Reds Are Cashing It In For Nothing
As the Reds very quickly fade from the National League Central race, they’ve decided to start dumping players & salaries. This is a typical move for teams once they give up hope on the rest of the season. In the Reds’ case, they’ve been idiotic about their moves.
First, they traded Ken Griffey, Jr. This was a bit of a surprise to me, but after some thought, I was okay with it. He is getting older, he’s never contributed much to the Reds success (or lack thereof) during his stay in Cincinnati, and his contract runs out at the end of this season. We likely wouldn’t have him back next year anyway. What did we get in return? A relief pitcher by the name of Nick Masset. To his credit, he’s pitched fairly well since coming over from the White Sox. But, really? We traded a future Hall of Famer for a no-name relief pitcher?
Today, the Reds finally made good on the season-long rumors to trade Adam Dunn. The Big Donkey is a typical big-league power-hitter. He either smashes it out of the park, walks or strikes out. Not much in between. In the field, he’s slow and error-prone. Typically, I’d be okay trading a guy like this. But, the Reds offense has been dismal this year and Dunn is the only source of consistent power in the lineup. Dunn’s 32 HR not only leads the Reds, but the Majors. After Dunn, the player with the second-most HR is Edwin Encarnacion with 22. And this is coming from a team that plays in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in the Bigs. At the outset of the 2008 season, the offense was not a concern. As we’ve entered August, the Reds offense has yet to produce anywhere close to the levels of previous years.
What did we get for Dunn? Three minor leaguers. The only player named in the deal so far is in Single-A right now and doesn’t look all that impressive.
Both of these trades come off the heels of trading offensive-super-power Josh Hamilton in the off-season. Of the three, the Hamilton-for-Volquez trade looks brilliant so far (at least up until the All-Star break). For Griffey and Dunn, the Reds become the trade losers. They received hardly anything in return for both players. Let’s just hope the core of Votto, Bruce, Phillips, Encarnacion, Arroyo, Harang, Volquez, Cueto and Cordero can pick up the slack in 2009. I’m not holding my breath.
