The Traders Arena Blog

Last year the Reds finished 5th in the NL Central with a 74-88 record. They finished a distant 5th, only the Pirates had a worse record than them. They are a team of young guns, meaning they could very well be good in the next coming years. They have some nice pitchers in Edinson Volquez, Jonny Cueto, and Homer Bailey. They also have some top notch young bats in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. They can be very promising in the next few years if this nucleus progresses and gains experience. They have made a few nice moves during this offseason. They picked up a nice lefty reliever in Arthur Rhodes. He will replace Jeremy Affedlt, who was the first free agent signed this year by another team. They recently signed Willy Taveras to play CF and traded away utility man Ryan Freel for a decent catcher in Ramon Hernandez. They did lose Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn last year in trades.

Here is their projected position players this year:

C: Ramon Hernandez: Recently acquired from the Orioles, Hernandez provides them with a nice veteran prescence. Last year he hit around .270 with 15 HR and 65 RBI. Not too bad pop for a catcher.

1B: Joey Votto: Runner up ROY to Geovany Soto, Votto has progressed nicely finally making the big leagues after 6 years in the minors.  The Canadian hit .297 with 24 HR and 84 RBI. He should improve even more and could be a 300/30/100 guy in the future.

2B: Brandon Phillips: Hard pressed to repeat his amazing 2007 season, Phillips regressed a bit hitting .261 with 20+ HR and 70+ RBI. He did steal 23 bases last year as well. Hopefully he can regain his stroke as he is their most important piece of their offense in my opinion.

SS: Alex Gonzalez: This vet has been around for a while, but did not play last year. His 2007 season was nice for a SS for 16 HR.Jeff Keppinger last year played decent there and is the infield backup.

3B: Edwin Encarnacion: Edwin has been talked about by many teams who are interested in trading for him.  He had a nice yearlast year hitting .251 with 25+ HR and 65+ RBI. He is only 25 and should raise that average a bit.

OF: Jay Bruce, Willy Taveras, Chris Dickerson: Now that Dunn and Griffey have been traded, their OF is very weak, but is promising with Jay Bruce there. He was the #1 prospect in the majors before his call up so he is expected to perform at a high level early and often. Taveras was just signed, probably not the best of signings, but he does provide a lot of speed for the Reds.

Here is their projected rotation and closer:

SP: Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Jonny Cueto, Homer Bailey/Micah Owings:  If Aaron Harang can get back to his 2007 form, this will not be too bad of a staff. Harang still can K a guy per inning and can pitch inning after inning. Volquez had an amazing rookie season, making the All Star team. He was traded for Josh Hamilton, but that was a deal that worked for both sides. Cueto also had a nice rookie year, and Arroyo is a good veteran pitcher. The #5 starter will be a mix of Owings and Bailey. Bailey did not perform but is still a highly rated prospect. Owings may get some time, not as a starter, but as a pinch hitter.

CL:  Francisco Cordero: The guy is lights out when he gets the save opportunities but they just don’t provide that many for him. They have a nice pen with Cordero, David Weathers, and the newly acquired Arthur Rhodes.

My expectations for this team: I think they may be able to get into 3rd or 4th place in the division but that may be stretching it. They are still behind the Cubs and Brewers. It will be tough to compete, but in a few years they could be the Rays of last year. They might be able to make it to .500 but I doubt that.

Tommorow’s Preview: Cleveland Indians

Trackback URI | Comments RSS