Update: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about trading Joey Votto, Jocketty replied, "Oh God, no." You can all cross Votto off the trade list.
Ed Price and Jeff Fletcher of MLB Fanhouse is reporting the Reds will have to slash payroll this winter. Cincinnati's 2009 payroll was about $71 million. General manager Walt Jocketty said during a break Tuesday at the GM Meetings that he "might" have to move some high-salaried players to meet the 2010 goal.
Cincinnati is looking to cut their payroll from $71MM in 2009 to between the $65-$70MM range next season. It appears that poor ticket sales are to blame for the upcoming cuts.
If Cincinnati does make a deal, the top candidates to be traded are second baseman Brandon Phillips (owed just under $7MM in 2010), and pitchers Aaron Harang ($12.5MM) and Bronson Arroyo ($12.25MM). Phillips, averaging 23 homeruns and a .452 slugging percentage over the last four seasons, is the most likely target for the Dodgers.
Harang and Arroyo are both coming off decent years themselves, but trading them complicates things due to their bigger contract numbers. The Reds may be required to absorb a chunk of their salaries if traded.
Of course this is purely speculation but Phillips would be the perfect trade target for the Dodgers' huge hole at second base. If Phillips is made available, I would almost certainly guarantee Colletti would be on the phone with Jocketty. Phillips is signed through 2011, plus a 2012 club option. Would Blake DeWitt and a pitching prospect be enough to put Phillips in Dodger blue?
I may be dreaming here a bit, but what about bringing Phillips, and either Harang or Arroyo over from Cincinatti? We could all dream some more and ask for Joey Votto as well. Would Blake DeWitt, James Loney, James McDonald, and a prospect be enough? This of course is all fun and purely speculative. Thoughts anyone?
Quick thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for informational help with this post.
Dodgers Rumors Features
Search Dodgers Rumors
Dodgers Rumors Archive
Baseball Around The Web
15 comments:
I thinkI doubt the Reds would have much interest in Blake DeWitt. The packages you have suggested seem awfully light for the best offensive 2B on the market. It would likely take at least one top-tier prospect like Ethan Martin or Dee Gordon, or else a collection of lesser guys like McDonald, Lambo, etc.
In any case, Phillips would be a great acquisition for the Dodgers and might be enough to get them over the hump and in to the WS.
To answer your question directly, NO, Blake DeWitt and a pitching prospect would NOT be enough to put Phillips in Dodger blue. With teams like the Twins rumored to be basing a package around former #1 rated prospect Delmon Young and SP Brian Duensing as well as another minor league arm, something tells me the Dodgers would have to pony up a LOT more that a backup 2B and fodder.
Yeah dodgers will pass on phillips if demands exceed more then 2 of the following McDonald DeWitt Hu Ellis Elbert.No Way Lambo Lindblom Martin Gordon or any top teir prospect for an overrated 2nd baseman in a weak FA and trade class.Reds fans are hilarious
I really repsect people opinions but how do you say Phillips is overrated. The kid is a flat out a stud. Why though would the Reds want Loney. They already have Votto and Alonso is on the way. I wouldnt call Lambo a lesser prospects kid is performing in a major way in the AFl and is a big prospect. The Reds are said to be looking for a defensively minded ss. So if you were to trade for Phillips you would have to come up with a creative package because Jocketty is a good GM. It would probably have to include Hu, DeWitt, a terrific major league ready player such as DeJesus, McDonald, and a great pitching prospect. But I dont think at this point a 2nd baseman is really what you need. If you package these guys up you do not have anything really to package if you want to go after an Ace. Do NOt i repeat in no way think about getting rid of Gordon. Honestly I would rather give up martin in this deal than Loney. Then again if the Reds are trying to cut payroll that would not work. I think a Martin, DeWitt, Hu, McDonald package would work. I like Ellis and May. Plus the Dodgers future catcher is in the sytem and a stop gap such as Barajas seems intriguing. I would hate to give up on McDonald though yet. I dont see how the aquisition of Phillips would help. The Dodgers need a 1 to complement Kuroda and Kershaw
I wouldn't call Phillips the best available 2Bman. Also, Delmon Young is not a prospect. IMO, financially, Uggla would be the better for fit Minnesota. Keep in mind Phillips gets much more expensive after next season('11 $11M, and '12 option $12M with a $1M buyout). Considering the financial commitment beyond 2010, I consider the Mets as the only other suitable fits; however, they would need to move Castillo first. The other major market teams that could afford him do not have a need at 2B; i.e. BoSox and NYY.
i dont think phillips is "overrated" but he's nothing spectacular. his ops+ over the last 4 years puts him at just an avg hitter. the power is there, which is a plus for a second baseman, but his obp is horrid. on the flip side, his defense rivals that of orlando hudson's. that alone would intrigue the dodgers. but at what cost? dodgers need SPs, so unless the reds are willing to take a kid like dewitt and mcdonald, then i pass on phillips. unless of course they expand a deal to include harang and the dodgers throw in a couple more prospects not named gordon or lambo.
wow really? No way is phillips worth 4 players you are smoking.. he is overrated and your trade proposal of 4 players for phillips proves it.. its a weak class which total which totally hypes up his image.but since the reds are in a fire sale i doubt they demand as much dejesus mcdonald and a lower level scrub should get it done
The dodgers need to package up billingsley,hu,and another prospect and go get halladay....focus on 2nd base after that.Brandon Phillips would be a very good addition though, but the asking price will be too high
its great dream but that trade will never be done
Of course DeWitt and a prospect isn't enough. But remember this is a salary dump trade and therefore we get a "discount" on quality or quantity of prospects by paying all of Phillips salary.
Phillips is consistent and therefore hard to call him overrated. Loney is not being traded to the Reds they have Joey Votto and there is no way he is dealt. DeWitt and McDonald would likely be the starting point in a trade for Phillips.
Really a package with just Dejesus and Hu would not get it done especially if the phillies have more prospects to throw at the Jays. If the Dodgers were to get Doc it would have to start with Bills, DeJesus,DeWitt, Hu, and two potential star arms such as withrow, linblom, and or martin. The Jays and Reds have no interest in loney because the reds have Votto and Alonso and the Jays are trying to move Lind to first. It is a fire sale but the Phillips contract is reasonable this year. I like the guy but I dont see how he makes us a better team. I would rather see DeRosa plugged in at 2nd and keep prospects in tact to keep the dream of getting an ace alive
You really believe the price for Halladay is 7 players??? It was 5 last year and no team bit, and the Jays have less leverage now.
I would love to see Phillips here for two maybe three prospectas including a major league ready arm. That should easily get a deal done.
Go sign Bedard or Lackey as an anchor on the staff, Bills will be fine this year, Kershaw will be better, Kuroda will be healthy and we can round out the rotation with Padilla, or maybe resign Garland. Or give the Reds less in a trade, but take on Phillips and Arroyo as a 5 starter and pick up the bulk of their salaries.
Then go trade Pierre for some payroll flexibility and allow him to play somewhere everyday, he has earned it.
Tony could not have said it better. Bedard is the perfect high risk high reward player if we can get him on the right deal. Bills will be better in 2010, and Kershaw will be better. Lackey is probably a little too pricey for me, but we will see.
7 players for Halladay, never.
Thanks to all the above for sharing your opinions. I appreciate you all for reading and providing feedback. Thanks for reading.
You cant free up Pierre's salary. Noone will take him. Best you can hope for is someone to pay half. And then, is it worth it.
I like the Phillips idea, but I think Votto is off limits. If we can get Brandon and somehow work a deal for Halladay, I think were done. If the Phils can get Halladay, we are really done.
Tradables for the Dodgers, Bills, Troncoso, McDonald, DeWitt, DeJesus, Lambo, Martin, Gordon, Hu(if anyone wants him) and Leach.
Good blog. Respectful and accurate
Phillips isn't bad, but is it not even conceivable that we could grab Uggla? I know no one has linked him to us, but though the money's an issue, we could offer him one thing no one else can - 2nd base, every day.
And as far as trades go, we couldn't do better than Ellis for Callaspo. That's a win for both teams and players, cause who needs a 29 year old rookie backing up Martin?
We should keep DeWitt - he's the perfect young utility infielder
Post a Comment