Graterol’s medical records. So Verdugo was the centerpiece and Downs a replacement (albeit a really good one) for Graterol.
To be honest, saying the way I think is dumb is the same as calling me dumb. So please don’t try to mitigate it. He called me what he called me. It’s not the first time it has happened with him and myself, so I appreciate the sentiment, but just stay out of it.
As far as the rest of your comment, I don’t agree. I believe Verdugo was the key to the Betts deal. And the Reds didn’t get “nothing” in return, they got a playoff appearance, even if they didn’t bother showing up to the playoffs.
LOL first of all calling an idea something is not calling you the same thing. And your flat out lying about me calling you anything before, because this was my first time saying “dumb” on here. I wasn’t sure if it was even allowed so I risked it. Anyway the Reds made the playoffs because of Kyle Farmer? Sure tell yourself that. If the O’s traded Adley Rushman for an average MLB player you would say its a good deal as long as Adley doesn’t appear in the bigs? That mindset is flat out wrong.
You’re dumb. Cmon
I mean, you just confirmed he was the linchpin, even if you want to call someone else the centerpiece, no?
Verdugo was in the deal they were going to turn down. Downs prevented Lux or May or Gonsolin or Ruiz from having to be included. He was the linchpin to get the Betts deal done as it was
So you’re saying an intelligent person can never use a dumb line of thinking, without becoming dumb themselves?
Wow
What exactly are you even talking about? Where did I say anything about Kyle Farmer? Puig was part of the deal to get Bauer. He may not have been the key piece, but that trade probably doesn’t happen without him.
And equating a top 10 prospect and overall #1 pick with Downs and Gray is just downright insulting. Those two were not even top 100 prospects when they were dealt. They were top 10 Reds prospects, but that’s it, There is absolutely no comparison there,
As far as the insult goes, you have never called me dumb before, but you have insulted me several times before. I guess I need I to spell things out specifically from now on because some people just can’t figure it out. Gotta love the irony there.
Just to throw in my two cents.
1-There is no reason to insult anyone in a debate.
That said, I found your original statement to be nonsensical.
“And Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray have done nothing thus far other than be names on a prospect list.”
By definition, every minor league prospect has done nothing so far, if you disregard their potential. What is Franco’s career WAR? Same as Downs and Gray.
Or YOU can consider what they have done so far to get in their CURRENT position, that is, their ranking. Franco has done a lot more, but Gray and Downs have done a considerable amount.
That said, the concept of ‘what they’ve done’ is meaningless. All that is meaningful is what their value is/was.
Lastly, I’ve seen you post this before. It feels a little like a defense of an awful, awful trade. IMHO, the correct return for Kemp, Farmer, Puig & Wood, is -0-. After accounting for all the money, I come up with a implied salary for Puig of ~ $13M. At his level of play, you’re better off signing a journeyman OF.
But the worst part of it was the strategy. They had no shot of competing in 2019, so what is the point of adding a one-year player, and sacrificing prospects? If the trade was made in 2020, or today, it would still be a bad trade, but one could at least argue that the Reds were looking to go over the top. But the Reds weren’t going from 67 wins in 2018, to 90 wins in 2019, by adding Puig.
Moves like this are why Williams is no longer the GM.
One of my favourite things is to go back to articles of when guys signed bad contracts and see who knew what they were talking about and who didn’t. Hiflew appears in a lot of screenshots talking about what a steal Wade Davis is and several other terrible takes that we’re just simply dumb at the time and really dumb years later.
I don’t know Hiflew’s history, but he was so dismissive of two pretty decent prospects’ value, it felt like he was being defensive. Downs was a 1st round pick, and was only 20 when traded, and Gray was also 20, and a 2nd rounder.
Even forgetting about the value, a team like Cincy should never have been trading away prospects at that point.
Downs was a first round pick. Gray was a 2nd rounder. They might not have the blue chip status as Adley but its no insult to say they have similar upside. I don’t remember any interaction I had with you. Pipe down with the victim mentality.
Exactly what Dan o’dowd said a few minutes ago on mlb network.
The reds traded prospects away just to get rid of homer Bailey. And lots of people loved the trade for the reds because they were going all in, problem is they can’t operate like that more than a year or two.
If they just made tough choices like letting stars go to free agency and getting the pick or trading them before they reach free agency and always have a top farm, than sustainable success is possible.
Problem is most fans here have no idea what a budget is or have ran a successful business. There suggestions are always spend the most and get the best free agent. And as long as there’s successful teams like the Rays abc the A’s who operate on a low budget, there’s no reason other teams who choose to out spend them by 40-50 million sometimes can’t also.
The statement about Downs and Gray is extremely dumb. And it’s a statement that you’ve made many times before talking about other prospects.
Yasiel Puig didn’t land them Trevor Bauer. Taylor Trammell did. You make the same argument that the Dodgers could’ve added “6 0r 7 other prospects” in their deal. Well the Reds simply could’ve traded Jeter Downs for 20 better outfielders than Yasiel Puig. He had and has significantly more value.
Dumb trade for the Reds that blew up in their face. Pretty awful couple of offseasons for the Reds, IMO. The team had a chance to build off some nice young prospects but instead shot their load for a 1 year run. Now they’re stuck with well over market contracts for Moose and Castellanos. They’re losing their best pitcher and they’ve given away multiple quality prospects to do that.
The team is not a World Series contender at all. And if they really end up dealing a guy like Sonny Gray—they’re probably not even a serious playoff contender. Piss poor asset management is what I would call it.
I’m glad you have time to research my comment history from three years ago. If you ever decide to write a book about me, please send me a copy. I will autograph it for you.
With that being said, I’m done at MLB Trade Rumors. To those of you that I have had worthwhile conversations about baseball, I have enjoyed them. I will still be at Hoop Rumors if you want to talk basketball with me.
To the rest of you, which has become more numerous than the previous group, I hold no ill will against you other than it’s just no fun to be here anymore. Some of you will be fine once you grow up, others there is probably no hope. It’s up to you to decide which you are.
Goodbye.
Lol
Ummmm ok.
WOW, not good
Marlins Marlins Marlins Marlins
Written all over Bradley
The relief market looks really good this offseason with the addition of some surprising names like Bradley and Hand.
Why? Is this move literally just for monetary reasons? Why?
Uhhhh… Welcome to small market baseball lol
As an Angel fan, I’ll take Archie any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
You have to use Jughead once in a while.
I’d wager even betty or veronica would be a pitching upgrade for the angels
@Halo, as a Giants fan, I too would “take Archie any day of the week and twice on Sundays.” Same goes forward Hand!
What the heck? That’s a terrible decision by the Reds!
Just another Wednesday in Cincy.
Won’t be a FA for long.
So they dump Josh Van Meter for a month of Archie Bradley and now they non-tender Bradley.
Well, in Reds land why not, Van Meter was already ruined by Bell to the point that even seasoned viewers had excepted the fact that Van Meter “just wasn’t good enough”. Man, if the Reds had only had the b-lls to go with Josh at 2nd and Senzel at 3rd from the very get go…oh, nevermind, team chemistry doesn’t apply when you put together a roster like my 13 yr old on PS4.
Senzel at third over Suarez are you crazy
Senzel can’t stay off the injured list. I hope they trade Senzel he gets hurt way too often
True, they should’ve kept Bradley, and should’ve traded Senzel last year for Lindor, this guy can’t keep himself off DL, hope they don’t continue to be stupid, they still have a solid core of players for now baring injuries
Bradley had arguably the best season of his career in 2020 too, despite the condensed numbers. I don’t understand why the Reds, who by all accounts plan to contend in 2021, would do this. Especially after giving up a couple young pieces to acquire him at the trade deadline.
After trading Robert Stephenson for very little and now this, I’m disappointed with the way the Reds have handled their bullpen so far this offseason.
What I don’t get about this is, did they not have any foresight at the time that they traded for Bradley that they weren’t going to want to pay him the ~$5 million that he was going to be due this year in Arb? Nobody thought about his upcoming salary when they sent away prospects for him?
It’s not like they traded for him and then he was terrible and they had to cut their losses. He pitched well for the like 8 innings they got out of him and he pitched well beforehand. I don’t really understand how you make that trade and then a few months later just cut Bradley loose, such a headscratcher.
I’m with you, it makes absolutely no sense. It’s too bad too, because the Reds were my NL sleeper pick this past season. After losing Bauer and inexplicably dumping Bradley, Stephenson, Curt Casali, etc, it’ll be pretty hard to pick them again next season.
The one thing I guess that they have going for them is the division lacks some elite team like the Dodgers that is head and shoulders better than everyone else and who just keeps getting better.
PIT is bad and far off from success, STL was pretty mediocre offensively last year and they’re losing some key pieces, MIL is strapped for cash and losing the short term stopgaps they had. The Cubs are probably the best on paper right now, but at a weird spot with their core reaching FA. It should be a competitive division but this type of move does not help the Reds.
Agreed that the NL Central will not be a strong division next season. Which makes it all the more disappointing that the Reds seem to be cost cutting instead of going all in next year.
I’m completely disappointed in the whole rebuild. Took em 5 years to put a competitive team back on the field and it lasted 1 shortened season. Worse ran franchise in baseball !
Kyle Farmer too!? I hope they at least resign him. Good clubhouse guy
Guessing the Reds are going all-in on Hendriks, only possible reason.
VanMeter and Fairchild aren’t the kind of players to be taking losses on.
Reds offseason is going poorly so far.
I understand every move but dropping bradley
Welcome to Philadelphia Archie
After resigning Realmuto hopefully, I would Love Archie Bradley for the pen.
“We are Farmer. Bum-ba-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum!”
Welp, reds won’t be signing any major free agents this offseason
I am surprised with Bradley I was hoping they would trade Iglesias and keep Bradley
Casals is a bit surprising because I thought they would keep him and try to trade Barnhart then put Stephenson as a platoon with Casali
Yes, with the dearth of catching available, they should’ve kept Casali and spun a trade. The cost would’ve been low. Bradley was also inexpensive, When you’re talking about other peoples money.
If these moves allow them to land one of the top SS FAs, then maybe I can see it. Perhaps they figure they can get similar production from one of the many other relievers on the market.
Still, if no one else is spending, it would be a good time to buck the trend …
Just another inept move.classic red’s gm.
Bradley had value for many other teams.so once again the reds have a handful of nothing
Pirates and reds get to battle for last for years.
If Archie had value for other teams why didn’t one of them trade for him?
They should have tendered him and traded him later in the offseason (or Spring Training) when injuries start popping up. He is a Top 20% relief pitcher and most teams have a need for that. I think a lot of teams are hesitant right now to trade for anyone making decent money until they see how the season will play out and whether or not fans are allowed back in. If the COVID vaccine was out now and most of America inoculated, Bradley could have easily been traded for a decent return.
So then he doesn’t have value for other teams at what he would have made in arbitration.
We just saw a less talented AND recovering from injury reliever get a PTBNL.
Sounds like the reds didn’t do their due diligence more than his lack of value
Mets 2 years 12.5 mil
Someone will offer him a 1/$4M deal or maybe 2/$10M. $12.5 seems quite high.
Obviously Bradley is the biggest news here, but what about non-tendering Casali? He’s quietly been one of the more underrated catchers in MLB for the past few years now, and could have even had some potential trade value. I know the Reds like Tyler Stephenson, but you can never have too much catching depth and Casali was only due a slight raise.
This is all just the Reds being cheap, plain and simple.
To everyone complaining about non-tendering Bradley, if another team wanted to pay him whatever he’s projected to get in arb, do you really think Cincy would have done this? No. They would have traded him to that team for whatever they could get. Bradley is not going to beat his arb projection in FA. It’s even possible the Reds re-sign him for less $.
C’monnnnnn Giants!
My thought too, Farman said one of the priorities was a veteran bullpen piece, plus my daughter likes pointing out that he is the guy that pooped himself
WTF!
Bradley is easily going to beat his arb projection
Minnesota and seattle,san fran, washington miami will all be bidding.
Would fit well in Houston
He fits on most teams. Angels would be interesting, if I remember correctly he and Bundy are high school buddies
Bring Archie back to Az! We don’t have a closer since he was traded.
Come back to AZ!
Wow that’s a surprise. I don’t really agree with the Reds front office. They’re going to take a big step backwards this year.
They spent the past two seasons trading prospects and spending money in order to try to build their roster into a contender, and now that they have a legitimate shot to contend in a weak division, they suddenly decide to start cutting costs. I know that keeping Bauer was never very realistic, but non-tendering Archie Bradley and Curt Casali? Rumors of trading Sonny Gray? Come on Reds, stick to your guns and go all in!
@HBan22 This franchise is a mess for exactly the reasons you pointed out. It doesn’t make any sense why you would go out and get good players and then just let them go right as the team has a chance to win. Plus, their division is looking very weak this year, and the Reds would have had a very good chance to win. Now, I think they are destined for fourth place and I think they have to restart their tank again.
This kind of reminds me of the Prates and how they went out and made a big trade for Chris Archer and then didn’t get any players to support him(I know that trade would have been bad anyways, but the team made it even worse by not backing him up with good players).
Money.
A wise man once said, “Money isn’t funny.”
Reds getting ready to rebuild after the one year playoff streak
Predicting:
Casali to the Mets.
Bradley to the Phillies.
I’d like to see the RS in on him.$7M/2, and I wouldn’t think twice.
The Dodgers need to sign Bradley!
Bradley > Iglasies
Bradley is better than Iglesias..just don’t understand this organization sometimes
How big a raise was this guy supposed to get? I find it VERY hard to believe they couldn’t have tendered him and then traded him(Like the O’s just did with iglesias) surely this guy has value and even if you can’t trade him right away, you’d almost certainly be able to deal him at some point before the trade deadline(barring injury of course) waste of prospect capital IMO to bring this guy in as a mere rental and re-couping nothing after a whopping 7.2 Innings Pitched! Only thing that makes any sense is the Reds know something about some injury concerns!