Considering their position in baseball's economic hierarchy, it isn't terribly surprising that the Reds have yet to make a move this offseason.
The rising tide of trades and free-agent signings over the last few weeks has been driven mostly by heavy hitters such as the Mets and Red Sox - owners of two of the top three Opening Day payrolls in 2005 - with interlopers like the suddenly flush Blue Jays getting a hand in here and there.
There has been some question about how much Dan O'Brien and the Reds' baseball operations staff could do to shake things up, considering the impending change in ownership. As perhaps the most important week of the offseason approaches, though, the general manager was adamant Wednesday in saying he hadn't been told to hold off on moves until the transition had occurred.
"No," O'Brien said flatly. "Not at all."
So O'Brien has full autonomy to make moves heading into next week's winter meetings in Dallas?
"That's correct," he said.
According to Major League Baseball spokesman Rich Levin, there's no chance the new ownership group headed by CEO-in-waiting Robert Castellini will be in place by next week. The Reds have said all along they expect the handover to occur by the end of the year, but several steps remain.
"It has to go through the ownership committee, and ultimately a vote among the owners," Levin said. "I don't know when it'll get done, it's just too hard to tell. It's in the early stages."
Forcing the Reds' baseball operations staff to stand pat in the meantime would likely cripple the team's chances at any free-agent signing of even moderate significance, as most of those deals tend to be done by the end of December.
Adding even more of a sense of urgency is the way the market is trending this offseason, with early deals going longer and richer than most had anticipated. The shorter the supply of available players gets, the more leverage remaining free agents will have. That isn't good news for a smaller-market team like the Reds, who have already had to alter their approach with some of the unnamed players on their wish list.
"We are at least involved with several different prospective free-agent players - major league and minor league," O'Brien said. "Having said that, the reality of what has happened the last couple weeks, specifically in regards to the free-agent reliever market, is a little sobering. No question, it makes it more difficult to go about our business."
The deals handed out so far to relievers have shaken many of the bean counters around the game. The reaction to the five-year, $47 million deal Toronto gave to closer B.J. Ryan last weekend has been nothing short of astonishment, and it certainly helped Billy Wag- ner wrap up the four-year, $43 million contract he finalized with the Mets this week.
Even more disturbing to some is the trend that is playing out among setup men. Wednesday, the surprisingly quiet Yankees were reportedly on the verge of snagging Kyle Farnsworth in a setup role for three years and about $17 million. The Cubs previously signed Scott Eyre to a three-year, $11 million deal and added Bobby Howry for three years at $12 million on the heels of re-signing closer Ryan Dempster for three years and $15.5 million earlier this offseason.
O'Brien said the Reds would like to add bullpen help, presumably someone capable of closing. Though the Reds could go with some combination of David Weathers, Kent Mercker and Todd Coffey to finish games, O'Brien said the Reds "owe it to ourselves to explore every avenue."
"Going into it, there are different tiers, and we understand the elite tier of closers," O'Brien said. "We sort of have targeted a particular group of individuals that we think could do a job for us in combination with Mercker and Weathers, and that's the angle we're pursuing."
As usual, O'Brien wouldn't disclose any of the potential candidates, but the name of former Reds right-hander Todd Jones has been mentioned. Other available closers who could end up in Cincinnati's price range include Bob Wickman, Octavio Dotel and Jose Mesa.
When it comes to addressing more pressing needs on the roster, namely finding a starting pitcher, the Reds probably will have to go the trade route. The Reds will have plenty of suitors, especially among teams looking for outfield help. The club likely will move at least one of its four top-level players at the position - Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Pena.
"I would not limit it to the outfield," O'Brien said. "I would say that we're viewed as having a lot of good position players and clubs have expressed interest."
With something of a thin market for catchers, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Reds get a few offers for Jason LaRue and Javier Valentin. Either way, O'Brien said he would have a hard time dismissing any potential deal out of hand.
"There are some individuals that quite frankly we're really not interested in talking about," he said. "But for the most part I think we at least have to keep an open mind, and that's been our approach."