SARASOTA -- Four more guys are out, none of them surprises (at least from my roster projection).Pretty big cuts came today, though I'm going to agree with Marc that none are particularly surprising. Gosling and Germano's fates were sealed with the Arroyo trade, as they were previously battling for Paul Wilson's (injury) slot in the rotation. I would not be surprised to see either of them in our rotation at some point in the season, however. I do think it will be very good for Gosling, in particular, to get some innings at AAA and try to have a solid year down there, as he's been roughed up for the last few years everywhere he's pitched (probably due to being rushed by the pitching-starved D-backs). Germano...well, he doesn't have as much to prove at AAA, but he can at least demonstrate his consistent AAA performance thus far has not been a fluke. I do think he can help us this year, especially if we have injury problems.
Michael Gosling, Justin Germano and Chris Denorfia have been optioned to Louisville. Jung Keun Bong was reassigned to minor league camp.
As for Denorfia...well, I'm not crazy about this one. As I've said before, my preferences would be to have Denorfia start in CF, Griffey in LF, and Dunn at 1B. I think Denorfia is likely to be as good offensively as Hatteberg (our current 1B) this year, and should be an average/plus center fielder. Improving our outfield defense would be a nice plus for our flyball-prone pitching staff. And despite Narron's statements, I've seen little indication that Hatteberg is that terrific of a defender at 1B. But, given his relatively young age, it probably is better for Chris to continue to play every day rather than warm the bench up in Cinci. I look for him to continue to produce in AAA and join the big league club as a starter when an outfielder gets hurt.
As for Bong, the guy's been hurt for a long time now. He's pitched well this spring, in limited appearances with both Team Korea and the Reds (he's yet to allow a run in ~5 innings of work over many games). I look for him to go down to AA or AAA and have a good year to get his career back on track. He could yet be a useful lefty out of the bullpen as Mercker & Hammond get old and retire in future years. -j
one good question is will the reds put bong on the 40 man or can another team take him if they don't protect him
ReplyDeleteA good question. Baseball-reference.org says Bong was drafted in '97, which means this is his 9th year on a professional roster. So he certainly should be Rule-5 eligible when that time comes...though that doesn't happen until wintertime. Perhaps a strong season in AAA will get him back on the radar--if not for the Reds, perhaps for another team. -j
ReplyDeleteI hope Denorfia gets a shot again with the team later this year. He's not that young (25) anymore - it's getting to the point where they should give him an extended look (300 PAs) to see if he can handle the Show, which I think he can.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that Denorfia is ready for the show. I don't think he'll be a star...and I'm not entirely sure he's really a starter (though I'd like to find out), but at minimum he should be a very good 4th outfielder. -j
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