Reds insider: Don't expect O'Brien to deal

[missionhockey21]

Reds insider: Don't expect O'Brien to deal
Impending sale of franchise may cause trading to be put on hold for a while

By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

The Reds' Dan O'Brien says the general manager meetings in Indian Wells, Calif., were a lot like the previous two he attended as Reds GM.

A lot of talk.

No trades.

And plenty of promises to talk more at the winter meetings Dec. 5-8.

"Status quo," O'Brien said.

O'Brien hasn't pulled off any blockbuster trades in his tenure with the Reds. The sentiment among fans is that now is the time to do so. A fifth-place NL Central finish tends to do that. But the guess here is it won't happen.

Remaking the roster now is the rough equivalent of remodeling your house between the time you accept a bid to sell and the closing.

The Reds, of course, are in the midst of being sold. Carl Lindner and the limited partners have

agreed on virtually everything, including price, with Robert Castellini and the Williams brothers.

As soon as Major League Baseball signs off, the deal is done.

O'Brien said that was not a topic at the GM meetings. He said the other clubs did not mention the impending sale when talking trades.

"We've been actively engaged in talks with other clubs," O'Brien said. "In no way, shape or form has that been a hindrance."

That said, when O'Brien talks "status quo," he is operating under the guidelines that came down from Lindner shortly before the season ended: that the player payroll would be in the same neighborhood it was for 2005, in the $60 million range.

When the new owners take over, that could change. Every fan I've talked to is hoping against hope that Castellini kicks it up to $80 million or so.

That's why it would be nice if MLB could move the process along quickly.

How likely is that? Based on how the Washington Nationals sale has lagged, MLB would be a decided underdog in a race with a glacier.

But the Reds' sale is a lot less complicated than that of the Nats, so maybe things could be taken care of at the owners meetings in Milwaukee next week.

Meanwhile, the Reds will continue to talk trade in hopes of improving the starting pitching.

O'Brien said at the end of the season that he was much more willing to part with an outfielder to try to do that.

The budget comes into play there, also. If the new owners are going to keep the payroll at $60 million, the Reds might be wise to trade Adam Dunn, because his salary's going to jump to $8 million or so for '06 and keep rising.

But if the payroll's going to go to $80 million or even $70 million, they can afford Dunn, so trading Wily Mo Peña, who's younger and cheap but less accomplished, might be the better move.

The payroll has an even bigger effect on the pursuit of free agents.

So while the Reds operate at status quo, status quo could change vastly as soon as the ownership deal is complete.

E-MAIL OF THE WEEK: From Barry - "I know it hasn't been mentioned, but (Arizona's Javier) Vazquez is the ace we need. He makes $11.5 million this year and $12.5 million the following year. We are paying (Eric) Milton $8 million. Vazquez is definitely worth the $12 million. He's the perfect guy to step into that No. 1 role with Milton No. 2 and the young guys to follow. The Reds should pursue this."

Vazquez's request for a trade surfaced after O'Brien had left the GM meetings.

"That did not come up in any of the discussions we had with the Diamondbacks," O'Brien said.

Vazquez was 11-15 with a 4.42 ERA last season. He might not be the answer, but he could help. Again, the Reds' budget is the question.

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com

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[redsrbetter]

so we are pretty much at a sit and wait process again. This really sucks because it is why we lose chances of getting a good trade every year. Usually it is DanO waiting too long, but now it is DanO not knowing what to do. I guess we should really look forward to the owners meetings next week. Anyone know when that starts and when it ends?