So far at the GM meetings...

[redsrbetter]

Reds will be careful shoppers
Lots of closers on the market

By Marc Lancaster
Post staff reporter

Baseball's free agent market officially opens Friday, but the Reds aren't likely to barge through the doors in search of a quick fix.

Putting aside the rather significant complication of how the impending sale of the club might affect their approach to offseason moves, there simply isn't much help available in the Reds' greatest area of need.

This year's crop of free-agent starting pitchers is woefully thin. The man expected to draw the most interest, Florida Marlins right-hander A.J. Burnett, doesn't even have a winning career record (49-50) but figures to demand - and receive - a hefty multi-year deal. After seeing Eric Milton's three-year, $25.5 million contract blow up in their face this season, that's not the type of environment the Reds want to enter.

They do have other needs, though, with more feasible solutions available through free agency. Closer, for instance.

Though David Weathers did all that could have been expected while filling in after Danny Graves was shown the door, no one expects the veteran to take on those duties again in 2006. Weathers was signed to be a setup man, and that's where the Reds want him.

If the Reds are so inclined, the free-agent rolls are dotted with late-game specialists, including Billy Wagner, Trevor Hoffman, B.J. Ryan, Bob Wickman, Jose Mesa, Ugueth Urbina, Kyle Farnsworth and Todd Jones.

The general consensus is that Wagner will return to Philadelphia, and Hoffman is almost certainly beyond the Reds' realm, but there are plenty of options available - especially if you include former closers like the Yankees' Tom Gordon and those with the potential to move into the role like Cleveland's Bobby Howry.

That's plenty of bait, but Reds general manager Dan O'Brien wasn't about to nibble on any of it Wednesday night.

"First of all, from our point of view, we probably would prioritize starting pitching above a closer," O'Brien said from the general managers' meetings in Indian Wells, Calif. "Second of all, there are a lot of closers currently on the free agent market, and as a result that's causing a lot of clubs to be in a wait-and-see mode depending upon where certain individuals end up and who might be available as a result. Thirdly, in our case, we may potentially have some internal candidates who may ultimately end up being capable of doing the job, such as a Todd Coffey, who with a rediscovered split-finger might be able to handle the role."

Though O'Brien is loath to address such matters directly, it sounds as if the Reds will be content to limit their free-agent shopping to supplemental parts, such as a veteran infielder in the Rich Aurilia mode.

When it comes to addressing their perennial need on the mound, the Reds are more likely to look inward - as with Coffey - or try to acquire help through a trade. The latter option seems to be the Reds' best hope for bringing in a starter, as it is one in which they actually hold the coveted commodities.

O'Brien has all but conceded that the Reds will look to trade at least one of their four core outfielders, Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Pena, this offseason. While he declined to get into specifics Wednesday, O'Brien acknowledged there has been plenty of interest from other teams.

"Let's just say that clubs are very cognizant of the strength we have and the offense that is on our ballclub," O'Brien said.

Media reports from round the country this week have suggested the Cardinals, Twins, Royals and others would like a shot at prying one of those outfielders away - particularly Dunn or Kearns.

O'Brien said no deals are imminent, but he and the rest of the Reds' contingent, which also includes assistant GM Dean Taylor and director of major league operations Brad Kullman, are canvassing the other 29 teams to see what they might have to offer. Just as those other teams are doing the same to the Reds.

"We're at that point in time where people are assessing our ballclub and where our inventory lies and where there might be a fit," O'Brien said.

O'Brien and his staff will return home from California late Friday, hopefully with a better idea of how to move forward as they look ahead to baseball's winter meetings, which begin Dec. 5. So far, O'Brien said, everything is going according to plan.

"We plow on through our agenda and we're visiting with all the clubs out here and we're trying to lay some groundwork," he said. "So far, I'd have to say it's been productive."

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....511100315/1027

[redsrbetter]

With guys like Jocketty and others stating that the free agency will move faster than usual and with DanO already seeming commited to not go the FA route, I think our possibilities of landing a closer are very slim. I would not want to land one in a trade either because we need the best possible pitcher we can get for one of our outfielders.

Sounds like Kearns and Dunn are getting the most interest. It is scary to think about what is going on in DanO's mind. I guess we will find out more Saturday morning.

[CincyRedsFan30]

More quotes! Fun, fun.