Homer Bailey

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey is continuing his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in May 2015.   

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It's what's on the agenda when a team is eight games under .500 and 11.5 games out of first before June. Because a Reds rebuild seems all but certain with ace Johnny Cueto playing in the final year of his contract, it's time to assess what's worked and what's in store.

Dear Santa,

Reds fan here. We haven't been on the greatest of terms since Clinchmas, now over four years ago. Where have you been since? And what's with all the coal in our red stockings?

With starting pitcher Homer Bailey officially off the 2014-2015 free-agent board after agreeing to a long-term contract extension with the Cincinnati Reds, the pressure could be rising for the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers to get deals done with their own free agent-to-be front-line starters. 

The five-player trade between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics involving Jed Lowrie and Chris Carter, who both went on to have highly productive seasons for their new teams in 2013, was the lone "blockbuster" trade from last February.

It doesn't mean that we won't have an eventful month ahead of us, with the potential for multiple impact trades to happen. Several big names have already been discussed in trades this winter and it wouldn't be a big surprise to see a few of them head into spring training with a new team.

In baseball terms, "file and trial" is a way of describing teams willing to go through the arbitration-hearing process with their young, ascending talents. With salary numbers exchanged, the real fun begins for the players still without a final salary for the 2014 MLB season.

As the season approaches, the following players have one more hurdle to clear before workouts, exhibition games and preparation for the 2014 season can commence: a battle for salary against their employers.

With little major league-ready depth after their projected five starters, the Cincinnati Reds aren't currently in a position to shop Homer Bailey as he enters his last season before free agency. So it makes sense that the Reds were telling teams last month that he's not available, as was reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Pitching has been the strength of the Cincinnati Reds the past few seasons, and stability in the rotation is the reason that the club is going to continue to contend.

Cincinnati's rotation finished near the top of the majors in most of the major categories. Despite pitching in Great American Ball Park, the staff has found a way to get the job done.

There isn't much to guess about when it comes to what the Reds rotation will look like in 2014. 

Homer Bailey is basically Nolan Ryan.

OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But the Cincinnati Reds right-hander and the Ryan Express now have something pretty cool in common, and it also serves as clarification for a certain something else: the fact that Bailey is a lot better than you might think he is.

Say what you will about Homer Bailey, but the man sure has a penchant for spectacular finishes.

The Cincinnati Reds right-hander recorded the first no-hitter of the 2013 MLB season on Tuesday night, blanking the San Francisco Giants in a 3-0 victory at Great American Ballpark.