Pouring Whiskey from a Bottle of Wine
By
Amanda
Posted at 12:01 pm
The Los Angeles Times suspects that the Reds will be interested in recently DFA'd Jeff Weaver:
Stoneman will have even less leverage in trade talks for Weaver, who is expected to draw interest from several National League clubs, including the Dodgers, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and San Diego.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune thinks that Maddux could help round out the Reds' rotation:
In his last 12 starts, Maddux is 2-8 with a 6.72 ERA. He's not the guy a contender is going to want at the front of its rotation. But he could help a lot of teams round out a group of starters, with a chance to become a difference-maker if he gets 10 to 12 starts down the stretch.
…
While teams like Texas and Minnesota could use him, Maddux's value would appear to be greater in the National League, where he has spent his whole career. It's questionable how well his repertoire of finesse pitches would hold up against American League lineups. But for teams like the Dodgers, Padres, Cardinals, Reds or Brewers, he could be a key addition.
Don't get me wrong; I have faith in the talent-evaluation ability of Wayne Krivsky. It's the pool of talent he has to evaluate that I'm concerned about.
Well, at least Weaver has talent, which is more than Joe Mays can say. Maddux…well, if he’s free, I might consider an audition. But the guy is finally starting to pitch like his age…
Weaver is an extreme flyball pitcher. It wouldn’t be a good idea to bring him in. I don’t like Maddux, but I’d certainly take him.
Jeff Weaver is no where near an extreme flyball pitcher. His GB/FB for the last 5 years is:
1.25
1.19
1.01
1.06
1.03
And outside of the last 2 seasons, he has not allowed an excessive amount of home runs (his HR/9 is 1.07 even including these last two seasons). If someone within the Reds can tell what he is doing now to have caused his HR/FB % to 2005 and 2006, then I would say they should take a shot on him, especially if they can get him cheap. However, I would not go for him and then hope to fix him, they need to have a plan for what he needs to work on right away.
As for Maddux, I don’t think it will happen unless the Cubs desperately want Quinton McCracken….come to think of it, it might actually happen.
I don’t want someone who’s a chance at all. I want a sure-thing. This bolstering of the roster is a reward for a first-half well-played; the appropriate gift is not something out of the junk pile, even if it’s not as junky as the other stuff in the pile.
Problem is, I don’t know if that sure-thing exists. I just hope that Krivsky will continue to work his magic.
I still love Weaver, despite his mis-adventure in Anaheim. He is better in the NL — he is a god hitter, good fielder, and most importantly it is well-known he peaks towards the middle of the season. I’ll take him if the price is right. But let’s face it, right now, the bullpen is the 31 major concern. Even Coffey looks bad right now. How about Guillermo Mota from the Indians… this guy has real nasty stuff and used to set up Eric Gagne when Gagne was the best closer in baseball.
I agree with your point RHM, but it is the nature of this time a year that sometimes you have to take a risk. Krivsky has been successful on a couple of other risks this year and right now if he believe that Weaver is worth the risk, I will believe him. He has earned my trust in such a short time.
Even a starting pitcher bolsters the bullpen, because if we can add a good starter Mays and/or Claussen can drop into the bullpen and whomever stinks the most at that time can drop out. It would be nice to have a long reliever again.
OK, after looking around a bit I’m now ready to offer some suggestions, as RHM asked in another thread a few days ago (you asked for it, RHM, so here it comes).
I’ll begin with starting pitchers. Among the names who might be available are the aforementioned Maddux and Weaver, Corey Lidle, Shawn Chacon, Scott Elarton, Mark Redman, Livan Hernandez, Tony Armas Jr., Dontrelle Willis, Rodrigo Lopez, and Bruce Chen…with outside shots given to a few guys at AAA such as Josh Towers (who fell on his face in Toronto earlier this season and wound up back in the minors) and Jason Hirsch (who keeps racking up quality starts for the Astros’ AAA team in Round Rock).
Out of that bunch, I think the guys who might be the best fit for the Reds might be one of the two Royals’ guys (Elarton and Redman), or one of the two Orioles guys (Chen and Lopez). None of those guys would break the bank salary-wise and could fill a back-of-the-rotation slot for a contender such as the Reds, allowing Mays or Claussen to drop into a long relief role.
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However, I happen to believe that the best way to fix the bullpen is to bring in help for the bullpen, rather than relying on a trickle-down effect by adding a starter. After all, if the starters who drop into the pen after losing their starting slots were all that great, they’d still be starting.
There are several relievers in the rumor mill. Tom Gordon, the Phillies’ closer, is the most interesting, with Rheal Cormier, Aaron Fultz and Arthur Rhodes also possible trade bait. OTOH, Philly GM Pat Gillick isn’t known as “Stand Pat” for no reason.
One possibility that I like is the Pirates’ Roberto Hernandez. He’s 41 and has a 2.43 ERA in 37 innings. He’s on a one-year, $2.75 million deal. His teammate, Saloman Torres also a possibility but has been used heavily in the first half. I just like Hernandez, he’s a competitor and I think he’d bring something to this bullpen.
Cliff Pollitte has struggled and spent time on DL but has a proven track record and a WS ring with the White Sox.
The Twins have Kyle Lohse pitching out of pen since his return from AAA, and he’s very expendable in Minnesota, but he wound up going back to the minors for a reason.
The Cubs might eventually be willing to deal guys like setup men Bob Howry and Scott Eyre. But the guy in Chicago who interests me the most is somebody Reds fans are already familiar with – Scott Williamson, who is healthy again and in his final contract year.
Some of the other names that you’ll see the rumor mill spit out in the coming weeks are guys I think the Reds would be well advised to stay as far away from as possible. These include Odalis Perez, Bob Wickman, and Jon Lieber. Personally, I’d put Lidle in that category too, I saw enough of him his last time with the Reds. Tony Armas Jr. (who I mentioned above) always seems to be one pitch away from the DL (like Wood and Prior in Chicago), while Willis and Hernandez would probably demand too high a price in terms of what the Reds would have to trade away in order to obtain them.
So FWIW, that’s my suggestion – bring back Williamson, and get Hernandez from the Pirates.
John (HMZ)
Ugh, no more old guys.
Hernandez of the Pirates – I’ve been saying that for weeks now! I think they owe us a player anyway, given that we gave them Casey for nothing.
Aaron Fultz – I’d like to see him in our pen. Williamson wouldn’t be a bad addition, either, and the rumors about the trade are flying.
ESPN is reporting that the Cardinals have traded a minor league outfielder for Jeff Weaver.
Whew. Now if the Reds can just hold off the Brewers, I can rest really well tonight.
Trouble is, the Reds don’t need on bullpener. They don’t need two. They need the whole thing. Could Mr. Castellini go get us a whole bullpen?
And throw in a starter while he’s at it?