Reds reportedly after Bonderman

[redsrbetter]

According to reports out of Motown, Detroit is mulling the pros and cons of dealing Bonderman, saying that the Tigers, who are seeking a first baseman with power, a young catcher to eventually succeed Pudge Rodriguez, and infield help in return for their talented hurler.

Our Northeast source said that “don’t be surprised if you hear that the Tigers are seriously considering Alex Rodriguez” instead.

One Bay Area official didn’t disagree, but also told Gotham Baseball Magazine that the Tigers are “trying to find a team that can satisfy all of their needs in one deal”, but are finding that difficult.” Reportedly, the Reds have offered Adam Dunn, Jason LaRue and Brandon Phillips, but the Tigers are not “very positive about that as a potential return for Bonderman.”

http://www.gothambaseball.com/news/1162844521.php

Sounds like Krivsky is hard at work and is offering exactly what they are looking for. I don't see them getting a bigger offer than this. Perhaps, it is a little too much IMO. But having Bonderman's name floating around is a sexy thing.

But man, that is a LOT of offense we are giving up. I would hope that he has some way to clean this up if we do lose both Dunn and Phillips. in the deal. I am undecided on whether I would like it or not. I don't want to judge the offseason by the first move. So if this does happen, and it is the first move, I will have to realize that the offseason is still not over and that what we are looking at is not going to be the final offer.

Anyhow thoughts?

[redsfan28]

Bonderman is good, but not good enough for both Dunn and Phillips.

[dfnghesmeh]

I am starting to get worried about the organization. They seem to to blindly going after starting pitching at any cost. Even this move, which would give us a solid pitcher would devastate our offense. Especially if Griffey goes down again, though he wasn't worth much last year.

[DirtyKash]

Uh ... what about Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena? Reaction here when the trade was made was quite negative if I recall, but that turned out well. Doesn't Krivsky deserve the benefit of the doubt? Bonderman's pretty good.

[McKain]

There's an immense difference with the WMP/Arroyo deal - Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez were still there.

With no Dunn and Phillips, the Reds starting 8 would look something like this:
David Ross, Scott Hatteberg, Ryan Freel, Juan Castro/Ray Olmedo/Brendan Harris, Edwin Encarnacion, Chris Denorfia, Ken Griffey Jr, and what... Dewayne Wise/Norris Hopper?

That offense is very weak, as at least two positions (shortstop and left field) will provide nothing offensively, added to the pitcher, and Hatteberg is nice but nothing particularly good, and who knows what Denorfia will give over a full year and what Griffey is going to do in any given year at this point?

They'd really be hurting themselves in this deal to give up two of their better offensive players, whereas WMP was part of a surplus at the time. Plus, after that deal with the Nationals, Krivsky doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt anymore.

[dfnghesmeh]

I agree that trade turned out well, but the circumstances were different. At that time we still had Kearns, and Lopez and our offensive advantage greatly outweighed our pitching deficit. I would be in favor of this move if the reds could sign a solid OF, and acquired another SS or 2B but those moves are no guarantee.


EDIT: haha, McKain beat me to it.

[redsrbetter]

That offense is very weak, as at least two positions (shortstop and left field) will provide nothing offensively, added to the pitcher, and Hatteberg is nice but nothing particularly good, and who knows what Denorfia will give over a full year and what Griffey is going to do in any given year at this point?

My point is this. I know Krivsky would not let us go into the season with that offense. Losing Phillips and Dunn would be even bigger than when we lost Kearns and Felo IMO. But getting Bonderman in this deal is far better than what we got in the Nats deal.

All I am saying is that the product would not be complete if this deal gets done. I realize nothing is a guarantee, so I can't proclaim Krivsky as a genius who will be sure to make things right. But he will have a lot more money to spend then what has already been reported if this went down. LaRue, Dunn, and Phillips would be off the books which clears up $16 million dollars. I believe Bonderman is after arbitration where he earned $2.3 million last season. So it stands to reason that he would make about $3-3.5 million this season. Subtract the two sides and the Reds get Bonderman and $12.5 million dollars in this deal.

That $12.5 million could buy some nice FAs and could fill a lot of leftover holes. Again, if this deal is done, it shouldn't be his only move this offseason.

[NFLman2033]

Well #1 LaRue isn't a Young Catcher, so i don't neccisary think they are really going to take on his contract and his age, so we are not giving them that part of the deal they want.

#2 If they did, remember that Hitters are a little easier to come by then Pitchers.. I think we could find some Free Agents to provide the bats that will be missed by Phillips and Dunn.. obviously not 100%, but a good chunck.. the FA market for Hitting is a lot better than what is out there for Pitchers.. although Bonderman isn't exactly top shelf either.

[redsrbetter]

Reading some Tigers message boards tonight I see that they are hearing of interest from the Yankees. The Yanks are supposedly offering Hughes, Cano, and Sheffield. This is a lot better than the Reds offer IMO. Hughes is going to be Bonderman esque in a year.

[NFLman2033]

Reaing soem Tigers message boards tonight I see that they are hearing of interest from the Yankees. The Yanks are supposedly offering Hughes, Cano, and Sheffield. This is a lot better than the Reds offer IMO. Hughes is going to be Bonderman esque in a year.

yeah i figured there would be a few teams who could make a better offer than LaRue, Dunn and Phillips.. and not really because of Dunn or even Phillips as much as if they want a Young Cathers.. LaRue isn't it.. we would probably have to trade them Ross, Dunn and Phillips..

[love_that_reefer]

Talk about a terrible trade offer. Good grief!

[Fishercat]

Hughes, Cano, and Sheff for Bonderman?

rofl, like the Yankees would do that. Bonderman's very nice, but Hughes could be the best pitching prospect in baseball, Cano's an above-average MI, and Sheff still has pop....

[OBBoltsFan]

I don't think Bonderman will ever reach his hype, though he is a solid number 2 or 3. All in all though, I don't think he's worth even Dunn.

[redsrbetter]

I think we could throw this thought out the window. Close thebook on it, its over. Sheffield has been traded to the Tigers thus leaving no need for them to go after Dunn.

[redsrbetter]

Not to bring this back to life, but...

per Gotham magazine:

The funniest line so far (and it isn’t even lunchtime on Day 1 yet) goes to a former major leaguer who’s in town looking for a TV job, who said. “(Bleep), if Mike (bleeping) Stanton can get a two-year contract, I should call the Reds too."
Speaking of the Reds, they are looking for arms, and while there are some attractive (albeit overpriced) options on the market, expect minor moves from Cincinnati Reds’ GM Wayne Krivsky.
The first of which was announced on Monday, as the Reds signed veteran right-hander David Weathers to a two-year, $5.5 million contract.
"It's all about the team," Krivsky told the Cincinnati Post before coming to Orlando. "It may not be the sexy signing of $100 million, but we're trying to put together a team with a capital 'T' - players have specific roles knowing they're always on a team and can contribute to winning games and getting into the postseason. That's the plan, to acquire as many good players as we can to put into that team concept we're trying to build here."
A capital “T”?
So far, Reds fans we spoke with are pretty split; some are content to wait and see what happens, others are drinking the Krivsky Kool-Aid, while the rest are scratching their heads.
The latter are not alone.
“I have no clue what he’s trying to accomplish, to tell you the truth,” said one baseball official, who spoke with Gotham Baseball Magazine on condition of anonymity. “He gave two-year contracts to guys nobody wants, and increased his payroll in the process.
“He’s still trying to get (Detroit Tigers’ right-hander Jeremy) Bonderman, but the Tigers are telling him that they’re not interested in dealing him anymore,” said one baseball official. “I really don’t see the Reds doing much of anything, to be honest.”
Earlier this off season, GBM had quoted am industry source as saying that the Reds had interest in prospects from both the Yankees and Mets, and we’re hearing that while Adam Dunn is not a player that interest either team right now, Krivsky still has interest in several of them.
“Brian Bannister is a guy that the Mets don’t want to deal, but are getting a surprising amount of calls about,” said the source. “Krivsky also likes Yankee right-hander Darrell Rasner a lot.”
Inquiries as to who the NY clubs would want in return are not clear, but as each pitcher is considered part of their club’s respective rotation “backup plan” it’s hard to imagine that either would be dealt for anything less than a pitcher/player of equal value.

They are reporting from the Winter Meetings and have come up with quite a bit of buzz over the Reds. Brian Bannister? Bonderman talks all but over? Darrell Rasner? What are everyone's thoughts?