Reds Bullpen Rumors
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:48 am
The East Valley Tribune mentions the Reds today in the D-Backs Notebook under the subheading More Jorge:
Asked if he wants to be a closer, Julio has a one-word answer: “Yeah.â€
Yet Julio, a part-time closer for the D-Backs last season but behind Jose Valverde this spring, said he is not fazed by reports that teams in need of a closer – Florida, San Francisco, Cincinnati – have scouted him this spring.
“I don’t care. I play baseball. I want to play baseball. It is just a rumor,†Julio said.
The D-Backs have scouted Florida and could have an interest in Marlins’ 22-year-old right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, obtained by the Marlins from the Mets two years ago. Petit struggled in the Marlins’ bullpen last season, his first in the majors, but has a strong minor league track record.
The D-Backs will not pay any of Julio’s $3.6 million salary this season if traded, making Cincinnati an unlikely trading partner.
I'm glad to hear that the Reds are still checking out their options, though the bullpen situation doesn't seem too bad to me. I'm a little baffled by the author's assertion that the price tag would take the Reds out of the equation. Florida is another of the listed teams, after all. Personally, I've known the Reds to spend way too much for relief pitching.
In other news, Rheal Cormier's name comes up in a story in this morning's Seattle Times Newspaper. JJ Putz is suffering elbow stiffness, and the author is nonplused about the prospect of bringing Cormier in as a stopgap:
The names that have been linked to those teams in trade rumors include San Francisco's Armando Benitez, Arizona's Jorge Julio, San Diego's Scott Linebrink, Washington's Chad Cordero and Texas' Akinori Otsuka. Other pitchers who could be available are Rheal Cormier and Byung-Hyun Kim, neither of whom are too inspiring.
I'm not sure what the Mariners would have to offer in exchange for Cormier anyway, since the Reds are in a position to buy, not sell, pitching right now. I imagine Krivsky is on the lookout for a lefty outfielder. Or they could flash that $3.6 million and get Julio. We could probably be convinced to part with Cormier for that.
I don’t know if this was mentioned in either of the two subsequent game threads or not, but on Monday, Shackelford and Salmon were optioned to Louisville, and over the weekend, there was Narron gushing to the press about how Rule 5 guy Jared Burton has the best “stuff” of anybody in the Reds’ bullpen.
If that’s the case, I’m sure the Reds don’t relish the thought of sending him back to Oakland. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if they trade Cormier for a sack of used baseballs just to open a slot in the pen.
Me, I’d trade him to Seattle for a PTBNL and an autographed picture of Enrique Romo and call Shack or Salmon back up.
FWIW, right now I’m thinking Hermanson, Stanton, Weathers, Coffey, Bray, Burton, and Saarloos in the pen, and Harang, Arroyo, Milton, Lohse, and Belisle in the rotation. I think the Reds would have loved for Livingston to win that #5 slot so they would have a second southpaw in the rotation, but it’s really hard for me to imagine anybody but Belisle getting that slot right now, the way he’s pitched this spring.
HMZ