Cincinnati Reds '09; Free Agency.

Question

Now that the Reds are pretty much out of it. Who do you think they should go after in free agency?

And what do you think their lineup should look like next year?

Only serious answers please, please don't answer to just make fun of the Reds lousy season.

Answer 1

Mark Texiera

Answer 2

They need to get a better catcher and better pitching.  They have some nice young players already and now they need to resign Dunn.  I just hope they are willing to put out the money to field a good team for next season so they can contend instead of pretending each year and finally get to the playoffs after many years of losing.  

Answer 3

I pretty much agree with " pipersgator " except for the shortstop position. Alex Gonzales is better than Felipe Lopez if he ever recovers from surgery and becomes healthy again. They don't need Lopez...

Answer 4

Well they probably will do very little of this but I would.

I would allow Dunn to leave, as well as many other F/A's the Reds might lose.

2ndly we need another A tier pitcher, Ben Sheets should be a prioroty for the Reds.

Next a Right handed power bat is needed, so maybe a switch hitter like Texiera, IDK alot of the F/A coming out this season but Felipe Lopez and Paul Lo Duca wouldn't work out because that's the same stuff the Reds always do.  

CF. Ryan Freel

SS Jeff Keppinger

2B Brandon Phillops

RF Mark Texiera (or move Votto)

LF Jay Bruce

3B Edwin Encarnacion

1B Joey Votto

C Paul Bako

P Ben Sheets, Edison Volquez, Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey or Darryl Thompson give 1 a serious shot.

Answer 5

Well if you're going to lose Dunn, you've gotta sign Manny. He may be getting up there in age, but he can still hit, and honestly, can his defense be worse than Dunn's? It's a good move if you want to drive in runs, it's a good move for marketing purposes, I just don't see why the Reds wouldn't pursue him.... In addition, how sweet would it be to burn the Brewers by signing one of Sheets and Sabathia?!? Can you imagine that rotation?

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If you want Lo Duca/Lopez, you can just sign them now, the Nats released them. If you really had confidence in them, you could probably have them cheap... 1.5 mil or less a year I'd say.

Answer 6

OK, Adam Dunn needs to be here for another 5 to 7 years so he will be in the 500 to 600 homerun club.  My problem with getting Paul Lo Duca is that the Nationals droped him tonight and he is an aging catcher, but he has had a good arm for a long time and can call a good game, unlike the catchers we have now.  EE needs to leave ! could Mark Teixeira be here in 09' as the powerful switched handed 1st baseman that we are in need of, maybe give him a 3 year contract of 15 million per year that would give our top draft pick Yonder Alonso just the right amount of time to come up ! But do we move Votto to 3rd or left ???????

I agree with the for mentioned that Ben Sheets has to be the prize of our off season give him huge money and then watch everyone from the top.......

with f/a                                           with out f/a

c- ryan hannigan/ lo duca                 hannigan/ ross

1- mark teixiera                               votto

2-brandon phillips                            phillips

ss- ceasar iszturis                          keppinger

3- votto/ casy blake                        ee

lf-dunn                                          dunn

cf-bruce                                        hariston jr

rf-blake                                         bruce

bench

harriston jr                                     freel

keppinger                                      ross

ee                                                 javier

lo duca                                         ????

starters

sheets                                         harang

harang                                          arroyo

volquez                                        volquez

cueto                                          cueto

arroyo                                         thompson

first name(s) are with free agents

no homer bailey hahahahaha;}

well what do ya think? to me it screams 90 to 100 wins                                

Answer 7

I'm a lifelong Reds fan, lucky enough to grow up in The Big Red Machine era.  First, I re-sign Adam Dunn. They have no one in the minors to replace his numbers and getting someone like that in free agency will cost as much or more than resigning Dunn.  I go after a right-handed power hitter to compliment Dunn and balance the lefty-heavy lineup. And I look for a starting center fielder and catcher, either via trade or free agency.  Also, never turn away decent pitching.  I don't think the Reds are that far from contending. Just a couple more pieces...