11-15-2015, 11:12 PM
(11-15-2015, 04:50 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The Cards offered Pujols a 10 year, $210 million contract, and he was the same age Votto is now. Joey is a bargain compared to that.
Smart teams know that you have to pay some great players if you want to win. I think the Reds overpaid for Bailey, Chapman, and Phillips, but not Votto.
Jay Bruce just has one more year on his contract. I don't know about Frazier. But we have to keep some of these proven players. Most of them are still pretty young.
I don't think that Joey's deal would be as tough for people to stomach if the Reds had any kind of major-league ready everyday eight talent in the minors. You are correct in saying that a team needs to keep some good players. It also has to let some go, particularly when you're in a smaller market and have been doing all you can to bail payroll for two seasons.
Letting guys go isn't so tough when you have guys ready to make the jump. The Cards always seem to have guys like that. Even if they aren't studs they understand situational hitting really well and can enter a lineup without being a huge liability. There may be guys in A and AA that will turn out to be nice players, but Louisville looks like a dumpster fire right now. Winker was the one everyone liked, but had a disappointing year.
They could barely net offensive backups when moving their big trade chips this summer. Teams seem more reluctant to move those kinds of prospects now.
Payflex is an issue for the Reds, but not the biggest. Player development is. They could trade every player and clear every contract, and it wouldn't matter if there isn't young talent coming through the system.
