Reds looking to dump salary to add Scutaro

[Roll Tide]

Heyman says the Reds "could do worse" than Marco Scutaro at shortstop. The Reds first-round pick (#12 overall would be protected), but they probably don't have the payroll space to add Scutaro unless they subtract a big salary.

Their big salaries

SP - Aaron Harang - $12.5MM

SP - Bronson Arroyo - $11MM

3B - Scott Rolen - $11MM

2B - Brandon Phillips - $6.75MM

RP - Francisco Cordero - $12MM

Could we get a 1B or 3B prospect by taking on one of these salaries? Do they have one worth getting? Also they are looking for a CF per the article. Does Pie fit the bill?

[clapdiddy]

I like SG's idea of Harang as a mid-rotation innings-eater (Hmmm...new acronym MRIE? ).

I'd trade Pie if we were able to get a decent prospect with Harang. Maybe a Pie/Berken deal for Harang and Frazier?

[Hank Scorpio]

They don't have the freakin' space to add Marco Scutaro?

Yikes.

[Roll Tide]

They don't have the freakin' space to add Marco Scutaro?

Yikes.

I'd assume they will move Janish off SS. So they would have room.

[blueberryale77]

They don't have the freakin' space to add Marco Scutaro?

Yikes.

Apparently somebody is going to pay him wwwaaayyy too much this offseason based on one career year. I like the guy, but I can't imagine he's ever again going to live up to whatever salary he ends up getting.

[mweb]

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't just be giving away any of those guys. Rolen would be nice, but don't see them dealing him after just trading for him, and I don't see good reasons to trade away much for any one year rental.

[connja]

Let's take Brandon Phillips and move him to 3rd. He's a real nice player and only 28 I believe.

[LeeDorm8185]

Phillips is probably the one name in that group they won't try to move at some point.

Can't understand all that fuss about Marco Scutaro though. But then, I don't understand a lot of things the Reds do.

[HeatherC12]

If the Reds add Scutero to some crazy multiyear deal after his one career season, I'll be done with this team because that would be totally ridiculous. I can't see them taking him on at this point and for the record, none of our local Reds reporters can see this happening either. I think Heyman is just talking for the sake of talking about this one. *shrugs*

And yes, the Reds really don't have room to add any big FAs to their roster right now. The Reds saw their attendance drop in 2009 which puts a big cap on their spending for next season. I can't see attendance getting much better next year either. Ohio was hit hard by the ecomonic collapse this past year and people just didn't go to many games. The Bengals currently have a winning record and they're in danger of not selling out a Sunday home game again (third time this has happened this year) so it's not just the Reds who are having trouble selling tickets right now.

[MarkF]

I like SG's idea of Harang as a mid-rotation innings-eater (Hmmm...new acronym MRIE? ).

I'd trade Pie if we were able to get a decent prospect with Harang. Maybe a Pie/Berken deal for Harang and Frazier?

Cot's says this about Harang:

-2010:$12.5M

-2011 Option:$12.75M ($2.0M buyout)

-if traded, 2011 option becomes mutual option at $14M ($2.5M buyout)

I don't understand what a mutual option is if there is a buyout. But it looks to me that if he is traded his one year cost is $12.5M + $2.5M = $15.0M and his two year cost is $12.5M + $14.0M = $26.5M. (Somebody check my arithmetic:D)

I don't know enough about him to have an informed opinion, but do these numbers change anybody's mind?

[joldey]

Cot's says this about Harang:

-2010:$12.5M

-2011 Option:$12.75M ($2.0M buyout)

-if traded, 2011 option becomes mutual option at $14M ($2.5M buyout)

I don't understand what a mutual option is if there is a buyout. But it looks to me that if he is traded his one year cost is $12.5M + $2.5M = $15.0M and his two year cost is $12.5M + $14.0M = $26.5M. (Somebody check my arithmetic:D)

I don't know enough about him to have an informed opinion, but do these numbers change anybody's mind?

Hmmm... Harang + $6.5M for Berken and Liz???

[BaltimoreTerp]

Arroyo and Rolen are probably interesting choices since their contracts all expire after 2010 (Arroyo has a 2011 option with a $2 million buyout).

Rolen will only be 35, and was having a really nice year in Toronto before struggling in Cincy. He'll cost $11 million next year. He can be the stop-gap for Bell while improving the short-term production from third base.

Arroyo will be 33, making $11 million plus the $11 million option/$2 million buyout in 2011. He hasn't pitched fewer than 200 innings since 2004, but his K:BB has fallen three straight years. If we really want a veteran starter, we could make many worse decisions than looking at him.

If they really want to dump salary, those are two guys I would target.

[CaptainRedbeard]

All of those players (with the exception of Phillips) seem like good targets. Is anybody else salivating about the idea of some sort of trade that could bring us back Yonder Alonso as well? The MLBTraderumors chat today got me thinking when Dierkes was asked this question:

I can't figure out the Reds. Is Yonder Alonso purely trade bait? I don't see them moving Votto to left (or trading him, for that matter), so that leaves Alonso where, exactly?

He does seem LaPorta-like, a top prospect raised as trade bait. Wallace was another. Alonso might fetch a cheap young arm to replace a pricier starter.

[HeatherC12]

Rolen waived his no trade clause to come to the Reds because it's closer to his home in Indiana. I doubt he waives it again to go to the Orioles (too far from his home) so I wouldn't get too excited about trading for him. If any of the big salaries go this year, it's probably going to be Cordero. The Reds won't have Volquez to count on in their starting rotation until late summer so they need to hang onto both Harang and Arroyo for the time being unless they get their socks knocked off by a deal. I can see one or the other being traded at the deadline if the Reds are out of it by then but I can't see either of them going right now when the Reds starting rotation isn't quite what it should be with Edinson out. Yonder will probably cost the Orioles several top prospects or a top player or two since he's the Reds #1 prospect and I can't see MacPhail doing that sort of thing for the O's right now. I just don't think that timing is right.

[TonySoprano]

THE KILL-THE-DEAL-BEFORE-WE-HAVE-TO-OVERPAY-HIM AWARD

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles worked out a doozy of a nine-player trade with the Phillies for third baseman Rolen.

The Orioles were going to send pitchers Sidney Ponson, Buddy Groom, Erik Bedard and Sean Douglass along with infielder Jeff Conine to the Phillies for Rolen, infielder Kevin Jordan, reliever Chris Brock and a minor leaguer.

The Orioles were even going to receive a 48-hour window to negotiate a long-term contract with Rolen.

"It was a daring move, probably too daring the more I think about it," Orioles GM Syd Thrift said.

Apparently, owner Peter Angelos agreed.

He killed the deal.

Source - USA Today, Dec 19, 2001

Also, a footnote to the story from the same article

TALK OF THE TOWN AWARD

GM Syd Thrift, Orioles

No one was mocked more at the winter meetings than Thrift. There were so many stories circulating about Thrift that it was nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction.

One GM heard that Thrift asked Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi whether outfielder Shawn Green was available. He was traded two years ago.

Several executives heard that Thrift told his front-office staff after a meeting with the Blue Jays that he was confident they could acquire outfielder Shannon Stewart.

He was reminded that they were discussing Raul Mondesi.

That's not even mentioning the Rule 5 draft in which the Orioles exposed their top prospect, outfielder Keith Reed, and former No. 1 pick Darnell McDonald.

Now you know why Thrift, according to several baseball officials, is expected to have his GM duties stripped before spring training.