Originally Posted by Wally Mo Pena
well i think you're wrong about where the reds will finsih, but that's all just speculation at this point, so who knows. pena is a prospect in a way, but he can't hit for average or OBP, so he's not an elite prospect, and thus would not bring an elite prospect in return. Plus, position player prospects just aren't valued as highly as pitching prospects.
the thing people need to realize is that this deal is as much for the future as it is for now. Yes a pitcher like arroyo could be had in free agency, but for 8 mil/year, not 3. See matt morriss. you need to have a deep rotation to win it all, not just an ace, and in 2008, we'll be paying next to nothing for arroyo to be our 5th starter, and he'll be a great fifth starter. that money will allow us to buy a top teir FA starter to go with bailey:
projected 2008 rotation:
Bailey
FA
Harang
Claussen
Arroyo
when you get that kind of production from the back end of the rotation, you can tear off huge winning streaks.
in 2008 who of these guys will be gone: Griffey, Dunn, Kearns, EdE, Felo.
answer: none. we will have every bit the offense that we do now, and the pitching to back it up. add to that a free agent 1b, and we look pretty tough, without wily mo.
i love wily, don't get me wrong, but this move was about winning more now and preparing to win a lot more in the future, which is i remember, is exactly what Castellini said he wanted to do.