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Reds 2022-23 OiR Chat
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Anthony Franco
3:33
Yeah I don't think they're trading Alexis Díaz. He's got four more seasons of club control after this one, don't think they'll see any urgency to move him. Relievers are volatile and you can argue for any team that isn't competing in the short term to cash them in, but if the Reds were thinking like that, I imagine we'd have heard more about him being in trade discussions over the winter
Tom
3:33
Who plays 3b this season?
Anthony Franco
3:34
Should be Spencer Steer to start with. Depending on how he performs, Christian Encarnacion-Strand could get into the mix midseason
Eh?
3:34
Do you think Connor Phillips could be part of the Reds bullpen this season?
Anthony Franco
3:35
He doesn't have to go on the 40-man until next winter and didn't throw strikes last year. He'd have to take a pretty big step forward in that regard over the first couple months in Louisville to get a look this season, I think
Kevin
3:35
What do you see as TJ Friedl’s upside? How likely do you think that is?
Anthony Franco
3:36
Solid fourth outfielder. Plus contact skills without much impact. I think he's a better defender than the public metrics have suggested so far
Tim
3:37
Joey Votto a HoF?
Anthony Franco
3:37
I would vote for him and expect he will get in, yeah
Marge Schott
3:38
Thanks for taking my question. Big Graham Ashcraft fan; do you see him as the ace of the Reds staff? I think he is primed to take a big leap forward in terms of becoming a top pitcher in the NL
Anthony Franco
3:39
I don't see that kind of upside. I like Ashcraft, think he's a solid #3/4 starter who'll be a valuable contributor for the next couple seasons. Don't think he misses enough bats to be a top-end starter though
3:40
He throws really hard but the fastball doesn't have the kind of carry at the top of the strike zone that gets above bats. He's more of a sinker/cutter guy who moves the ball laterally to stay on the ground and avoid hard contact
3:41
Which is fine, but those guys tend to be more middle to back of the rotation caliber. It's tough to consistently put up top-of-the-rotation numbers without huge strikeout tallies because there's more variability in results when the ball's in play
Steve C
3:41
Why in the world did the reds just send  Encarnacion- Strand to the minors when he is clearly their third baseman and ready right now? Are they playing games with the extra year of service time again?
Anthony Franco
3:43
He's only got 48 games at Double-A and has never played in Triple-A. The concern with CES has always been that he's a free swinger
3:44
So no, I don't think it's a service time thing. I was a little surprised they cut him with a couple weeks left in camp given how well he was playing, but I'd disagree with the premise that he's clearly their best third baseman right now. Totally fair to say he needs to prove it in Louisville for a few months as he sees more high-quality breaking stuff
Beans McGruff
3:44
Williamson has not looked this spring but some think he’ll open the year in the rotation. What’s your thoughts?
Adam
3:45
Who wins the #4 and #5 spot?
Anthony Franco
3:45
It's Weaver for the fourth spot if he's healthy. Been dealing with some forearm discomfort this spring but no indication it's a real concern
3:47
I don't see how they can open with Williamson as the #5 starter coming off the season he had. A 14% walk rate just doesn't work as a starting pitcher and as mentioned, he's gotten hit around a bit this spring
3:48
I'd guess Luis Cessa or Chase Anderson gets the first look
Brad Hand’s Hand
3:48
Are you surprised Myers got that much in free agency with how middling his career has been?
Anthony Franco
3:49
$7.5MM feels about right. Even with the strikeouts, he's still an above-average hitter if not the kind of player the Padres clearly thought he'd be. He's shown glimpses of more in the past. I don't mind it
3:50
Twins gave Joey Gallo $11MM and it's not clear to me that Myers is worse
How about furman
3:50
India get back to his rookie of the year numbers?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Yeah I think that's viable without hamstring problems weighing him down
westcasey
3:51
Offered India to CHX, got Lux, OF Outman, P Frasso back from LA in 3-way. Reds fans voted down, 5/1 ratio. what do you think?
Anthony Franco
3:52
I don't know what else you've got in this trade but I don't think the Dodgers would give those guys up for India alone even with the Lux ACL tear
Adam
3:53
How do you feel about Spencer Steer?
Anthony Franco
3:55
Don't see why he couldn't be a regular or at least a bat-first utility type in the Brandon Drury mold
Chase
3:55
With all the shortstop prospects? Do you see one getting traded for an outfielder or converting them to outfield and staying in organization? Maybe a trade with Arizona or Washington for their outfield prospects?
Anthony Franco
3:56
Not going to happen before Opening Day but at some point down the line, it's possible. Prospect logjams, aside from maybe at catcher, usually sort themselves organically though
3:57
Not all those guys will be big league caliber shortstops. And if they can play shortstop, then they can play second or third base and are probably athletic enough to branch out into the outfield eventually. I like that they were open-minded to this kind of thing over the offseason -- wish more teams would consider swapping young players like that -- but it's not something they'll need to force
Beans McGruff
3:57
will this be the last year of David Bell at the helm?
Anthony Franco
3:59
Got a few questions about Bell. It's tough to tell from the outside what kind of a job he's doing behind the scenes, and I generally like the coaching staff they've built
4:00
But in general, yeah, he's going into Year 5 and headed for another losing season. They've been marginally above .500 twice and well below twice more. Fair or not, managers in that situation tend to end up on the hot seat regardless of the caliber of roster they've had
Walter Sobchak
4:00
Any chance the Reds could sign Tyler Stephenson to a contract extension? The team has no money on the books after this season and he seems like a solid base to build around. Even if he eventually needs to spend most of his time at 1B/DH. The Sean Murphy and Keibert Ruiz extensions would seem to be a pretty fair ceiling and floor.
Anthony Franco
4:03
Yeah they're in position to pick a couple of the core young players and try to hammer out an extension. Not just Stephenson but maybe India or some of the pitchers, could look into one of the pre-debut deals with De La Cruz. They're not going to get them all done obviously, but they should sign one or two given the long-term payroll space
4:04
Stephenson's in the 2-3 year service bucket, which is one above Ruiz and below Murphy. He's not as good as Murphy but he's done more than Ruiz has so far. I don't think Cincinnati would match the $73MM that Atlanta gave Murphy over six years but I can't see Stephenson giving away five potential free agent seasons for $50MM like Ruiz did
4:06
So I think they'd be looking at a slightly lesser guarantee than Ruiz got but over a shorter term, maybe buying out two free agent years
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