Congratulations to KC2HMZ, the winner of our Dick Pole Limerick Contest. His entry, below, garnered four votes. Not bad for my first poll:

There once was an old coach named Dick
Who could teach pitchers wonderful tricks
But he'd barter his soul
To achieve his true goal:
A name that did not suggest pricks.

For winning the contest, HMZ will receive an autographed copy of the increasingly out-of-date Funnyball, a freebie bumper sticker that I picked up at the Reds Caravan stop in Indy last year, some matchbooks that are technically illegal to mail, and a small amount of rhinovirus, since I'm home sick with the sniffles today.

So, as of today, we've got a new poll. This one asks “Which new Red will help the team the most?” Choices include Bubba Crosby, Alex Gonzalez, Lack of Jason LaRue, and Jeff Brantley. See the right-sidebar to vote.

The official press releases on three player moves are now posted to the Reds' official website:

Alex Gonzalez, SS, and Mike Stanton, P, are signed to free agent contracts. The official press releases state “terms of the deal were not disclosed”.

However, the deal for Gonzalez is being reported as threee years, $14 million with a $6 million mutual option for a fourth year (and a $500,000 buyout). The deal for Stanton is being reported as two years, $5.5 million, with a vesting option for 2009.

The third deal is Jason LaRue to Kansas City for two minor league mascots and an autographed picture of Jim Sundberg.

Just kidding. It's LaRue to the Royals for a player to be named later. Some reports say no cash was involved, others say the Reds included an undisclosed amount of cash in the deal. If I had to guess, the deal LaRue signed under previous GM O'Brien was a two-year, $9.1 million contract. Since he was traded after Oct. 15, his 2007 salary would jump from $5.2 million to $5.45 million. My best guess would be that the Reds might have made up the difference. And, presumably this cements Javy Valentin's position as the backup to David Ross, which ought to brighten RHM's day.

Anyway, it's official - in with Gonzo and Stanton and out with LaRue. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sit back and wait for RHM to post something on these moves before I comment further. After all, it's her blog. :-)

HMZ

Marc says (and a Royals press release confirms) that the Reds have traded Jason LaRue to Kansas City for a player to be named later:

According to a baseball source, the Reds are on the verge of trading catcher Jason LaRue to the Kansas City Royals. The Reds will receive a player to be named later. No cash involved in the deal.

Of course you know I favored the idea of trading David Ross for something over trading LaRue for nothing, but without knowing what the demand was for Ross, it's hard to complain. Anyway, I supposed that could still happen. Probably not, though, because Krivsky has already demonstrated an obvious distaste for anyone he didn't personally bring into the organization.

The good news: LaRue gets to hang with Luke Hudson again. We at RHM wish LaRue the best of luck.

Marc and others are citing a report on FOX Sports that the Reds will announce a deal with left-handed reliever Mike Stanton:

The Reds, moving to reinforce their bullpen, have reached agreement on a two-year contract with free-agent left-hander Mike Stanton, FOXSports.com has learned.

The deal, pending a physical, will include a vesting option for a third season.

Stanton, 39, pitched for both the Nationals and Giants last season, finishing with a 3.99 ERA in 672/3 innings.

A two year contract for a 39-year old pitcher? I know he's left-handed, but gosh. And does this mean the Reds will discontinue trying to sign Scott Schoeneweis? He is the devil we know, after all.

Marc also mentions another FOX report that the Cubs are close to finalizing a deal with Alfonso Soriano:

Soriano, 30, is believed to be seeking an eight-year deal for approximately $17 million per season, which could put the total value of his package in the range of $135 million.

A MLB source told the Associated Press on Sunday afternoon that the two sides had reached a preliminary agreement on a deal that is contingent on Soriano passing a physical.

Soriano AND Marquis? Those Cubs are out of control!