Reds June 2025 Thread

[samhain]

(7 hours ago)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If you look at total payroll allocations, the Reds are a little over $45m from 15th.

They don't even need to spend top-10 money ($83m from 10th)... but it's easy to see a potential future where if they had spent enough to get to the middle of the pack they would be in one of the wildcard spots right now.

Hyesong Kim: 3yr/$12.5m (+$2.5m to his former team)
Paul Goldschmidt: 1yr/$12.5m
Pete Alonso: 1yr/$30m
Alex Bregman: 3yr/$120m (really 1yr/$36.6m with player opt outs after and a ton deferred if he doesn't)

Totally agree.  Nobody paying attention expects them to go on a NY/LA spending spree.  Just get to 150 and act semi-serious.

Heck, I can even see a (weak) excuse for spending at typical Castellini levels in years when they are rebuilding/obviously bad.  

2025 is in the wheelhouse of when all of the Reds prospect capital is allegedly maturing.  Like the Bengals in the Burrow window, the time to spend in FA is now.  Evaluate the guys you developed internally, then fill the holes from the outside.  

They don't exactly spend well, either.  As I've said, I think Martinez is terrific, but 20m for him is a hell of a lot on a team with the holes that this one has.  I think that his acceptance of that deal basically forced them to pronounce their offseason dead as soon as it happened.  You could nip and tuck around the payroll at level that they are near right now and find 25-30m for a good bat with that 20m.  Pitching is a strength with or without Martinez.  The lineup is not.

The bones of a good roster are there, they just refuse to complete the task of filing it out.