(09-26-2019 03:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote: (09-22-2019 06:54 AM)crex043 Wrote: I'm quite skeptical that the Reds will be competitive to the extent that the front office is suggesting next year. Keep in mind that it had been suggested that 2020 was an all-in year. Outside of pitching, the only position where the collective WAR was above average was 3B. Everything else was below average. That's a lot of players to replace to get to the playoffs, miss less the World Series. We basically need upgrades for catcher, a whole new middle infield, at least two outfield starters, and we need to fix our rickety bullpen. That means leaning heavily on free agency to obtain 4-5 new starters, mortgaging a significant portion of the future to trade prospects for established starters MLB ready prospects, or depending on performance from our own prospects.
It just feels like we're too far away. I would be happy to wait for steady growth as I see our minor league prospects getting better. I don't want to see an "all-in" 2020 where the Reds hobble into a wildcard playoff or get dismantled by the Dodgers in the division series and then suck for the next three years.
Our key to long term success is building a competent and unified player development system and drafting better players internationally. Not going all-in in 2020 depending on backups to suddenly become the next Scooter.
Yeah.
If you had told me in March that Suarez would hit 49 HR, Iglesias would hit .290, acquiring Puig would end up looking like a good deal, three rookies would look like everyday players through the end of August (Senzel, Aquino, and Van Meter), Castillo & Gray would make the All-Star team, and the rotation would only have 1 guy get injured...... what would be your over/under on this team's record?
Everything has gone right for the team this year (well, until the last weekend in August, when they stopped hitting). But here we are in late September and they're still in 4th place, 13 games under .500.
And you were doing so well in the Castilo v. Gray debate. smh .C'mon. Yeah, everything went right except:
- Their highest-paid and presumed best player had the worst full season of his career.
- Arguably their second-best offensive player of the past few years entering his free agent season got hurt for much of the year and was among the worst hitters in the league upon his return before being dealt for a PTBNL who I believe they never even bothered naming.
- In terms of actual market value of performance coming in, their key pitching acquisition and only LHSP was hurt most of the year and ineffective in his few starts before getting shut down again.
- Which influenced them to acquire a consensus Cy Young contender type starting pitcher midseason who suddenly was frequently hit like he was pitching batting practice.
- Both heads of their two-headed catching platoon got hurt leaving them with a starting catcher for a time who struggled to hit much over .200 in the minors
- Both of their extremely reliable veteran free agent relievers from last year suddenly became extremely unreliable this year and were released.
- Arguably the best Reds hitting prospect of the last few years seemed to regress and yes of course also got hurt ending his season.
- The alternative best Reds hitting prospect of the last few years and best overall prospect had a merely OK rookie season before, you guessed it, he got hurt which ended his season.
- Matt Kemp goes from a fairly nice All-Star season in LA (121 OPS+) and seemingly primed to thrive in GABP as trade bait to an utterly worthless entity (OPS+ of 26
) whose career is probably over.
So other than that stuff (and a few others I left out edit: Raisel Iglesias for crying out loud!) it's incredible how "right" everything went for the Reds this year.
By the way, like you mentioned, I agree some things went better than expected. And I'm not saying the Reds were the only team to encounter adversity by any means. And clearly other teams fought through it much better than they did. I'm just saying it's crazy to argue that everything "went right" for the Reds this year.