The Reds should have let Phillips walk rather than sign him to that deal. That would have freed up money to pursue a few good free agents and saved the money for the resigning of the up-and-comers (like Homer Bailey). That is exactly what the Cardinals did in letting Pujos walk and signing Beltran + drafting Wacha. You never want to get stuck in a Ryan Howard type of contract. I guess that is why we are the Reds and they are the Cardinals.
I disagree, now you can get someone to trade for him. While Wacha has worked out nicely, draft picks aren't a very sure thing in baseball. Trade Phillips for a good outfielder or shortstop, or even 2 top prospects and your chances are much better. Even though he had a down year, idiots like the Dodgers, Braves,Yankees, etc. would definitely be willing to give up a lot to get him. If we trade him, we can sign that Cuban kid for a lot less than we would have to pay Brandon. Heck, we might have enough to re-sign Choo if we did that. The Cards are smart not to overpay, but why not sign a guy and then when he is still good enough to get high value but not quite as good as he used to be, trade him. Also, Homer Bailey isn't an up and comer. At this point, he is what he is. He is very good, but I don't think he will be a number one starter. Latos is a bulldog and he is and will continue to become great. If I were the Reds, I would keep Cueto right until I thought Stephenson was close to being ready, and then ship him off for hitting/good prospects.
Bailey will come up for a contract soon and the Reds would be wise to re-sign him for a decent amount. My point was, it will be much harder to trade Phillips now that he has this bad contract already. It is also difficult to trade him during the season since the Reds have been pretty good the past few years. I believe in developing players and signing them to 1 good deal (like with Bruce, 6 years 60 million) and when they come up for a second contract, either trade them or let them walk and develop a guy to step in. That is how the Rays have been so successful over the past few years.
BP contract is longer than 2 years. It has at least 4 years left. He signed for 50 mil. uggla has two years for 26mil. Article also mentioned a top prospect coming to reds as well.I wouldn't imagine the Reds to have any interest in Uggla. Most overpaid player in baseball. Why would they downgrade at a position and not even save payroll? Phillips average was down, but he was asked to hit in the four hole most of the year and he did so with great success. 100 RBI's is nothing to slouch at and he's still a gold glove fielder. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see the Reds move Phillips, but I would be surprised to see them move him for Uggla. I for one think the Reds would be dumb to move Phillips unless it was a package deal with someone and you get a bona fide stud hitter/pitcher. Another thing is if you move Phillips, then who plays 2nd base? You will not find anybody to replace his production and save money. Period. Uggla hit .233, .220 and .179 the past three seasons. He does have some pop and has a good glove, but so does Phillips. Uggla hit 4 more homers than Phillips and had 48 less RBI this past season, not to mention hit .179 vs. .261. He's due 13 million each of the next two years, Brandon is 11 and 12 million the next two years. If I were the Braves I would be interested in making that trade as well.
BP contract is longer than 2 years. It has at least 4 years left. He signed for 50 mil. uggla has two years for 26mil. Article also mentioned a top prospect coming to reds as well.
BP contract is longer than 2 years. It has at least 4 years left. He signed for 50 mil. uggla has two years for 26mil. Article also mentioned a top prospect coming to reds as well.
I would really like to get Mattingly in here for an interview...
Looks like Price it is...they have to fire Jacoby next...
Ummm...you're about 20 points off...Brandon is a career .271 hitter. That said, he's normally stellar in the field, one of the best in the game. He's hit as low as this year only once before as a Red, in 2008. He just had an off year - although he knocked in over 100. I think he'll be better in 2014.True, but my point is he's not saving us money in the short term and would be a serious downgrade. Plus, he's been a headache to his teams as well. I get that the media and thus the fans hate BP now because he cussed out Rosecrans and complained about the time it took to sign him and that his average dropped to .261 this year, but he still hit better than most of our roster and drove in 103 runs. The fans in this town suck sometimes and this is one of them. There is absolutely no way to replace his value on this team, short of going out and giving Cano $28 million a year and that won't happen. Phillips is a career .290 hitter, is arguably the best glove in the game at 2nd base and gets along with his teammates. I could do without his mouth here and there, but at least he's honest about how he feels. We cling to Freedom of Speech until somebody says something we don't like. The Reds would be stupid to trade Brandon Phillips as long as they are in a position to win right now, which they are. I think a new manager and hitting coach and an honest address from management/ownership confirming their belief in him and also telling him he needs to shut his mouth is all BP needs. He wants to play, he wants to be a good teammate and do what's best for the team and he wants to win.
Ummm...you're about 20 points off...Brandon is a career .271 hitter. That said, he's normally stellar in the field, one of the best in the game. He's hit as low as this year only once before as a Red, in 2008. He just had an off year - although he knocked in over 100. I think he'll be better in 2014.
Looks like Price it is...they have to fire Jacoby next...
Hopefully he is smart enough to bat Votto second, it was getting comical with Dusty...
Votto has no business batting second. Third is the perfect spot for him. He is your best hitter and an on-base guy. The problem is he doesn't have speed. If he has guys on base ahead of him, especially guys with speed, then he can hit them over (or walk them over) or knock them in. Batting him third keeps him ahead of your power guys at fourth and fifth, assuming we have power guys. If you bat him second, then he can clog up the base paths. If the argument is he's your best on-base percentage guy then the argument would be to bat him lead-off. Which everyone would argue he doesn't have the speed for. I would bat him fourth before I'd bat him second. But third is perfect. Perfect scenario would be for Cozart to be an on-base guy and he could bat second. Within that perfect scenario of course we would need a legitimate lead-off guy. I'd love to see us re-sign Choo and in the future I hope Hamilton can be that guy. You get two guys that can get on-base ahead of Votto, then he can do his thing and the run producerss can knock them in behind him.
