It is always easy for us fans to become an “armchair” general manager of any team, by deciding which players to trade, sign and demote to the minors. Mets360 organized a project, where us bloggers became the general manager of a team for a week. I was assigned the Cincinnati Reds, and had research to do before starting the project.
Starting Off
When the Reds first come to mind, you have to think about Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, Billy Hamilton, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto as the core of the team. The team’s payroll was a little too high for my liking, as the starting rotation (alone) was worth over $40 million. Therefore, someone in the starting rotation was going to be traded.
The starting lineup was in decent shape, although it is starting to age. Bruce, Hamilton and Votto were going to be the main bats in my lineup, although trading Bruce was considered throughout the project. Ryan Ludwick’s $9 million was tough to look at, but it was even tougher to spend $4.5 million to buy him out. Either way, my decision with Ludwick was going to cost the team a good amount of money, unless if he was traded.
Trade Talks
With Cueto being a free agent after the 2015 season, now seemed like the time to trade him. Since he is considered an ace, there was no shortage of teams interested in his service.
Starting off, I contacted the Boston Red Sox, as their prospects would be greatly desired. Xander Bogaerts was the main piece I wanted. A young, controllable shortstop who has great potential would become a nice fit for my team. The Red Sox declined, and it was on to the next team.
The Chicago Cubs were a great fit, as they are a young, rebuilding team who is looking to make a big splash this offseason. Pitching is their biggest need, and I wanted a shortstop in return, so the groundwork of the deal was laid out to be Johnny Cueto for Starlin Castro. While trying to acquire another player, the final deal was Cueto and Zack Cozart for Castro and Hector Rondon. With the addition of Castro and Rondon, my startling lineup got a nice addition, and my bullpen got a solid setup man, which was needed after the Jonathon Broxton was traded. Tony Cingrani would fill in for Cueto, and although our ace was traded, Mat Latos will become the new ace, and we would try to lock him up to a long-term deal.
Although Brandon Phillips is a fan favorite, he is turning 34 years old, and his $12 million price tag was a little too much. In order to get a little younger, I traded Phillips to Seattle for Dustin Ackley and Carson Smith. This move gave more cap room and youth to the team.
No one wanted to take on Ryan Ludwick’s salary, so the decision was made to hold onto him, as he will be starting left fielder entering the season.
End Result
The Reds finished 76-86 after their 2014 season, and these deals were not an attempt to get back into competition, but to create more financial flexibility, and set the team up for future success. Hopefully Ackley and Castro elevate their games as they gain more experience, and Bruce can rebound after a sluggish 2014 season. If they do, the offense will be in good shape, and our pitching rotation isn’t too bad. Plus with Chapman, Rondon and Hoover in the bullpen, this team should be close to a .500 team.
Lessons Learned
After this project, I had more appreciation for what general managers do. Reaching out to other general managers, maintaining a budget and judging talent that will benefit your team is pretty difficult to juggle. Also, I had the worst luck with trying to acquire sweeteners, players who may be low impact but could help out on the bench for depth, since other general managers valued those players quite highly.
Overall this was a tremendous experience and opportunity to communicate with fellow bloggers and friends, while acting as a general manager. I sure do not envy the general managers in the MLB for making some awfully difficult decisions.
James Newman;
My initial review of the Reds showed me several things;
1. The bullpen lost 31 games
2. The starters had 103 quality starts
3. The defense was outstanding
4. The injuries were crippling.
Your statement; “Tony Cingrani would fill in for Cueto, and although our ace was traded, Mat Latos will become the new ace, and we would try to lock him up to a long-term deal.”
Both pitchers finished the year on the disabled list. Cingrani has not pitched an inning since July 2014. This second year Latos has missed starts because of injury.
Ludwick has been released, Joey Votto went on disabled list 7/5/14 so no one knows what he will be capable of.
I don’t remember the Phillips trade happening. The Mariners caption doesn’t mention it and his roster shows Ackley and Smith on it.
If that trade happens, it’s a nice one for Cincinnati. I tried to get Smith as GM of the Athletics. He’s got closer potential and Ackley would fit in nicely at 2nd. Phillips is in decline, so any return you could get would be a plus.
I also highly doubt this trade would have occurred, seeing as the Mariners just paid 240 million to a certain former Yankee to man the position for the decade.
And any trade that would have Phillips move off 2nd would be a crime, because he’s still one of the slickest fielding 2nd baseman in the game, despite his offensive decline
There should be plenty of teams that can use Phillips and some a starting pitcher too. As for Phillips: Milwaukee, Atlanta, Baltimore, Yankees, Cleveland, Oakland, Tampa, and Toronto.
There should be a matchup somewhere…
Phillips is a 5/10 player and can deny any trade. A good GM would know this.
I sure hope you don’t show your face in Cincinnati. You must be a Reds-hater. Or, a Cubs-lover. How many games would the Cubs win against the Reds if Cueto were pitching for the Cubs. It looks to me like you traded production of non-production. My best idea iss, “Try again”.