Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty finally made a significant play on the last day of the winter meetings, flipping Alfredo Simon for two of Detroit's top-10 prospects before swapping Mat Latos for two promising young talents from Miami.
When you also consider the departures of other names such as Jonathan Broxton, Ryan Ludwick, Jack Hannahan, Logan Ondrusek and Chris Heisey, in total, the Reds have shed about $30 million in payroll.
And yet, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the payroll will still increase in 2015.
That's not the greatest of news, given that the Reds have yet to acquire arguably the most sought-after position in all of Reds Country. At the time of publishing, there is still no starting left fielder.
Nori Aoki is still out there. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says the Reds are still in on him:
orioles, reds, mariners among possibilities for aoki. he should get 2-3 yrs, perhaps $7-8M per.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 18, 2014
C. Trent Rosecrans broke down the current financial make-up of the remaining roster, as it stands today:
The team still has five arbitration-eligible players on the roster for next season: Mike Leake ($9.5 million projected), Aroldis Chapman ($8.3 million projected), Zack Cozart ($2.3 million projected), Todd Frazier ($4.6 million projected) and Devin Mesoraco ($2.8 million projected).
That's a total of $27.5 million added to the 11 players already under contract, who are due a total of more than $75.5 million, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts.
That doesn't include the $6.5 million in buyouts to Jack Hannahan ($2 million) and Ryan Ludwick ($4.5 million). Those 16 players, along with the payments to the players no longer on the team, raises payroll to $109.5 million.
According to that article, that $109.5 million figure doesn't include nine other players on the roster who will account for a minimum of $4.5 million, which leaves the payroll resembling last year's.
That's without a left fielder. So the smart money would be on the Reds increasing payroll, mildly, unless they're still looking for ways to shed.
For $7 million or $8 million, Aoki has to be secured. Regardless of how underwhelming of an acquisition local media might suggest he would be, the Reds are in desperate need for high OBP guys. You can't finish as one of the worst teams in OBP and not address that.
But even more worrisome than the vacant left field are the vacancies in the rotation. As of now, candidates for the two remaining spots would be Tony Cingrani, David Holmberg, Dylan Axelrod, Daniel Corcino and Anthony Desclafani, who was recently acquired in exchange for Mat Latos.
I don't think you can pull multiple guys from this list—as it stands now, it's likely that David Holmberg would fill a slot and possibly Anthony Desclafani, who did pitch briefly for the Marlins last year. Tony Cingrani seems like he'd work best in a bullpen capacity, considering a limited pitch selection.
But if the Reds are willing to go just a bit higher in payroll, there are veteran options out there. One familiar name in particular looks tempting: Aaron Harang, who made just $1 million last year. The 36-year-old went 12-12 with a 3.57 ERA for the Atlanta Braves last season. He pitched over 200 innings and makes for an easy addition to the back of the Reds rotation.
Elsewhere, right-hander Chris Young might also be a worthy addition. He resurrected a career marred by injuries when he posted a 3.65 ERA in 165 innings pitched for the Seattle Mariners.
Though he did have an alarming 5.04 FIP, it wasn't a big deal in the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field, and his price tag would make him a nice addition as a No. 5. He made just $1.25 million last season.
So from here on out, to complete the 2015 product, the Reds will need to find a left fielder and at least one veteran starter they can sign for cheap. The options are out there, it's simply a matter of dollars and cents at this juncture.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted
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