Reds trade again

[daske17]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2518314

 

It's days like this that I don't understand GMs. But on the plus side, better them than us.

 

How much do you think Hendry's crying right now that he didn't get a chance at Kearns?

[seattlecub]

it's official. AP's moved a story on it.

 

 

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds overhauled their rickety bullpen Thursday, getting Gary Majewski and Bill Bray in an eight-player deal that sent outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez to the Washington Nationals.

The Reds, hanging close in the NL Central race, also acquired shortstop Royce Clayton, infielder Brendan Harris and pitcher Daryl Thompson from the last-place Nationals.

Clayton most likely would replace Lopez, who made the All-Star game last year.

[Balsa]

Majewski is a good releiver, but jeez that's giving up a lot.

 

Does this mean Freel will play every day?

[rawaction]

Wow. The league's best SS of 2005 and the league's 5th best RF in the NL this year for bullpen help? Who trades 1/4 of their starting position players for relief?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Wow. The league's best SS of 2005 and the league's 5th best RF in the NL this year for bullpen help? Who trades 1/4 of their starting position players for relief?

 

That's what I keep thinking!

 

Couldn't we have gotten Kearns for one of our superfluous relievers?

[moorecg]

Is there ANY chance this is a prelude to something else? someone suggested they may be interested in bringing in Tejada as well but I'd have to think that is WAY to much money for them to spend...Kern AND Lopez?? Is Hendry even trying? I'd think that my suggestion he try for Freel a few days ago may actually have been a possiblity after I saw this.

[snoodmonger]

Bowden ate their lunch.

Well there's something you don't hear every day.

[JonnyRed]

Why couldn't we have pried Kearns away from the Reds for some combination of Williamson, Novoa, Eyre, Ohman, etc.?

[ManCrushOnNomar]

I guess Cinci got tired of being in the pennant race. Congrats StL/Houston.

 

Just wow.

[Fro]

That's just ridiclous... imagine what we could have gotten from the Reds for anyone in our pen. :(

 

Kearns would go a long way to fixing our OF problems.

 

I'd swap Cedeno for Lopez in a heartbeat, too.

[kylescubs23]

Lopez is not a good fielding shortstop, he has a lot of potential in his bat, but not in the glove.

[Mark Priors Calves]

If the market is gonna be like this, then Hendry had better be a seller by July 31st.

[HoopsCubs]

Is there ANY chance this is a prelude to something else? someone suggested they may be interested in bringing in Tejada as well but I'd have to think that is WAY to much money for them to spend...Kern AND Lopez?? Is Hendry even trying? I'd think that my suggestion he try for Freel a few days ago may actually have been a possiblity after I saw this.

 

The observation I am making is that this almost seems like a financially driven move cloaked as a "we need better relief pitching" move by the Reds. Kearns and Lopez will both be 2nd time arbitration eligible and are in line to get substantial raises. The players the Reds got back are still "under control" to some extent. Maybe the Reds figured they'd get more now than trying in the offseason, but I agree with all of you that they should have received more talent for what they gave up.

Edited July 13, 2006 by HoopsCubs

[Exile on Waveland]

I haven't posted forever, but this trade is mind boggling. They gave up two starters (and two young, at least decent starters) for relief help? Seriously? I am in total shock right now. Just a terrible, terrible trade.

 

I also can't help but think, why didn't the Cubs do this with whatever reliever the Reds would've wanted? Maybe that's not fair, maybe they don't make the trade within the division. I don't know, but, hopefully, this puts a premium on relievers and the Cubs can cash-in.

[kylescubs23]

I'm sure the Reds are going to keep running Dunn in left and Griffey in cf as well. They gave up their best defensive outfielder and Griffey is probably staying in center though he needs to move to right so Freel and Denorfia can play center.

[Scott G. F.]

I haven't posted forever, but this trade is mind boggling. They gave up two starters (and two young, at least decent starters) for relief help? Seriously? I am in total shock right now. Just a terrible, terrible trade.

 

I also can't help but think, why didn't the Cubs do this with whatever reliever the Reds would've wanted? Maybe that's not fair, maybe they don't make the trade within the division. I don't know, but, hopefully, this puts a premium on relievers and the Cubs can cash-in.

 

 

I agree with you in the premium. I'm seeing the market being set by this trade and enjoying the fact that the Cubs have some nice pen arms.

[HoopsCubs]

I haven't posted forever, but this trade is mind boggling. They have up two starters (and two young, at least decent starters) for relief help? Seriously? I am in total shock right now. Just a terrible, terrible trade.

 

I also can't help but think, why didn't the Cubs do this with whatever reliever the Reds would've wanted. Maybe that's not fair, maybe they don't make the trade within the division. I don't know, but, hopefully, this puts a premium on relievers and the Cubs can cash-in.

 

I think I heard this on ESPN radio this morning: 22 teams are within 7.5 games of either division leader or wild card leader. They used 7.5 as a break point because that is the most number of games a team has been out at the All star break during the wild card era, and still made post-season - I think it happened twice since 1995. At any rate, the ESPN conclusion is that it should be a seller's market for the 8 other teams, of which the Cubs are one.

[Priorknowledge]

Those bitching about Hendry not getting involved in a Kearns deal need to stop. There is no way the Reds trade him within the division and have to hear about it for the next few years. Plus, the relievers in the deal are cheaper and younger than Williamson, Dempster and Howry.

 

I like this trade a lot more for the Reds if it were in the offseason. Majewski and Bray will settle their bullpen for years. But they have no real way of filling the holes they created right now.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

I tried going to RedsZone using the link from here. I wanted to see their reaction. However, that site is not working. I think it might have imploded when word of the trade got out.

[sherwood921]

I was watching ESPN and I saw Brendan Harris...so I started to go back to see who got traded...when I saw Felipe Lopez and Austin Kearns I thought for sure they got Soriano or something. What a horrible trade.

[UMFan83]

What is this "Trade all of Jim Hendry's past failed targets" week?

 

Somewhere JH is crying

[bukie]

Trying to come up with a Cub equivalent of what the Nats gave up...

 

Williamson, Eyre, Perez, Cedeno, Jerome Williams perhaps?

[ToupeeOnFire]

Robbery.

 

Felipe Lopez is very intriguing to me. He hit 23 home runs last year and has developed a lot of patience. His defense must be really horrible, but I would take him over Cedeno and hope that he improves with the glove as he ages.

 

And Kearns, well...it's kind of funny that two of the outfielders that the Cubs have seemingly been after the last couple of years (Huff, Kearns) get traded in the span of a couple of days for not a whole lot.

 

Why do I get the feeling that Jimbo is reluctant to part with any of his off-season acquistions (Howry, Eyre, Jacque) and still feels the Cubs can make a run in the second half? My guess is that he is banking on the hope that the Cubs play better baseball post-ASB so that he can (a) give Dusty an extension (you know he wants to) and (b) be able to tell the fans in the off-season that there is reason for optimism because the Cubs played better when they had most of their horses. I don't think Hendry wants to admit defeat. In his eyes, continued mediocrity is preferrable to a 100 loss season.

[KaiserCesar]

Terrible trade.

 

We all knew they could probably benefit from trading some hitting for pitching, but this right here is ridiculous.

[abuck1220]

i'd say it's usually a pretty good trade when you end up with (arguably) the three best players involved.