Written by Liam McGuire at Bloguin
The Cincinnati Reds are having an offseason fire sale.
General manager Walt Jocketty let Cincinnati.com know the team is “open for business,” in hopes of rebuilding the club after the Reds finished with a 64-98 record, their most losses since 1982. It was sad that the highlight of their messy season was manager Bryan Price’s verbal tirade against a local reporter, where he said the F word 77 times.
Price didn’t do his job all that well, but with a rebuild in mind, Jocketty was smart to retain him use him as a scapegoat when the team starts to bottom out. The Reds had a decent roster last year and still finished with the second-worst record in the entire MLB. Knowing they were in a hole, they opted to deal Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake at the trade deadline, with a focus on the future in mind. Things can get potentially uglier should they embrace the rebuild – but having a clear direction is much needed.
The Reds played like a dumpster fire in 2015, but they have a number of players who would be attractive for contending teams.
Aroldis Chapman seems like the first guy who’s going to go. Every team has seemingly made their closer available this offseason, and Chapman may be best of the bunch. Since signing a six-year, $30.25 million deal back in 2010, Chapman has been one of the better bullpen arms in the league. The 27-year-old, who was the subject of trade rumors last year, sports a career 2.17 ERA, but his bread and butter is making guys look helpless while striking them out. He’s got a career 15.4 K/9 and regularly throws 100 MPH, hitting as high as 105. Chapman’s saved 30+ games has been named an All-Star in the last four consecutive seasons. He’s likely to hit free agency after the season, so price may be lower than it’s ever been.
He’s a beast, but the Reds trading him now would maximize his value.
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