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It seems to have gotten largely lost in the news, but Tucker won his Gold Glove this year so congrats to him. Reds face some tough decisions at catcher. Tucker obviously is great on defense but he's turning 30 and his OPS+ has trended down each year since 2017 when it was a not all that great 95 (it was 77 last year). Casali is a better hitter as far as having some pop and ability to take a walk but he'll be 32 next year. Together they combine a fairly solid R/L duo, but the Reds have looked to upgrade into a single workhorse for the last year or two.

Meanwhile, Tyler Stephenson is pretty clearly the Reds' top prospect ready to hit the majors. How does he fit in? Can the Reds carry 3 catchers on the roster and find enough work for all 3 (and that doesn't count Farmer who can play a credible C as a utility guy)? You could make a case to try Tyler as #1 and keep Tucker as a backup for defense, but should this team be looking to move on from one of its few decent hitters last year? Could they go for none of the above and make a run at maybe Realmuto in free agency if they can't get Bauer? Not easy decisions.

Congrats to Trevor! The streak of no Cy Young for a Reds' pitcher ends...

Quote:Wednesday night, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Trevor Bauer was named the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner. He received 27 of 30 first-place votes and beat out Cubs righty Yu Darvish and Mets righty Jacob deGrom. DeGrom, who finished third behind Darvish, had won the previous two NL Cy Young awards.

Believe it or not, Bauer is the first pitcher in Reds history to win the Cy Young. Cincinnati has had three Cy Young runners-up: Tom Seaver (1981), Mario Soto (1983), and Johnny Cueto (2014). The Reds played their first season in 1882 and were the only pre-expansion team without a Cy Young winner. The Marlins, Rangers, and Rockies are the only remaining clubs without a Cy Young.

Bauer, 30 in January, led the league in ERA (1.76), ERA+ (276), WHIP (0.80), and hit rate (5.1 per nine innings) this past season. He went 5-4 with 100 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73 innings and was marvelous in his lone postseason outing, striking out 12 in 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, though Cy Young ballots were submitted prior to the postseason.

Bauer NL Cy Young Winner

(11-11-2020 09:21 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Congrats to Trevor! The streak of no Cy Young for a Reds' pitcher ends...

Quote:Wednesday night, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Trevor Bauer was named the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner. He received 27 of 30 first-place votes and beat out Cubs righty Yu Darvish and Mets righty Jacob deGrom. DeGrom, who finished third behind Darvish, had won the previous two NL Cy Young awards.

Believe it or not, Bauer is the first pitcher in Reds history to win the Cy Young. Cincinnati has had three Cy Young runners-up: Tom Seaver (1981), Mario Soto (1983), and Johnny Cueto (2014). The Reds played their first season in 1882 and were the only pre-expansion team without a Cy Young winner. The Marlins, Rangers, and Rockies are the only remaining clubs without a Cy Young.

Bauer, 30 in January, led the league in ERA (1.76), ERA+ (276), WHIP (0.80), and hit rate (5.1 per nine innings) this past season. He went 5-4 with 100 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73 innings and was marvelous in his lone postseason outing, striking out 12 in 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, though Cy Young ballots were submitted prior to the postseason.

Bauer NL Cy Young Winner

Very nice.

doesn't really seem like he had any competition

(11-11-2020 10:59 PM)Lush Wrote:  doesn't really seem like he had any competition

Actually Darvish and deGrom, perhaps among others, had terrific (albeit shortened) seasons that were also Cy Young worthy. I'm happy for Bauer but I'd be a lot more excited if we worked out a deal for him to be back next year.

(11-12-2020 10:51 AM)Bearhawkeye Wrote:  

(11-11-2020 10:59 PM)Lush Wrote:  doesn't really seem like he had any competition

Actually Darvish and deGrom, among others, had terrific (albeit shortened) seasons that were also Cy Young worthy. I'm happy for Bauer but I'd be a lot more excited if we worked out a deal for him to be back next year.

Agreed. There were good arguments for all three.

This should probably be posted in a hot stove thread but I'll let Bearhawkeye start that one. Until then, we knew the payroll was busting at the seams this past season so...

Quote:The Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds swapped right-handed relievers on Monday afternoon, with Cincinnati sending closer Raisel Iglesias and cash considerations out west in exchange for Noe Ramirez and a player to be named later.

Iglesias, who will turn 31 years old in January, will make $9.125 million next season before qualifying for free agency. Over the last three seasons, he's accumulated a 3.17 ERA (141 ERA+) and a 3.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio while recording 72 saves. Iglesias relies heavily on three pitches: a mid-90s fastball, a slider, and a changeup. Each is a capable bat-misser.

Iglesias figures to slot in as the Angels' closer. He's the second player acquired through trade by new general manager Perry Minasian in the past week, joining shortstop Jose Iglesias. The Angels are hoping to reach the postseason for the first time since 2014. Minasian figures to have more work ahead of him, particularly with regards to the rest of the pitching staff.

The Reds, for their part, are said to be willing to move right-handed starter Sonny Gray, suggesting the team is interested in shedding salary -- that despite coming off their first playoff appearance since 2013. It's unclear who will take over the ninth inning for Cincinnati next season: Amir Garrett and Lucas Sims would have to be considered the current favorites, though it's possible the Reds add a veteran candidate before spring rolls around.

Ramirez, 31 in late December, has three additional years of team control remaining. In three full seasons spent with the Angels, he had a 4.13 ERA (107 ERA+) and a 3.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Ramirez's arsenal includes an upper-80s fastball, a changeup, and a swing-and-miss curveball. He's projected to make more than a million in arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors' forecast system.

Salary shedding...

(12-07-2020 07:59 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  This should probably be posted in a hot stove thread but I'll let Bearhawkeye start that one. Until then, we knew the payroll was busting at the seams this past season so...

Quote:The Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds swapped right-handed relievers on Monday afternoon, with Cincinnati sending closer Raisel Iglesias and cash considerations out west in exchange for Noe Ramirez and a player to be named later.

Iglesias, who will turn 31 years old in January, will make $9.125 million next season before qualifying for free agency. Over the last three seasons, he's accumulated a 3.17 ERA (141 ERA+) and a 3.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio while recording 72 saves. Iglesias relies heavily on three pitches: a mid-90s fastball, a slider, and a changeup. Each is a capable bat-misser.

Iglesias figures to slot in as the Angels' closer. He's the second player acquired through trade by new general manager Perry Minasian in the past week, joining shortstop Jose Iglesias. The Angels are hoping to reach the postseason for the first time since 2014. Minasian figures to have more work ahead of him, particularly with regards to the rest of the pitching staff.

The Reds, for their part, are said to be willing to move right-handed starter Sonny Gray, suggesting the team is interested in shedding salary -- that despite coming off their first playoff appearance since 2013. It's unclear who will take over the ninth inning for Cincinnati next season: Amir Garrett and Lucas Sims would have to be considered the current favorites, though it's possible the Reds add a veteran candidate before spring rolls around.

Ramirez, 31 in late December, has three additional years of team control remaining. In three full seasons spent with the Angels, he had a 4.13 ERA (107 ERA+) and a 3.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Ramirez's arsenal includes an upper-80s fastball, a changeup, and a swing-and-miss curveball. He's projected to make more than a million in arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors' forecast system.

Salary shedding...

I'm waiting for something positive to happen to start the hot stove thread. At this point, it's looking like I could have a long wait although I guess we should see who the PTBNL is on the off chance it's actually a high-quality prospect. This one would make more sense had we held on to Bradley but so far the offseason is looking like one big sell-off. Hopefully, we are just saving up for someone.

Funny/weird that both our Iglesias' end up with the Angels.

Sonny, we hardly knew ye.

So what is Bauer doing?

Maybe I missed it, but I've seen a few articles talking about the Reds dangling Castillo (Sonny Gray I knew about.) I'm not sure where it started but honestly I'd prefer to give up Castillo rather than Gray (if they have the same trade value which I didn't really dig into.) Supposedly Toronto and/or the Yankees are interested.