Casey to the Pirates?

[redsrbetter]

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


Casey available for right price
By Rob Rossi
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, December 6, 2005


DALLAS -- Sean Casey, an Upper St. Clair native and popular first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds who is known as "The Mayor," is owed $8 million in 2006.
In the past, such a sum of money would have prevented the Pirates from attempting to acquire him.
Not anymore, apparently.
Though Major League Baseball rules prohibit him from talking about other teams' players, Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said Monday at the baseball winter meetings that filling a need at first base was his top priority of the offseason.
More important, he acknowledged that, unlike previous years when he was handcuffed by budgetary constraints, he is prepared this offseason to add salary -- if necessary -- regarding trades.
"It's given us a new group to work with, particularly trades," Littlefield said of Pirates ownership's allowance for him to increase the payroll into the upper-$40 million range. "We can take back salary. In the past, unless we were deleting salary, we really had limited resources to go there."
With the Pirates having approximately $15 million to spend, the opportunity to add a player such as Casey is more than just a pipe dream -- for many reasons.
First, by all indications Casey is available for the right price. That price apparently is pitching, of which the Pirates have plenty to offer in the likes of Kip Wells, Mark Redman or any one of the young and talented prospects not named Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Oliver Perez or Mike Gonzalez.
Littlefield has said that he would have a "hard time" trading Duke, Maholm, Perez or Gonzalez.
Yesterday, however, he acknowledged that "in theory, to get some bats, trading some pitching would make some sense."
Second, Casey would fit what Littlefield has identified as the team's most pressing need: A left-handed hitter with decent power.
Casey, 31, is a lifetime-.305 hitter with 118 home runs and 608 runs batted in to his credit over nine major-league seasons. He has hit 20 or more home runs in a season on three different occasions, including 24 in 2004. PNC Park's short right-field porch could, as it has in the past, prove especially inviting to Casey's swing.
He is available because the Reds are seeking to move outfielder Adam Dunn to first base.
Third, Littlefield strongly believes that Brad Eldred, the Pirates' prized power-hitting prospect at first base, needs at least another season to develop at the Class AAA level before he is ready to contribute consistently in the majors.
Acquiring Casey would allow Eldred to mature as a hitter. Casey becomes a free agent after the 2006 season, which conceivably means the Pirates could rent his services for a season and allow Eldred one more season to develop.
Littlefield believes that Eldred needs to work on making more contact, despite the fact that when he does make contact the ball often leaves the yard.
Eldred hit 12 home runs while striking out 77 times in 190 at-bats with the Pirates last season. He also has shown uncommon power in the minor leagues: 104 home runs, to go with 446 strikeouts, in less than four full seasons.
"The thing with him is that he has something that not many people in baseball have," Littlefield said of Eldred's natural power stroke. "We would love to have him be our starting first baseman, but he has to prove it.
"He has done some nice things in the minor leagues... but like any young player, you don't know for sure what you're going to get."
Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5635.

[Cincy]

I'm all for a Casey for Kip Wells or Josh Fogg deal, but I'd prefer Wells.

I think I'd pass on Redman because I don't think we would have a need for 3 lefty's in our roation.

[Wally Mo Pena]

i'd rather not trade casey for fogg or wells. Both are coming off back to back crappy seasons with WHIPs around 1.50. They just don't have much in the way of command. Both are getting older, and i don't see them as being a part of the future of the reds.

If the option is to trade casey for someone like that, or kearns/pena for someone young, i think we have to go young. I've seeen a lot of chicago fans saying they don't like the idea of jerome williams for kearns, which makes me think better and better of it.

[CincyRedsFan30]

I'm with Wally on this one. I don't want Wells or Fogg for Casey. I'd only want Pat Maholm or someone like that, but I don't know if they'd be willing to give him him(especially not someone like Zach Duke or O. Perez).