From John Fay’s blog:
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The Reds and Jonny Gomes’ representatives continue to talk.
“We’ll see what happens,†Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. “Hopefully, we can get something done this weekend.â€Â
If the Reds fail to sign Gomes, they may look elsewhere for a right-handed hitting outfielder.
“We were talking about that today,†Jocketty said. “We see the need as well. It’s something we might address later in spring with a trade or something.â€Â
Article goes on to mention Stubbs being the only RH OF lock to make the club, Balentien, Heisey, and Frazier are mentioned.
I keep going back and forth on this one. I like Gomes and want him here, but I also want to see what Balentein and Heisey and/or Frazier can do.
The team apparently had a major league offer on the table for Wang. I had been wanting to get the guy in here all winter. He’d make a nice 5th starter with his GB rate.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the team add a fifth starter or a RH LF. I’m surprised the Reds aren’t in on Dye. If they were going to move Bailey for him last season, you’d think that they could get him on a decent deal. His defense is awful but hard to imagine its much worse than Gomes. He wouldn’t look nice batting cleanup?
@david: CLEANUP?
In my opinion, Dye is toast. Or, well, he’s a veteran 4th or 5th outfielder now.
I would MUCH rather have Balentien or Dickerson out there every day… and Dye would cost a few million probably, whereas Balentien and Dickerson are cheap.
I am so SO glad we stayed away from that Bailey/Dye swap last year. Man… You just don’t trade a promising 23-year-old for a 36-year-old EVER. Not if you’re the Reds.
By the way, here are Dye’s month-by-month OPS’s from last year:
Jermaine Dye
April – .885 OPS
May – .900 OPS
June – 1.008 OPS
July – .771 OPS
Aug – .559 OPS
Sept – .619 OPS
I’d stay away at just about any cost. Rather give the time to Balentien, Dickerson, or even Gomes.
why are the reds so set against giving the young guys they have a chance? if they don’t sign gomes then let heisy,frazier or balintine have a shot.to bad if dusty doesn’t like them he is getting paid to win with the guys he has and if he can’t or won’t then get somebody else who will!
I like what Jocketty’s doing on this one, assuming it continues to play out this way. I’d like to see us hit ST with the roster we’ve got so we can see what we’ve got with the potential LF’s. If they look good/capable, we roll with what we’ve got. If it becomes readily evident that there is still a decent void, we call Gomes and see what he’s got.
It doesn’t appear people are knocking down his door to sign him, so I think the cards are in the Reds’ hands here. Also, it’s interesting to note that Jocketty may be exploring trade options as a serious avenue towards improving this year’s team.
Yeah, it gets me excited for this season.
Yeah, I’d stay away from Dye. He’s not an OF anymore, and he wouldn’t even be much of a DH at this point — not that the NL permits them anyway. Boggles the mind that, if the reports were true, the Reds would have traded Bailey for him if the White Sox hadn’t insisted on another player.
I’d hold firm on Gomes with a minor league deal, as well. I really like the guy, but I don’t know that he’d present the upgrade a lot of folks believe.
Gomes is a good platoon player to have around if you have lefty starters who can’t hit LHP. I would like Balentien to do that, but his average is worse than Dickerson or Bruce against them.
I too would hold firm on a minor league deal. They would basically be bidding against themselves. I think Heisey and/or Frazier will be ready next year, but both need more seasoning in the minors, most likely.
Besides you could always deal him at mid-season if Heisey and/or Frazier is ready.
Dye is pretty well done. His batting has been in steep decline and he has been one of, if not the worst defensive RF in baseball the last couple of years. Plus, he wants a major league deal, and reportedly outrageous money for what kind of player he is now. Basically asking for the same type of money as Damon. That is why just about everyone has barely even looked at him.
Also, I was firmly against the Bailey/Dye trade talks last year, and very, very happy it didn’t happen.
You know who would look good on our roster right about now… Cody Ross and Jorge Cantu… we let them both slip out of our hands for nothing.
I see no evidence that Jermaine Dye is a good fit. Just for reference, Dye projects to be about worth about 1 WAR and will cost money. Heisey projects to be be worth about 2.5 and is (essentially) free. I feel kind of the same way about Gomes. I just don’t think he’s better than the in-house options.
I was all in favor of bringing Gomes back, but at this point it looks like the Reds played it correctly. Because of the option situation I still think Balentien starts the year with the big club. If Gomes signs a minor league deal, he would be in line if Balentien struggles. If not, after a month or two Heisney or Frazier (although I would much rather see in him stay in the IF) could be ready and maybe Balentien slips past waivers if they have to demote him after a poor start. I do not think he would make it now.
I have to defend Dye here.
While after the break his slash line was brutal (.179/.293/.297), before the break his slash line was an impressive .302/.375/.567. So what happened? It’s really too hard to say, could have been injury, an extended slump, or he’s just losing his timing. The latter seems unlikely as the guy can clearly still hit judging by his .942 OPS prior to the break.
His HR:FB rate was in line with his career numbers. His K:BB rate is in line with his career numbers. The only thing that jumps of the chart as odd is his line drive rate is down and his flyball rate is up.
I think he rebounds well above his projected .815 OPS, especially if he’s in the tiny confines of Cincy.
His defense is bad, clearly. My questions are 1) how much worse than Gomes who everyone still (for whatever reason) loves? 2) does a switch to LF improve his metrics? 3) Does playing next to plus defenders in Stubbs and Bruce improve his metrics?
Looking at the numbers, is he heads and shoulders better than Gomes? No. However, I’d much rather have Dye than Gomes hitting 4th.
FWIW, Chicago ESPN has White Sox about to sign Damon.
Comiskey Park or whatever it’s called nowadays isn’t exactly a pitcher’s paradise, so the GABP effect wouldn’t be quite as extreme. And, while I’m certainly no expert, a loss of line drive power and an increased flyball rate sounds like what happens when guys lose their bat speed. No way would I offer him a guaranteed ML contract.
I finally gave up on Damon once I saw that Detroit offered something like $14 million over two years. The Reds can’t (and shouldn’t) compete with that.
I don’t think there’s any truth to that number, maybe with incentives and deferred money. The Sox are closing in on Damon and they reportedly have an offer in the $4.5 million range.