The Cincinnati Reds have acquired right-handed pitcher Luis Cessa and left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson from the New York Yankees in a trade. The Reds will be sending a player to be named later to complete the deal. Cincinnati also announced that pitchers Ashton Goudeau and Edgar García have been designated for assignment.
There’s a lot going on here, so let’s address this all player by player.
Luis Cessa
The 29-year-old is in his 6th season at the big league level. He’s currently posting the best ERA of his life with a 2.82 ERA through 38.1 innings this season with the Yankees. He’s allowed 31 hits, just two home runs, but he’s also walked 17 batters and struck out just 31. Cessa is a high-ish walk rate, low strikeout rate, big time ground ball pitcher. His current ground ball rate is 57%, which is 19th best among 162 qualified relievers in baseball this season.
Looking at his Statcast data for the season we can see that he’s among the best in the league when it comes to average exit velocity allowed (89% percentile), hard hit rate (92nd percentile), and he’s also quite strong in barrel rate allowed (83rd percentile). Guys make contact against him often enough, but they don’t seem to make good contact frequently.
Despite being a reliever he’s a 4-pitch guy. He throws his slider 60% of the time and throws it in the low-80’s. He will also throw both a 4-seam (93.5 MPH) and a 2-seam (92.8 MPH) fastball, and he’ll mix in a change up to left-handed hitters (he hasn’t thrown one to a righty all year).
Luis Cessa has had more success against left-handed hitters this year. He’s held lefties to a .161/.217/.304 line in 61 plate appearances against him. Right-handed hitters haven’t been good, though, posting a .256/.354/.302 line against him on the season.
He’s making $1,050,000 this season and is arbitration eligible in both 2022 and 2023 before he would become a free agent following that season.
Justin Wilson
For as good as Luis Cessa has been, Justin Wilson has struggled. After posting a 3.26 ERA for multiple teams in 204 games from 2017-2020, Wilson is currently sporting a 7.50 ERA for the Yankees in 21 games. He’s allowed five home runs in just 18.0 innings this season after suppressing the long ball for the rest of his career. The 33-year-old lefty has given up 18 hits and walked nine batters to go along with 15 strikeouts this season.
A part of the reason he could be struggling is that his velocity is down from last season. His fastball has dropped off 1.5 MPH. So has his cutter. The cutter is still getting good results with opponents hitting .125 against it (3-24 on the season when making contact and all three hits were singles). But opponents are crushing his fastball, hitting .333 and slugging .800 against the pitch. Perhaps going to a more cutter heavy approach, a Wade Miley like approach, could be very beneficial here. Currently he’s throwing his fastball 66% of the time and his cutter just 29% of the time. His slider rarely shows up – throwing it just 5% of the time.
He’s found more success against righties this year, but success probably isn’t the right word given that hitters are hitting .220/.316/.540 against him on the season. Lefties are posting a .318/.400/.545 line against him and he’s struck out just three of the 25 left-handed hitters he’s faced this season.
Wilson is currently making $2,850,000 this season. He has a $7.15M team option, or a $2.3M player option for the 2022 season. There is also a $1.15M buyout on the player option according to Baseball Reference.
Ashton Goudeau and Edgar García
Ashton Goudeau has been the Reds go-to from Triple-A when they need a warm body at the big league level since he was acquired in early May. He pitched in five games for the Reds and allowed four runs in 9.0 innings. Most of his time was spent in Triple-A Louisville with the Bats.
Edgar García just pitched on Tuesday night for Cincinnati against the Cubs. It didn’t go well as he allowed two solo home runs in the 9th inning and recorded just one out. His ERA with the big league club in five appearances was 16.62. Like Goudeau, much of his time this season was with the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
Updated on August 30th
The Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees have completed their trade from July that brought Cincinnati relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson. Minor League pitcher Jason Parker was sent to the New York Yankees on August 30th as the player to be named later in the deal. For more information on Parker you can read about him here.
I guess only time will tell us if either of these guys are really an improvement or whether the Reds have just added a couple of new deck chairs to shuffle when the ship takes a list.
i think this move may be a morale booster more than anything. for the players (and the fans). this year has been like a grueling heavyweight fight. we have taken a lot of hits and our legs are wobbly but we are still swinging, trying to win the fight. i appreciate ownership at least giving it a try.
There is going to have to be significant moves made in the BP with these two along with Antone, Sims, Lorenzen and Warren all entering the picture soon. That is 6 new pitchers with only 7 slots total. Hendrix can be optioned to AAA and probably will be. Garcia and Goudeau(sp?) are two more. Osich is another. That is 4 which leaves 2 more. Of course all the injured aren’t returning at the same time and more trades could occur. There might be some outright releases.
There are.
Cessa looks like a decent pickup, Wilson could be decent if he flips his fastball/cutter usage.
But more importantly, this trade is a signal the Reds intend to go for it this year. Well, chips are down, better bring in some more pieces before the deadline. I just hope they don’t trade away any of their future in hopes of making the playoffs with what is basically a pretty mediocre team. This team is not a piece or two away from being a championship team, but they MIGHT be a piece or two away from being a playoff team. Maybe.
ugh, I dunno… I guess I just get sick of idea that this isnt a good enough team to “go for it” with. I want my team to go for it, I’d hate rooting for a team that just sells all their pieces every year there’s a sniff of trouble. Try justifying that to the players, I’d love to hear how that conversation goes.
They don’t have to trade a Greene for a marginal upgrade like Story, I’m sure there’s more creative moves like Cessa they can pull off that have some future return. Their biggest need is some bullpen arms, and that really doesn’t sound that hard to do. Good on the Reds if they pawn some prospects for this team IMO.
“I’d hate rooting for a team that just sells all their pieces every year there’s a sniff of trouble”
I should probably add that I realize this isnt what youre suggesting, though I’ve seen it occasionally on here this year. We probably agree that the Reds shouldnt trade from the top of their prospect list, but I’m not against it if they do.
these 2 along with a healthy antone,sims and lorenzen should be ok.
2020 – “Their biggest need is some bullpen arms, and that really doesn’t sound that hard to do”.
To the contrary, most every contending team is looking for bullpen help. Lots of competition for very few arms.
A PTBNL is usually a younger prospect correct? Not someone like Akiyama correct?
Yeah, there’s almost no chance the player to be named later is anyone on the big league roster, or likely even the 40-man roster.
Thanks
Yeah, I’ve been wondering if the PTBNL could conditionally tie into another deal that may or may not eventually get made. The Reds took on a fair amount of money here and thus shouldn’t need to give up much unless there is a tie in down the line with something else.
Yeah. Seems like that very well could be.
Since Akiyama was mentioned, for example, Reds take on money now to help Yanks. Yanks at some point take Akmiyama off the Reds books for 2022 with a another player also going their way to balance the difference.
Seems like that makes more sense.
I just figured it was either a guy we just drafted or an option of several players with some upside. I have my money on a 2021 draftee.
well…I dunno. It looks mostly like a salary dump by the yanks, so maybe its just a list of some wildcards. I could see either.
Yankees trying to clear salary and 40 man roster space. They are over the luxury tax threshold and they don’t want to pay the tax- or at least minimize it for this year. Young Steinbrenner runs it like a business. Go reds!
I think this trade is a win for both sides. The Reds get a good reliever in Cessa and the Yanks get rid of Wilson. If Akiyama is the player to be named, the Reds get rid of a burdensome contract, and the Yankees get a fleet footed centerfielder. Naquin/Aquino can share center and hit as the DH occasionally. This should work for the Reds if Castellanos stays, and eventually a prospect can take over centerfield.
I’m wincing and holding my breath hoping the Reds haven’t over paid with a prospect in this
Trades with the Yankees have not gone well for the Reds in recent history. Perhaps Krall is a different story in deal making.
Let’s hope so
Sonny Gray has some questions about your statement.
Oh wow… I am shocked to be honest…. These guys both have pretty good track records even though Wilson has had a little more of a rough year thus far. Derek Johnson come work your magic. Could it be something similar to Sunny Gray leaving New York and this guy just starts performing better under Johnson’s magic pitching advise.
I don’t care what anyone says these two are improvements statistically over what we had before. They have solid track records that’s a huge plus in my book. I don’t know that this will be it for us and I am super surprised that Castellani kept to his word to go get some pitching if we needed it. We sure did need it! We even took on a fair chunk of money in this deal too. I love that we have these guys for more than half a season too. Nick whatever you said to Bob … Nice job man. nice job. I feel like this is a nice acquisition that doesn’t hurt the future of the team at all.
Go Reds!
A significant step in the right direction. Go Reds!
Could you imagine if we got 1 more pretty good reliever like this our bullpen would be much improved.
Praying Milwaukee doesn’t get anyone really good.
DJ could work his magic with Wilson Cessna on the other hand is ready to go today. If this is the first of many moves then this is a great move if it’s the only move the red lied
Quite frankly what has the great DJ done with the bullpen. If he is such a miracle worker, where are the miracles pitching. Don’t think performance has matched reputation.
It looks to me that the Reds took Wilson (and his salary) just to get Cessna. Unless Derek Johnson can “fix” him quickly, he’s got some competition for the last spot in an 8 man bullpen when the guys on the DL return.
Antone
Sims
Lorenzen
Cessna
Garrett
Hembree
Hoffman
And then……Wilson, Brach, Santillan, Doolittle, Osich, Feliz competing for that 8th spot.
While Santillan can be optioned, he’s currently the best of the bunch.
IRM to IRF))
I agree on Wilson. I didn’t even know he was still pitching. He reminds me of Doolittle. Really nothing but fb’s and once they lose a little velocity then its pretty tough sailing
Cessa is pretty good though! 2 hrs in 38 innings is unbelievable in Yankee Stadium. He can go 40+ pitches too and Bell doesn’t seem to have anyone that can go 2-3 innings normally.
You forgot Warren which is easy to do, but he’s got good stuff. Personally I’d like to see Lorenzen get back and put up some innings. They might be able to resign him if the price is right. I always thought he could be better then he is, but he’s always trying to test a new pitch or something. Sometimes less is more. Just throw the power sinker and quit walking guys.
Good pickups, well, depending on if no one in our top 30 left. Which I’d doubt. Seemed like more of a move the Yankees were willing to make to make room on their roster and get rid of some of the money so they can make a bigger trade. Probably for a Story or Gallo. With the bullpen aside.. Adam Frazier started in left field in his Pads debut last night which gets me thinking why the Reds don’t give Alejo the shot to start in the outfield. He could be the literal same player Frazier is for the Padres. Get who gets on base in front of our big guys. Or could hit behind them to get them in. Kid deserves better imo.
Definitely didn’t mean to do that as a reply, my bad.
Brach, Doolittle, Osich should be let go.
Hendrix needs to go back down and find an effective alternative to his fast ball.
Doubt Lorenzen will be back this year.
Santillan and maybe Felix should be in the bull pen. Does not sound like Wilson is any better than Osich
Wilson has been around a long time. I remember him well with the Cubs. He’s nothing great but CERTAINLY better than Osich. I agree about Lorenzen. Not expecting to get anything out of him this year. And Hendrix has no business being in the major leagues at this point, just like Garcia.
Reds need major bullpen re-structuring so not bad to improve now and improve for 2022. Seems the Reds are helping the Yankees avoid the luxury tax and allows them to make more moves prior to the deadline.
Win-win.
A good move. An improved bullpen could be around the corner with closer by committee.
You take your best 7 + Greene or Lodolo next year. Bell would then have plenty of guys to get 6-9 outs on any given night. He could use one of the stud rookies as an opener or when the matchup is right. SD does it now with Ryan Weathers (David Weathers kid) and Tampa does it. Greene/Lodolo/Ashcraft could put up 150 innings combined next year. The pitching could be really strong!
Antone,Cessna,Santillan,Sims +latest iteration of good veteran trying to re-estab;ishHH/or healthy Lorenzen is a reasonable BP from the right side.
Garrett can be secondary piece from the left side and with the Wilson likely to pick up player options at 2.3 mil he should be another lefty.
Still need a shutdown good lefty.
I assume you mean 150 combined innings at the ML level and letting them get their other innings at AAA?
I was surprised and happy to wake up to this trade. Both are good additions to the bullpen. Cessa automatically becomes the most reliable arm until everyone is healthy. Wilson, even with his struggles this year, is a lefty upgrade to Osich and Doolittle.
Typically, is a PTBNL a highly-rated prospect? Or are those guys usually in the 20-30+ range?
They are rarely anyone of substance. Low minors lottery ticket maybe.
Antone
Sims
Hembree
Warren
Cessa
Lorenzen
Santillan
Garrett
Brach
Let me show you the door Doolittle, Osich, Hendrix,Garcia,Alaniz,Hoffman
Yup. Although I’d like to see Hoffman in a few more 1 inning stints where he lets it fly before holding onto Brach. Seems to be more upside there.
I’m happy they acquired help for basically nothing, but the team needed help 2 months (all season) ago, and they waited until June 28th.
Yeah. Hope it’s not too late. Should make it more fun either way.
I was worried after I saw the Mariners (9 games over .500 and a game out of the last AL wild card) dump their best reliever (Graveman) and another quality RP in Montero for nothing to a division rival! Sure the rest of the team and their fans are not real happy today. When I saw that I thought no way we make a deal but for once I was wrong. Of course, might be a little too late considering where we stand currently behind the Brewers and Padres. Padres added a very good 2B this week and of course one of the pickups of the year has been the Brewers getting Adames at SS, a player we could have also had for peanuts…
I’m still of the opinion that we have extra pieces to sell as far as hitters go and we should still explore that as it won’t detract from our best lineup. We’ve got a glut at several positions, or will when Senzel and Moose get back.
Doug do you know if Wilson has a minor league option? Could be nice for the Reds to be able to let him “figure things out” at AAA rather than costing the Reds games while he does.
I was glad to see this when I woke up this am too. Glad to see ownership is allowing the FO to take on some salary to improve this bullpen. Pretty rare to see a small market team taking on $$ a large market team doesn’t want to pay, in order to get a valuable arm to help down the stretch run.
Atone
Sims
Lorenzen
Garrett
Cessa
Hembree
Santillian (love what I seen from this kid recently from the pen)
Brach (Greene/Lodolo)
**And hopefully Lodolo/Greene get a look out of the bullpen after they get their innings in at AAA/AA. Those guys could be another great boost to the bullpen come late August/September.
Pitching starters out of the bullpen can be detrimental to their development. If the Reds intend for Greene and Lodolo to be in their rotation, I would prefer to not see them in the bullpen.
You can do 3-4 inning starts or some work out of the pen along with more work at AAA. Peralta went 4 for Milw the other night.
Even back to Wainwright….he started in the pen.
Luke J I am only talking about from September on for this year only to get Greene and Lodolo a taste of the bigs, and to help the team with the final playoff push (hopefully). Lots of starting pitchers get their first taste of the majors that way, and what the Reds need for this year isn’t likely more SP but rather more RP. I like the idea of each of them being able to go long as well if a blow up game happens and a SP has to get pulled early. They are likely on an innings restriction this year and can’t pitch too many innings at the end of the year, so it’s the best of both worlds. Get’s them exposure to mlb this year, limits their innings as needed, and help the big league club.
Did anyone mention Wilson has been on the IL twice this season and missed 38 games?
This trade was about Cessa. Wilson was just a salary dump for the yankees. I wouldn’t be surprised if the reds don’t dump him.
Agree they probably took Wilson to get Cessa; and unsurprisingly most of the sunken cost attaches to Wilson. I suspect the Reds will start from a vantage point of figuring Wilson is no worse than some guys they have been running out to the mound and give him a decent look.
Or perhaps the Reds will try to flip Wilson in the rundown to the deadline just like the Yankees did. If there is someone on the Reds another team wants enough, they might take Wilson’s cost to get the player they want.
Good pickups, well, depending on if no one in our top 30 left. Which I’d doubt. Seemed like more of a move the Yankees were willing to make to make room on their roster and get rid of some of the money so they can make a bigger trade. Probably for a Story or Gallo. With the bullpen aside.. Adam Frazier started in left field in his Pads debut last night which gets me thinking why the Reds don’t give Alejo the shot to start in the outfield. He could be the literal same player Frazier is for the Padres. Get who gets on base in front of our big guys. Or could hit behind them to get them in. Kid deserves better imo..
Senzel was the 3rd overall pick and he’ll be back shortly. Those guys always get 5x more chances then a Lopez. Just seeing the kid….think he’s going to have to get stronger, but being a switch-hitter is nice! I like Shrock a little better at this point, but who knows?
I actually like Shrock a bit, too. I’d play either over Suarez at 3rd at this point. But they seem dead set to sticking with Geno, so I’d like to get either in the lineup somewhere. I prefer Lopez a bit more to Shrock mainly because of the switch hitting aspect. I just see to much of Frazier in Lopez that it’s hard to believe we couldn’t give him a week of starts to at least try out.
And Lopez plays OF for the Reds in place of whom? Winker? Castellanos? Neither of those guys is a CF and neither is Lopez. If Castellanos leaves after the season, maybe next year Lopez in the OF could be a solution the Reds look at, but I don’t think now.
Obviously CF instead of Naquin/Akiyama/Aquino. But would be RF til Nick got back. Outside of Akiyama, no one has really played a good defensive CF. Idk. Worth the chance to get the bat in the lineup imo.
Well, it’s something. Larkin was talking the other day on air about how a move, any move, could help the clubhouse feel like the FO was in this WITH them. I’d say Krall was probably listening.
+1000- fans and players needed a shot in the arm for sure from ownership
Seems like we will have to give up a semi-decent prospect for those 2. Maybe Siani? Thoughts Doug? TIA
The Reds have taken on a couple of million $$$ in sunken costs in the deal with no offsetting cost going the other way. This money should greatly depreciate the player value the Reds send back the other way.
It won’t be a top 30 prospect. The NYY were dumping salary, and the biggest consideration that the Reds gave them was the taking on Wilson’s salary and the resulting lessening of their potential luxury tax obligation.
It could very well be a top 30. Not all of those are real standouts. I think I’ll be clenching until they announce it, given our history. If we send them Ashcraft like we did Josiah Gray to the Dodgers and I will absolutely freakin lose it
Eh. I think there’s a big difference between Ashcraft and Gray. Ashcraft is a 23 year old in AA compared to Gray who was.. 20 or 21? And in rookie ball, probably would have started at least at A ball in 19. Just farther along at the time. Really hope I’m not wrong. Grahams had to good of a year to trade for relievers. Now it wouldn’t surprise me if it were someone like.. Luis Mey or Case Williams.
@Mike Well Case Williams is gone for Givens. Lets see if I get Mey right for the other 2.
I like the Cessa pick up. Skeptical about the Wilson pick up, especially with the $ attached (including the buyout). But then again, maybe the money owed to Wilson is why the Yankees made the trade to begin with. Hopefully no prospect of note is the PTBNL, as it really should be enough that we’re taking on the money to help the Yanks with their tax penalty.
Kind of wonder what the cost difference of value would have been between keeping Iglesias all year. What could (should) have been.
The money owed to WIlson is exactly why the trade was made, and lowered the prospect cost from the Reds. The PTBNL will likely be a fringe guy, due to the addition of Wilson.
That’s essentially the conclusion I came to.
My quick back of the virtual envelop ciphering is that the Reds have taken on about $2.5M in guaranteed sunken costs with this trade. My best unverified recollection is the Reds sent about $4M-4.5M west with Iggy. So, they are still a couple of million to the good (dollar wise).
The Reds and everyone else would have rather had Iggy and paid the extra couple million if they had a re-do on that winter trade.
In the offseason, I suspect Bob told Krall to reduce payroll by x, and Krall had the choice of trading a high salary player (Suarez, Gray were floated in trade talks) or cut bait with a couple of expensive relievers (Iggy, Bradley). Krall chose wrong, obviously, as that would prove to be the last viable chance to trade Suarez.
Thanks for the numbers. Maybe my wording was clunky, but I was wondering more to the cost difference in value. Iglesias is making roughly $9.1m this season. Let’s say the Reds replaced him with league minimum (outside if Doolittle they essentially did). The Reds take on $2.5m now, sent $4-4.5m in the trade to try replace what they lost over the offseason and paid someone else 500k in the mean time. In the end we’ll call it $7m spent vs $9.1m of what was expected for a difference of $2.1m.
Iglesias has put up 1.5 bWAR this season or roughly $12m in value. Hembree as his replacement (I’ll use him as he’s our “closer” sort of) has put up .6 bWAR for roughly $4.8m in value. That’s a value difference of $7.2m or about .9 bWAR. So, at this point, the Reds are losing out on value and on field production. Of course they’ll have two more months to see how much Cessa and Wilson add vs what Iglesias does for the rest of the season. But it appears the Reds would have received more bang for their buck by keeping Iglesias.
@Hotto4Votto It’s a hard argument. We’ll never know how Iggy would have pitched this year in Cincinnati if he were here. He could have been a All Star Closer or he could have a 10 ERA. It’s hard to say.
LGR – sure, we’ll never know exactly how it would have all played out. That’s why they play the games. But if I’m trying to compete for a division, I’m taking my chances on the guy with Iglesias’ career numbers to continue to produce verses a guy who is a minor league reclamation project every time. Every time. It seems like the Reds made a short-sighted, miscalculated bet. In the end they won’t really save much money and to this point have had much less production in a major area of need.
If Wilson stays on MLB roster then I guess someone has to come off the 25 roster. I may be wrong but I believe Goudeau was in Louisville. Right now my vote is for Osich.
Hendrix or Osich. Could flip a coin tbh. I’d lean towards sending down Hendrix just because I think he has decent potential if he could develop more.
Hey, I wonder if even the Reds accountants can keep track of which relievers are up, down or in transit most days given the instability of their bullpen. 😉
I sure can’t. For awhile there I thought we had at least 15 guys in the pen all at once. With Perez, Hendrix, Feliz.. a different name every day getting hammered back and fourth.
I think this trade isn’t about the 2021 season, which isn’t a playoff-run season at this point.
But it is a move to look forward to 2022 and beyond.
Both Cessa and Wilson are under contract for 2 more years.
And both have an average ERA over the past 3 years in the mid-upper 3.00’s
Compare that with Brach, Hembree & Doolittle, who in the 4.00 to 5.00 range, and are impending free agents after 2021.
At the very least, it should improve the woeful bullpen depth for the next few years, and added to what they have in Santillan, Sims & Antone who are each locked up for at least 3 more years, and they have the start of a somewhat competent bullpen (minus a closer).
I’m really tired of hearing about how the Iglesias trade was solely a salary dump. Can you imagine if he was on the team this year? He lost so many games over the last several years that he became cringeworthy every appearance. I believe he was a change of scenery and cost savings trade, the Reds believing they had enough similar guys to take his place. They were wrong but I was not upset when they traded him. Who would have thought Amir would have had this type of season?Nobody seems to mention with trades that it still frees up cash for other players. Without the Bailey trade we probably don’t have Moose or Nick, so what does it matter that Farmer is the only player leftover. This Yankees trade doesn’t do too much for me but it’s something. Hopefully more to follow but I have my doubts. I still can’t believe we didn’t pull the trigger on Adames. Go Reds!
Agreed, I didn’t mind trading Iggy, and agree who knew Garrett would be this bad? What upset me was then non-tendering Bradley who I thought was the best option to replace Iggy. Why bother trading for him and then dumping him, pure stupidity, and we’ve paid the price all year.
To make matters worse, the Reds traded Stuart Fairchild (at the time a good prospect) who is slashing .328/.411/.672/1.083 in AAA for the D-backs while playing all 3 OF spots. For what amounted to 7.2 IP. The Reds best OF prospect in the upper minors now is TJ Friedl who’s projected to be a 4th/5th type outfielder. Why trade such a prospect (plus VanMeter) for a guy you don’t plan on keeping around? Especially as Fairchild could help in the near future if (when) Castellanos opts out. Shortsighted.
Maybe we didn’t have what it took to land Adames. Didn’t the Brewers give up 2 quality major league relievers in that trade?
Well the main piece the Reds got back is pitching for the diamondbacks right now. Angels will probably get more for Iglesias at the deadline.
I wasn’t too sad we got rid of Iglesias at the time but if I would have know they were going to leave the bullpen the way it was I would have been. lol
If we win these next.. 2 or 3 games, how many are left til the actual deadline, and we pick up a game or 2 on either the Brewers or Padres, they should take a stab at Marte and a Marlins RP. Can see if Aquino has any value towards them. Imagine an outfield of Winker, Marte and Nick from a offensive standpoint. Would make me salivate.
Would make me throw up. Aquino needs to stay here and start every day while NC is out. If he could be traded Shogo would be the one that should go, but alas, that ain’t happening.
Seems like a decent trade assuming the PTBNL isn’t anyone significant. Yankees Twitter doesn’t seem very happy about losing Cessa, so that’s something. Just hope it’s not too little, too late for this bullpen.
If Krall puts Wilson on the active roster immediately, Bell will use him because……matchups (see Osich over the last 2 weeks). Just more sorting. It will negate any benefit you might’ve had in acquiring Cessa.
A nice trade for 2022, but there’s no benefit now with Wilson on the team.
My gut tells me this is the most we can expect from the front office on the pitching front.
I mean, we’ll see. Maybe a change of scenery is something Wilson needed. Fairly solid career stats. Some people just struggle to pitch for the Yankees. Example. Sonny Gray.
I think it was a risk-free move to appease the fans and enable the FO to say they are doing something, but I’m a cynic by nature. And, I still AGREE with it.
But all that aside, I think the iconic Yankees of all teams, should never wear those uniforms in the picture ever again.
Sounds good to me, but I just hope the player to be named isn’t someone more significant than what is generally the case. Otherwise I’m not sure what the Yankees are doing here. All accounts are Cessa is good and under team control for a couple more years. I don’t see the Yankees in a salary dump, and even if that was their angle they didn’t dump THAT much salary. Makes sense to me they think they got a good piece in return – wonder what it is?
Yankees are at luxury tax threshold and want to add an impact player or 2 and need roster spots and more financial flexibility between now and the deadline- that would be one explanation.
That would be THE explanation.
This is less a salary dump than a roster spot dump for the Yankees. They have their sights on a much larger trade in the near future and were making room for it. They are probably going to go after a big rental and hope to give prospects in return. Which means they will need room on the 40 man roster to accommodate. This is a win win for both teams.
I’m with you. People thinking the Yankees only care about salary relief are a bit naive, in my opinion. They will look to fleece us like they did for Chapman and like the Dodgers did for Puig. I’m worried they’ll try to pluck Ashcraft. That would be another horrible overpay on our part
Cessa should be a good pickup. His high GB% should play well at GABP. Wilson has the profile Bell likes: 30+ and not performing exceptionally well. As for DJ fixing him? If he could, why hasn’t he fixed any of the other BP guys, e.g. Doolittle who once had a good run in 2018 and earlier. So nice to see something but unlikely to change the team’s overall trajectory. Personally, if Suarez & Farmer are still starting post deadline, I’d say the FO has failed. And yes I know Farmer is having a terrific month but I doubt it’s sustainable. Emotionally? Cautiously optimistic that there’s more to come. Intellectually? I think this is it. Hope I’m wrong.
Agree 100%
Maybe because the bullpen guys he can’t fix simply were never good to begin with, except for Garrett, who has been pitching very well for the last like two months.
Partially true though guys like Doolittle had some good years. But yes, I agree, Rodin couldn’t sculpt The Thinker out of air. I’m not overly optimistic about Garrett either. I think he has a bad mindset. Do MLB teams have a counselor as part of their usual organization composition? Or does it fall to the same coaches that address mechanical issues to help the player screw their heads back on straight?
The reds are not going to acquire a SS with Barrera at AAA. He is the reds next SS. Suarez’s trade value is 0. With Moose and Senzel returning the option to sit Geno is there if needed. Making this a playoff team is about fixing the bullpen.
Double thumbs up!
in some ways the Castellanos injury was a “blessing in disguise”. without him we are well below .500. ownership has to work under the assumption that he will not be returning in 2022 so there is more pressure to win this year.
Or make him an offer he can’t refuse. He seems to like his role, his performance, the community, etc. incentivize him to stay. I doubt it would take that much. Surely he knows that he can’t his GABP or Wrigley stats in a less hitter friendly stadium.
Like the Move saw late after 1 Am.
Could not work out.
But like trying to help a weakness.
Now the PTBNL watch is on.
It’s not going to be anyone major and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t have good baseball sense. Yanks were looking for cap relief. Reds needed multiple relievers and honestly both these guys are upgrades over what we currently have.
Reds aint done yet. Reports that we are going to pick up Mychel Givens from the Rockies are starting to swirl. No word on the return
Givens would be a good pick up (obviously conditional on the cost of acquiring his services). Glad to see the Reds are finally addressing the holes they created in the roster over the offseason. Hopefully the hole the bullpen has put the Reds in isn’t insurmountable with two months remaining.
Since Givens is only contracted through this year its pretty clear the front office is going for it. The REds can improve position player-wise by letting its players on the IL get healthy but need alot of bullpen help. Now if we can get Fry from the O’s I will be satisfied with a successful trade season.
Givens is a quality reliever with a sub 3.00 ERA while pitching his home games at Coors field. Hopefully another cheap acquisition/salary dump.
A serious move. FO, Let’s get him extended
Like going for Pitchers.
Who Pitch in hitter Parks.
And showed good Success doing it.
Shows trying and smartly attacking who they want.
Roster moves upon roster moves upcoming.
Who do the Reds DFA (assuming not trading anyone from 40-man) for Givens?
Do the Reds add Feliz back to the roster soon, or just cut their losses? Bad outing on rehab for Feliz in Dayton last night, not much success before injury either.
Jared Solomon is out for the season but not on 60-day DL, so that move is still in the Reds back pocket if they need a roster spot.
They have 3 guys on 60-day DL that should/could be back in August with Blandino, Moose, and Senzel. Once all 3 are back some tough decisions loom. Shrock probably is optioned, and Freeman (not sure his option status) is off the team. But then who else do you take off? No easy answer there as the options are Aquino, Naquin, and Shogo. Shogo is the least productive but would require eating some salary. Maybe it ends up Blandino doesn’t have a spot upon returning.
Add back Antone, Warren, and Sims to go along with Cessa, Givens, Hembree, and Garrett. Then decide on Doolittle or Wilson? Can’t imagine Osich is long for the Reds roster at this point. And that’s not counting a Lorenzen return.
Like I said first, roster decisions upon roster decisions.
Castillo
Gray
Miley
Mahle
Guti
Garrett
Cessa
Gyvens
Antone
Sims
Hembree/Brach/Santillan/Warren Pick 2
Wilson/Doolittle
Barnhart
Stephenson
Votto
Suarez
India
Farmer
Moose
Barrero/Schrock/Freeman/Aquino/Akiyama/Senzel/Naquin Pick 3
Castellanos
Winker
Feliz at this point is probably done bar more injuries. The pick 2 for the righty relievers I think would favor Hembree and Santillan right now.
Wilson will probably get a tryout until other people return. I guess you could throw Osich in that group as well, but I think they’d end up keeping Doolittle over him. If Wilson ends up pitching well in Nati, I think he stays and Doolittle goes.
The pick 2 for the infield/outfield is so tough. I put Barrero in there because in all honesty, he should probably be in the majors right now. Could throw Alejo in as well, but the Reds seem to just not care about him at all.
They should look to trade Moose and Aquino for sure. I’d say Akiyama too, but he holds little to no value. He does have some speed and defense if they were to make a playoff run.
At this point, Geno is staying whether anyone likes it or not.
I’d personally go Barrero, Senzel, Naquin. I think that makes the most sense.
If Barrero isn’t a option, I’d have to say Freeman if no one else can play SS.
pick 3 is pretty tough*
I just don’t see the Reds eating whatever is owed to Akiyama (roughly $2m+ remaining this season) and $8m owed next season. As unfortunate as it is, that’s the position they’re in.
If I could I’d keep AA, Naquin, and Senzel. Nick can be the backup SS
Hembree and Santi…of course if Lorenzen comes back that will make it even tougher.
I can see a possibility that Barnhart gets traded in which case Farmer becomes the backup catcher and Barrero becomes the SS. Not saying I’m asking for it but it is feasible.
Sounds like they are trying to get Mychel Givens from Colorado too.
So.. essentially we traded Robert Stephenson for Mychal Givens and Jeff Hoffman… Sounds like a W to me. Although Hoffmans’ days are definitely numbered.
I guess more now that Davis is included.
Well, just going off the premise stated above: we traded Stephenson and Jameson Hannah in the initial deal, and now also adding Noah Davis to the deal for Givens. FWIW, Stephenson has a 103 ERA+ while Hoffman has a 97 ERA+ for the season. So, if you want to consider Stephenson/Hoffman a wash (which I’d lean toward having BobSteve considering how bad our bullpen has been…he’d have helped) then essentially you gave up Hannah (#20 prospect at the time) and Noah Davis (#16 prospect) for two months of Givens. Two top 20 prospects and BobSteve for Givens and Hoffman (who may not be long on the roster once everyone comes back) isn’t necessarily a steal, but it’s not getting robbed either. Pretty even deal all things considered.
Givens for case Williams, who we got in the robert Stephenson Jeff Hoffman trade. Nick Krall is a crook. Out here robbing the other teams.
Partially true though guys like Doolittle had some good years. But yes, I agree, Rodin couldn’t sculpt The Thinker out of air. I’m not overly optimistic about Garrett either. I think he has a bad mindset. Do MLB teams have a counselor as part of their usual organization composition? Or does it fall to the same coaches that address mechanical issues to help the player screw their heads back on straight?