Olivo and Parra

As for trannies, Reds signed catcher Mike Olivo and reliever Manny Parra.

I like the idea of signing catchers, the more the better in the minors. You can't underestimate the value of a veteran catcher for a young pitcher. This guy may actually help the big club along the way.

Olivo, 34, spent last season with the Mariners, hitting .222/.239/.381 in 323 plate appearances. He added 12 home runs, despite playing half of his games at Sefeco Field, which is regarded as a pretty strong pitcher's park.


Parra, like some other guys, would seem to be organizational depth except Parra is a lefty. He will take Todd Redmond's spot. This may be a bigger deal than we think. Could be a LOOGY.

Parra, 30, pitched in 62 games for Milwaukee last season and allowed a 5.06 ERA (82 ERA+) with 61 strikeouts and 35 walks. Parra was successful against left-handed batters, however, as he held them to just a .635 OPS -- perhaps giving Cincinnati hope he can operate as a left-handed specialist despite not using the sidearm or submarine throwing motion typical to such relievers.





 

Olivo was a minor league deal - no problem with that at all.  I have not looked at the organizational rosters to know what kind of catching prospects the Reds had behind Grandal and Meso.  Doesn't matter - YG is gone and DM spent most of the season with the big club (he'll probably do the same this year).  Having backup backstops is not a bad thing.


Parra probably got the deal and got Redmond's place simply because he's a lefty.  Is Bray gone?  I forget.  It's not like Redmond was going to make or break the Reds chances at a division title anyway, and maybe Price can see something that needs fixing.  If not, relievers are a dime a dozen.  

Bray signed a FA deal with the Nats ...

The Reds farm has Mark Fluery and Tucker Barnhart. Both at Pensy last year. Not sure how good either is but I thought Barnhart was a keeper. 

I thought they had another catcher but I can't recall his name. Corky Miller, naturally, is next on the list.

Seriously, getting a catcher is never a bad idea if you can find one willing to start the year at AAA.


Redmond is DFA ... he will probably go to Louisville. He'd be wise to want to change organizations now, I think.

He was just on the 40-man with slim to zero chance. 

 

The Reds need more than just Sean Marshall as lefty arms in the pen... Especially when Marshall pitches more like a righty.., so they would rather let Mike Gonzales go to the Brewers for a couple Mil , and sign a batting practice pitcher that can't find the plate for chump change ? Olivia just gives Dusty a reason to send Mesoraco down. I wish if Jocketty insists on extending the most overrated manager in history, he would at least stop signing confusing choices for him to screw up. All we need now is another 38 year old utility player... Oh, wait... Rolen says he wants another chance.

LOOGY is a waste of valuable roster space, IMO. 
You squander a bat or a decent pitcher's spot just to have a guy who gets used for 1 hitter.
But that's what we have and I think Dusteroo has been wanting a real alternative to Arthur Rhodes ... just that Bray was not very good.
Parra isn't showing much for a career either and the excessive number of walks makes a LOOGY rather useless.
But, he hasn't made the team -- YET.
 

Signing Miggy Olivo is the equivalent to signing Dioner Navarro in 2012. Olivo has some power, but is one of the worse defensive catchers in the game. Hopefully Mesoraco makes this signing a moot point by producing at the level worthy of his draft position.

With Todd Redmond being designated for assignment, he may have to change his travel destination for the spring. The Reds have ten days to decide on whether to trade, release, or waive him. He has to clear waivers to be assigned to Louisville and I’d think he’d get a look or two from teams with little or no depth at starting pitching/ long relief. Louisville would be where the Reds would like to see him, but elsewhere would be in his best interest for career advancement.

Manny Parra is the move that leaves me scratching my head. He really doesn’t even qualify as a loogy, his career numbers have left-handers hitting .267 against him. Every right-handed reliever for the Reds during the 2012 season held left-handed hitters to a .267 or lower batting average according to Baseball Reference. They signed him to a MLB deal for $1M and since he has over 5 years MLB time and falls under the Veteran Consent rule, it’s not likely he’ll be in AAA. If they’d signed him to a minor league deal it’d made more sense.

Luckily, these are last roster spot kinds of moves...although I'm optimistic about the Reds chances this year,  I get pretty frustrated by the redundant, mixed-message moves like these...Some, in light of other choices, make little sense.

It ws a popular fan band wagon move to re-sign Ryan Ludwick (like Jerry Hairston and Jonny Gomes who ALSO had 1/2 season suprize performances that turned into dissapointing contract extensions) but to commit $15 milion to him is just STUPID, IMO.  

I've said repeatedly the Reds pitching staff's lack of lefties was a problem, and Mike Gonzalez was a good one, and a cheap one for his experience and record, that signed with the Brewers....and we get Parra...who makes Bill Bray's Nats signing  look like a loss.... for a $500K "savings" in Parra.

Alfredo Simon just signed...he's a righty 1-2 inning reliever....maybe like Mike Leake will be, if Chapman really goes to the rotation...and LeCure..and Arredondo..and Ondrusek...and Hoover... and Nick Masset ....Pretty sure Chapman makes the team in some capacity, and so will Broxton, and Marshall.....how many pitchers do they plan on having on a 25 man roster ? Maybe this was a stategic move to provide Dusty with another Bill-Bray-ish BS excuse to keep the lefty Chapman in the pen...when Parra gets pounded, there just won't be enough lefties in the pen without Chapman.

Olivo is a catcher, by definition...he's a homer or else DH that squats once in a while and struggles to muster enough arm to toss the ball back to the pitcher....He does speak Spanish, if that makes a difference... He's also a VET, which DOES make a difference to Dusty. Mesoraco is his polar opposite, a strong armed youngster, that struggled to get PT as a rookie last year.

Scott Rolen will also be a distraction that is a bit redundant with the Hannahan signing...not that they are similar players- they're not, but there are only so many roster spots for backup 3rdbasemen.


With Donald and Izturis, there is competition for the backup SS job, but redundancy abounds here, too.


...and it's not a contract year for Dusty, so Dusty's going to be Dusty, even more this year...if history repeats itself...and his history usually does. 

I agree there is a lot of redundancy in the pitching currently and I'd be more comfortable with it if the contractual status of some players wasn't -- make the big club or get DFA. I have no idea why Manny Parra fits into this other than Dusty simply demanding that he get a LOOGY. 

As Hit-Run reveals, the pitching staff got by nicely without the LOOGY last year. I seriously doubt Parra is going to help. He might but it will be anecdotal. Anybody can get somebody out, but what does that do to the staff?

Hard to tell. Perhaps he will be part of a trade but that would make no sense if he was that easy to sign in the first place.

I DO know this about pitching staffs -- nobody really needs middle relief pitchers in February. The badly managed teams will, however, go out and look for these guys on the trade deadline as a way of telling the fans they are fixing their pitching problems. It means they can't find any really good starting pitchers so they hope middle relief will be an alternative. It seldom is unless it's Eduardo Mujica, who turned a crap career into a nice gig in St. Louis. (Really, do the Reds need Simon? Or Garfunkel?)

Cincy seems flush with middle relievers who just MIGHT be bait for a better deal down the road. I'd gamble it's for prospects instead of game changers. Mid relievers aren't worth much. Bad GM's will still fall for it, though.

I don't always agree that abundance is a good problem, unless it creates competition. The pitching staff will have some of that but the contracts of the pitchers will dictate more than what they do in Goodyear.

Olivo is a nice signing under any conditions, IMO. I would sign every catcher I could and trade the worst ones for speedy infielders. I just don't think you ever have too much experience behind the plate. The position is demanding.

Could you do better than Olivo on the FA market? There were a number of catchers out there in January. GMs evidently don't think these guys are important until somebody does a Buster Posey on your top guy.

You can't put Chris Heisey back there.


 

Newest organizational depth signing is 3B Matt Mangini, with a name I'd never want. I assume he will be at Lousyville.
Since he is 24, this signing basically assures me that Hannahan makes the big club.

 

You have to believe Hannahan was signed to pinch hit, and as a MLB experienced 3b in case something happens to Frazier.

 I see Rolen as a distraction that in a worst-case scenario gets Hannahan shipped out, Frazier starts in a funk, and Rolen winds up in the semi-everyday lineup, hits at the Mendoza line for 6 weeks...then goes on the DL after the Reds are 10 games out...

Kind of amazing pessimism for a Rolen fan like me, and one that is a little worried about Todd Frazier playing well as an everyday player....but I'm convinced Rolen can't hit anymore...he can't even get around on an average fastball and what used to be a double in the gap is a jogging flyball out now. Rolen can still dump a breaking ball over the plate in front of an outfielder, but unless the opposing pitchers are really blind, he's not going to get many of those anymore. He can play good defense, but so can 1,000 minor leaguers and Cesar Izturis... 

I'll give a hall pass to SS and C, but no one else can hit under .240 and play on my team...and here's the rub- IF Frazier can't BE THE 3b that plays a little D and hits pretty well, niether Rolen OR Hannahan is going to be that guy....so, IMO there isn't much good that can happen by reducing Fraziers PT in favor of a marginal MLB player and a shell of his MLB self. 

   

Is Rolens coming back? All I have heard on this. Is that John Fay heard a"rumor" that Rolens wants to come back. And If Rolens does wants to come back. Why is he waiting so long to let anyone know? I would think that Rolens would have more class than, to wait this long, and leave everyone hanging.

Who knows what's on Rolen's mind ?

He wanted to come to Cincinnati specificaly because it was close to his relatively young family, at the back end of his career. I assumed he would finish his career here, and I suppose he still may, if he retires. 


Rolen said he would let the Reds know his intentions by Christmas, but it was just a week ago that Walt Jocketty made a statement that Rolen had expressed interest in a spring tryout, and Walt said something to the effect that he thought he had a "good chance" to make the team.  I don't know if Walt was just being polite, or if he's serious... I'm not a believer that Dusty Baker handles those kinds of choices well. I have seen too many instances where Dusty displayed un-warrented loyalty to washed up players at the expense of higher upside young players, like Todd Frazier in this case. 

Some writer stated a couple of weeks ago that he heard "rumors" that the Dodgers were interested in Rolen, but didn't quote anyone...so, I don't hold much credibility to that report. They have a young guy named Cruz that played pretty well at 3b last year...why invite Rolen ? 
        

 I'm uncomfortable with the whole Reds Rolen tryout thing because I don't believe Rolen can hit anymore, and therefore has no positive future as a player. I've also seen washed up players get rejected, and there is almost always bad blood splilled in the media...and I'd prefer to see Rolen leave under good terms, and if he had aspirations to coach after retirement, I'd like him to consider the Reds...they could use the coaching help.


There are FEW conditions where Rolen signing again with the Reds might work ok...but the odds are VERY long, I think.

If Rolen IS truly healthy AND capabale, he'll want to be a STARTER, and that throws Todd Frazier's "opportunity" in question. If he's not healthy AND capable, it could only cause conflict, confusion and problems if he's on the roster. In the ONLY scenario I can think of for it to work out well, Rolen is healthy, and ONLY capable to pinch hit or play 1-2 days a week (Miguel Cairo's old role), and HE AND DUSTY understand THAT will be his ONLY ROLE, giving everyone a clear game plan (except Hannahan I suppose, who is redundnat if Rolen is on the roster).

My confidence ALL those planets will align under Dusty Baker is near ZERO...so, I'd prefer Rolen either sign elsewhere, or retire...just to omit mixed messages Dusty could interpret badly, and let players with their career ahead of them play.      

It’s not hard to understand why Scott Rolen might want to return. His last AB was the 27^th out of a playoff elimination game in which he struck out with the tying runs on base. Not the way a player with an All-Star caliber career wishes to exit stage door left.  I’m sure in his mind he still thinks he can play as he ignores the messages his body is sending him. It reminds me of the story of Babe Ruth’s final games. On May 25, 1935, at the age of forty, the Babe went 4-4 hitting three HR’s and six RBI’s despite having a .206 BA. Three days later while chasing a fly ball he tripped face first into the “Crosley Terrace”. Two days later he retired, but imagine how much better he would have felt if he retired after hitting three HR’s and avoiding the embarrassing “Crosley Terrace” incident.

I tend to think, or at least hope that Jocketty is being merely polite in regards to the possibility of Rolen’s return. It’s not so much a question of which is the better player, it’s how to make a roster and payroll work if they bring Rolen back at this point. The Reds have invested $4M in Hannahan who can play other positions; Rolen has only played 3B during his career. IMO, Hannahan is a lock to make the 25 man roster, they have to keep at least one middle infielder (Donald, Izturis, or Burriss), so it would come down to Xavier Paul, or Rolen making the roster. I think Paul helps the team more than Rolen would.

Last season the “Opening Day Roster” had 7 infielders and 4 outfielders, so I’d assume it’s not out of the question that they could sign Rolen, or keep two of the middle infielders on the roster and leave Paul off. I do have a hard time seeing Rolen accepting a big pay cut and a backup role. Then there’s always the problem of Dusty being Dusty and playing the veteran.

It would be nice if the 2013 reserves were more productive than the 2012 version. The “2012 Opening Day Reserves” which included Mesoraco, Cairo, Valdez, Harris, and Heisey combined to hit for a .222 BA.  (It’s actually only .195 if you take away Heisey’s AB’s) The bench was more potent once they recalled Frazier in mid-April and added Paul and Navarro later.

Rolen, Izturis, Burriss, or any additional signings the Reds would want to add to the “Opening Day Roster” would necessitate trading, releasing, or waiving someone on the 40 man roster. Often DFA’s, player options, and injuries are the deciding factors on who makes the 25 man roster out of Spring Training. It’s fun to speculate, but it’s really useless to predict the “Opening Day Roster” at this point, a lot can happen over the next two months.

I think Rolen would have signed if he was going to. 

In all, the lefty hitter Paul is vastly more useful off the bench than Rolen would be, and I hardly think Scottyball would be happy as a reserve. He may give it a try but he won't like it. Can't blame him. As for coaching, most MLB teams don't really use active player-coaches ... and there are ... what ... 5 guys in the dugout now who are supposed to be doing that.

 

I agree 1507, I would hate to see Rolen's leave with bad blood between him and the Reds. But I have seen that before

Dave Concepcion and Barry Larkin come to mind. Concepcion left for Venezuela without contact with the Reds for a long time. Larkin bailed to take a front office job with the Jim Bowden Nats... Ironic. the guy (Felipe Lopez) that was supposed to take Larkin's job with the Reds in 2005 was traded TO the Nats a couple seasons later, along with Austin Kearns and a couple others for a washed up utility infielder (Royce Clayton), 2 no-named situational relievers named Gary Majewski and Bill Bray, and a minor pitcher to be released later.

Ex GM Wayne Krisky described the trade (Lopez WAS the reigning NL All-Star SS at the time and Kearns was a starting RF), as "the price of pitching"...and added injury to insult by not asking for medical reports on Majewski prior to the trade, who showed up with an injured arm...and also signed another crippled pitcher in Eddie Guardado on the recomendation of "Everyday" Eddie's agent, instead of the Seattle Medical staff. Krivsky afterwards appealed (in vain) to MLB for "damaged goods" compensation, but was told it was Krivsky's ignorance that was at fault, not the teams that weren't asked for the medical reports they had to surrender on request, but did not have to volunteer.... Just a few of the reasons I thought Wayne Krivsky was a total incompetent fraud as GM.   


I'm glad those days are over.