Reds front office in midseason form

[missionhockey21]

Reds front office in midseason form
By Marc Lancaster
Post staff reporter

The term "offseason" is something of a misnomer for those in baseball front offices.

Though the Reds' time on the field ended only a week ago, general manager Dan O'Brien and his staff are already well into their workload for the fall.

Upon returning Sunday evening from several days of organizational meetings in Sarasota, O'Brien already was looking ahead to Tuesday, when he will fly to Phoenix to check out the Reds' Arizona Fall League contingent. That trip will segue into a fact-finding mission for O'Brien and assistant GM Dean Taylor during the World Series, where the Reds will begin preliminary trade discussions with various teams.

"So there's a lot of groundwork that's going to be laid" in the next few weeks, O'Brien said, but don't expect any actual transactions until sometime in November.

The first order of business for the Reds will be filling what they hope will be the lone vacancy on their coaching staff. Manager Jerry Narron has invited everyone except first base and infield coach Randy Whisler back for 2006, and O'Brien said he didn't expect any of the coaches who have been asked to stay to turn down the chance.

"Not that I am aware of, no," said O'Brien. "At the end of the season, I think all of the coaches expressed to Jerry their desire to return if the opportunity presented itself."

John Moses, who came aboard as the bench coach shortly after Narron was named interim manager in June, is tentatively slated to assume Whisler's former duties coaching first base. Moses has served as the team's outfield instructor and will stay in that role, so the Reds ideally would hire someone qualified to tutor the infielders as the new bench coach.

The other on-field staff members expected back include pitching coach Vern Ruhle, hitting coach Chris Chambliss, third base coach Mark Berry, bullpen coach Tom Hume and bullpen catcher Mike Stefanski.

O'Brien said he is pleased that the staff will return nearly intact, giving the Reds some sense of continuity in daily instruction.

"I think that's very important," said O'Brien, "and so does Jerry."
Once the coaching staff is locked up, the Reds' focus will turn to roster management. O'Brien said those at the organizational meetings spent a lot of time reviewing the various lists of free agents on the market - players who have refused an outright assignment to the minors, six-year minor league free agents and major league free agents.

The most immediate decision the Reds will have to make regarding one of their own players is whether to exercise their part of the $2 million mutual option that would bring infielder Rich Aurilia back next season. The option must be agreed to by both parties within 10 days of the end of the World Series.

O'Brien declined to get into detail on which way the club might go with Aurilia.

"Certainly, it was a topic of conversation," he said. "But I'm really not prepared at this time to discuss it."

Click here for the rest

[redsrbetter]

So first things first. The coaches are just about in line. With the exception of who we will have as the new infield instructor, we have what we need.

Next move is the Aurilia decision. I am probably with everyone here on not signing him next season. I would hate to put 2 million into something we have in Freel. I agree that Aurilia was pretty good at home this season, but he is not the presence or the leadoff all out sppedster that Freel is. And again, he is going to cost us 2 million.

That 2 million will not get us a good pitcher in return, but it could be part of what gets us that pitcher. With dropping Aurilia and likely dropping Ortiz as well, we would have 6.55 million to use on a pitcher. That still may not buy greatness, but there are even more options to pile that money on with not having to pay DJ or Graves any longer. But that money is likely going to go to Dunn's LTC.

Either way, we have to drop Aurilia from the roster to get things going on the right foot.