Honestly, this team could be very good in 2006 if.....

[Cincy]

I honestly don't think Dunn wants to be here.

And Adam is a good player, but I don't know if I want a guy making 9+ million or so that can't on a regular basis drive runners in on third with 1 or no outs.

So if I was O'Brian, I would trade Dunn for 3 top prospects and then try to sign a pitcher like Buckett(sp?) this offseason.

Buckett(sp?) type pitcher and 3 prospects > Dunn

[Geki Ace]

I see the team being more like this next year. It's probably not gonna happen, but if it did, I'd be exceptionally happy.

Starting Lineup

2B Freel
SS Lopez
1B Dunn
CF Griffey
RF Pena
LF Outside of Organization (FA, $2-$4 million range)
3B Encarnacion
C LaRue

Bench

IF Olmedo
OF/PH Cruz
C Valentin/Sardinha
IF Machado
OF Denorfia

Casey and Kearns are probably gonna be traded, and that frees up a significant chunk of salary. Of that, we'll sign a decent LF who's a bit under the radar. I can see someone like Jacque Jones or Matt Lawton going in that price range. I can also see the Reds keeping Dunn in left and going after a 1B, though there are less options there - Maybe a J.T. Snow or Tony Clark. Another alternative would be to go after a 2B like Placido Polanco or Gruzielanek and put Freel in left. Another possibility would be putting Olmedo at 2nd and Freel in LF, probably depending on how Olmedo finishes out this year. It depends whether or not the organization thinks they can contend next year, and signing a mid-level position player out of FA will hinge on that. On the bench, I don't think Stratton will be up since he had the big injury, and they seem attached to Machado. Olmedo should stay up with how he's played and could even start. Valentin and Sardinha are both decent backup catchers, it just depends on who the Reds want to keep. Cruz is a good PH and the organization likes him, and I see Denorfia being the last man on the team.

Starting Pitching

SP Aaron Harang
SP Brandon Claussen
SP Eric Milton
SP Out of Organization (FA, $4-$6 million range)
SP Paul Wilson

For the FA, I'm thinking someone like Tony Armas, Jr. or Paul Byrd. Once again, they'll probably shoot for someone flying a bit under the radar who won't cost too much. I think at least one of their starters next year will be an out of the organization guy who comes in either through trade or as a FA signing. For instance, if the Lohse for Randa trade happened, Lohse would be in the rotation and they probably wouldn't go for a FA. A lot hinges on the trading deadline this year.

Bullpen

RP Hudson
RP OoO (FA, $1 million range)
RP OoO (FA, $1 million range)
RP Booker
RP Coffey
RP Belisle
CL Wagner

They'll bring in some veteran relievers after the year, since Mercker and Weathers are both gone by the trading deadline. A lefty and a righty again, probably. I see someone like Rudy Seanez as the righty and Scott Sauerbeck as the lefty. I'd love for them to make a run at someone a little better like Chris Hammond or Julian Tavarez, but this is the Reds we're talking about. I think the eventual transition of Hudson to the bullpen is inevitable with his stuff, and Belisle's been great in there so far. He could be an excellent reliever, and I'd prefer that to him as a weak starter. There's gonna be a competition for the closer spot, and I think Wagner will win it. I don't see a reason for Booker to not be on the team next year, Coffey's been vastly improved as of late and should make the squad, and Wagner's been our closer of the future for a while, and he'll dominate the last month or so of this year and then take the closer spot in spring training.

Overall, this is the kind of plan the Reds should take, and knowing them, they'll do the exact opposite. They can get some nice prospects by dealing Randa, Casey, Kearns, Mercker, and Weathers by the deadline or after the year, and they don't have to spend all that much in free agency. The money would be better spent re-signing Dunn and anyone else they need to throw some money at to keep around, and it's a team with a lot of youth that should be respectable next year and capable of contending within two years. It's wishful thinking, but doing something like this would be perfect for the organization.

[Cincy]

I think Paul Wilson should be in the pen to start the season next year.

And as for Hudson again, I really hope he isn't even near Cincinnati next season. Last year was cleary a fluke.

[Geki Ace]

Hudson has great stuff, but he lacks control and stamina. There isn't a major league team that wouldn't love to have a guy with a 95 MPH fastball and his curve in their pen, and if he can get his control together a bit, he could be very, very good. Wilson would be horribly useless in the pen. I don't really want him on the team at all, but I'd rather have him in the rotation with a hope of returning to his form of last year than in the pen because he's making a lot of money and we can't get rid of him. Quite frankly, the fact that you brought up Dunn's sac fly drought shows that you either lack the ability to think for yourself or are just a horribly stupid baseball fan. About 14 hours ago, Dunn hit a grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning of a tie game. He's got more RBIs than games played in the month of July. He's going to be a .270/40/110 guy every year for a decade, with an OPS probably over 1.000. Who gives a damn if he strikes out a lot? It's a neutral out, and I'd sure as hell rather have that than Casey's 20 GIDP. I'm getting sick of the generic Reds fan's vendetta against Dunn because his stats don't look that pretty if you're traditional. Look beyond the average and strikeouts, and you see that he's one of the most productive players in baseball, despite being 25. If this team wants to win, he's gotta be the one to lead them.