I'd say the infield, Suarez 3B Galvis SS Moustakas 2B Votto 1B Barnhart/Casali C is pretty well set.

Where the questions really come in is about the outfield ? Right now they have the starters listed as:

Winker LF Senzel CF Castellanos RF then of course Akiyama backup CF/LF and Aquino backup RF. Then there's Ervin, Vanmeter, Schebler. They also have Jankowski and Payton on 40 man. That's 10 guys listed in the outfield and Lorenzen of course as a flyer.

So here comes the questions ?

Senzel: Where does the guy play ? He's been cast as the savior of the franchise for like 2 and 1/2 years. Are they really gonna trade him after just one short season with injury issues ? My guess would be Akiyama gets a bunch of time in CF.

I've lost all faith in Schebler and most of it in Winker in being viable everyday starters in LF same mostly for Ervin. Move Senzel to LF ?

Aquino: aka the Punisher A lot of us, me included, got very pumped about the guy at the end of last season. And for good reason, the guy not only has power at the plate but he seemed a very good athlete with good defending skills/speed and a pretty good arm. Are they sending him back down ? They gonna platoon him with Castellanos ? I still have high hopes for Aquino developing into a very good one.

Winker/Ervin/Schebler:

Schebler, as stated above, to me is on his last try. Since the 2017 season he's been going downhill. He'll be 30 this fall and while that's not quite an old man, it's not like he's an up and comer either. I doubt there's any trade value there at all ?

Ervin, I doubt he's ever going to be anything more than bench player but he's viable as one and I wouldn't mind keeping him as a backup. Again I'm not sure there's a lot of trade value there ?

Winker, oh Jesse Winker. I had high hopes for him after his .299 batting average 7 HR 43 RBI .836 OPS 2018 season. But he hit a wall fairly early last season and it's come more and more to light that he can't hit LH pitching at all. There's no problem keeping him as a bench player and he's only 26 I believe ? But every game that goes by it's becoming more obvious he's not an everyday starter. Will he turn it around this season ? Is there any trade value there ?

We still need bullpen help and we're not gonna have room for all these guys. It's gonna be interesting to see how this all plays out before opening day. It's not a bad thing having options ? Just hoping they push the right buttons.

I think Winker or Senzel will get traded. If Winker, for a quality bullpen piece. If Senzel, hopefully for a SS upgrade like Lindor. Galvis can’t be the answer at SS for a team that wants to win the WS. I’m definitely keeping Ervin for the bench, he’s gotten better every year. I’m not as sold on Aquino because his September stats were more in line with what he’s been like in the minors, than his August stats.

(01-29-2020, 10:41 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Winker, oh Jesse Winker. I had high hopes for him after his .299 batting average 7 HR 43 RBI .836 OPS 2018 season. But he hit a wall fairly early last season and it's come more and more to light that he can't hit LH pitching at all. There's no problem keeping him as a bench player and he's only 26 I believe ? But every game that goes by it's becoming more obvious he's not an everyday starter. Will he turn it around this season ? Is there any trade value there ?

Winker's .830 OPS last year ranked in the top 20 among NL outfielders. (Minimum 300 at bats)

Seventy percent of ML pitchers are right-handed and Winker's OPS was close to .900 against them last year.

Even if he is just considered a platoon player it is pretty silly to question if he has any trade value.

I think putting Castillanos in RF will be a huge mistake being he had one of the worst defensive lines in the position in the league. That's a position that needs a strong arm with good defensive skills. Aquino fits that bill as does Schebler for that matter. While I still have plenty of doubt about Schebler last year was his only really bad season so I don't think the book is closed on him just yet. He was never my favorite player, but he was never my least favorite either. At the very least he could be a good defensive replacement if nothing else.
Here's where i think they open the season..
1. Akiyama-CF
2. Votto-1st
3 or 5. Mosstakas-2nd
4. Suarez-3rd (if ready)
5 or 3. Castellanos-LF
6. Aquino-RF
7 or 8. Barnhart-C
8 or 7.Galvis-SS
9. BILLY HAMILTON-SP (not really)

Senzel, Winker, Ervin, VanMeter, etc. are all decent depth as well as Farmer and they WILL need depth in case of injuries, illnesses, days off, poor performance, etc..and that doesn't even mention who might come up from AAA or AA or trades during the season. I'd like to see Votto moved from the 2 hole, but Bell seems absolutely determined to keep him there.
If the 1-6 holes all perform well and hit above expectations that's a hell of a murderers row for any pitcher to face.

(01-29-2020, 11:06 AM)Yojimbo Wrote: I think Winker or Senzel will get traded. If Winker, for a quality bullpen piece. If Senzel, hopefully for a SS upgrade like Lindor. Galvis can’t be the answer at SS for a team that wants to win the WS. I’m definitely keeping Ervin for the bench, he’s gotten better every year. I’m not as sold on Aquino because his September stats were more in line with what he’s been like in the minors, than his August stats.

I agree, it's near a slam dunk somebody is getting traded.

(01-29-2020, 05:10 PM)grampahol Wrote: I think putting Castillanos in RF will be a huge mistake being he had one of the worst defensive lines in the position in the league. That's a position that needs a strong arm with good defensive skills. Aquino fits that bill as does Schebler for that matter. While I still have plenty of doubt about Schebler last year was his only really bad season so I don't think the book is closed on him just yet. He was never my favorite player, but he was never my least favorite either. At the very least he could be a good defensive replacement if nothing else.
Here's where i think they open the season..
1. Akiyama-CF
2. Votto-1st
3 or 5. Mosstakas-2nd
4. Suarez-3rd (if ready)
5 or 3. Castellanos-LF
6. Aquino-RF
7 or 8. Barnhart-C
8 or 7.Galvis-SS
9. BILLY HAMILTON-SP (not really)

Senzel, Winker, Ervin, VanMeter, etc. are all decent depth as well as Farmer and they WILL need depth in case of injuries, illnesses, days off, poor performance, etc..and that doesn't even mention who might come up from AAA or AA or trades during the season. I'd like to see Votto moved from the 2 hole, but Bell seems absolutely determined to keep him there.
If the 1-6 holes all perform well and hit above expectations that's a hell of a murderers row for any pitcher to face.

I must admit I haven't seen much of Castellanos. But everything I've read and everything I've seen has a lot about how bad a fielder he is. So he must be pretty bad. And I'd say due to the contract they're hedging their bet with him and not really counting on him being a long term answer.

I'm not 100% sold on Aquino but I feel there's a bunch of potential there. He'll only be 26 this season, it's not like he's one of these guys who's spent 10 years in minors and on several teams.

I'll be honest, Senzel's health scares me a good bit. But there's a lot to like about the guy/ I kinda hate to give up on him so soon.

It's going to be interesting to see which way they go ?

New article on reds page is suggesting Aquino will start the season at AAA because he has one more minor league option. That would then leave the team with a top 5 of Castellanos, Shogo, Senzel, Winker and Ervin.

With how Winker hits righties and Ervin hits lefties, they would make a perfect platoon in left. Shogo should be able to split time in CF and RF. That would give Senzel and Castellanos the ability to spend time in the infield to cover injuries or spell Votto, Moose, Suarez.

Looking like a really flexible roster, I like it.

There's always a lot of projection this time of years in every sport before the seasons start based on the previous season which means exactly nothing usually. Most of us have been watching these games long enough to know some guys have a great season only to be followed with not much and the other way around. The truth is we just don't know until we actually know what happens and I certainly don't know what dwells between the ears of anyone else. If I did I'd be a gazillionaire and rule the world.   Now that's a scary thought, huh?