Loading ...Marc Lancaster reports that Santos will compete for the 5th spot in the rotation.
“He’s a versatile guy that can start and relieve,” said Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky. “He’s going to come to camp and, at least at the outset, compete for a starting spot. That’s what he was signed to do.
He’ll fight it out with the likes of Matt Belisle, Elizardo Ramirez, Bobby Livingston and Phil Dumatrait for the final starting job. You can put Homer Bailey’s name on that list if you like, but he probably will begin the season in Louisville.
I have to think that Santos may have the inside track for that 5th spot right now. He stacks up pretty well with Milton and Lohse over the last three seasons. The following data is from my rotation slot analysis the last three seasons, the number in front of their name is what rotation slot they ranked via their XERA for that season.
2006 ERA GS IP WHIP XERA #4 E Milton 5.19 26 152.7 1.34 5.00 #4 V Santos 5.19 19 102.3 1.61 5.46 #4 K Lohse 6.19 19 100.3 1.60 5.56 2005 ERA GS IP WHIP XERA #4 VSantos 4.56 24 134.3 1.48 4.93 #4 KLohse 4.18 30 176.6 1.43 4.94 #5 EMilton 6.47 34 186.3 1.55 6.27 2004 ERA GS IP WHIP XERA #3 V Santos 4.86 28 150.0 1.45 4.67 #4 E Milton 4.75 34 201.0 1.35 4.95 #5 K Lohse 5.36 34 193.0 1.63 5.79
All three of these guys look like #4 rotation slot pitchers. I see the battle for the 5th spot in spring training to be between Santos, Ramirez, and hopefully Belisle.
I think I like this move. Santos doesn’t have much of a K-rate, but if Gonzalez is as great as advertised, his groundball tendencies will be rewarded.
As a fifth starter I think he will be fine. We need a ground ball pitcher in GABP, that’s for sure. It is a little worrisome that he couldn’t stay in the Pirates rotation, but he is a vet who knows how to play the game (doh, did I just say that?!? It must be rubbing off. I just hope I don’t start collecting catchers, pitchers with bad arms, and 40+ year old utility people while stating I’m going for a youth movement…Of course, they say 60 is the new 40, so maybe that means….oh, sorry, I digress). I think this may work out OK.
Low-risk with the possibility of medium-reward. It’s absolutely fine. Though, personally, I’d still love to see Ramirez take this as a personal challenge and kick up his focus a notch. Of course, in the long run, I’m worried that Ramirez might just not have the stuff.
Don’t forget that we have Dick Pole to work with these guys.
I want to go on the record as liking this pick. Santos was just really unluckly last year in Pittsburgh.
When a guy’s peripherals (HR rate, K-Rate, BB-rate) don’t change, but his ERA jumps a mile, there’s usually a goofy reason, like horrible defense or bad luck on balls put into play.
For starters, Pittsburgh had the worst defense in the league, per Prospectus (the Reds were 21st, and are supposed to improve).
Baseball Reference says that his Batting Avg on Balls in Play was an absurd .362 last year, compared to the .290s the year before.
According to Hardball Times, his “Fielding Independent ERA” was 0.96 better than his actual ERA, and was almost exactly the same as he pitched in 2005, when his “real” ERA was 4.57.
According to BP’s translated stats, he actually pitched .50 better than the year before.
This guy is due for a rebound, results-wise. Nice, very cheap pickup from Krivsky. I’ll take 150 IP of 4.60 ERA for $500k or whatever Santos will earn.
If you want a good cry (or another one, for OSU fans), go check out the projected major league bench on our Big Board. Goodness.
Oddly enough, except for Moeller, most of that bench doesn’t bother me. They are mostly versatile bench players. I’d just as soon see Freel take Moeller’s place on the bench in exchange for a solid, everyday outfielder that will allow Freel to be Mr. Super Utility again.
They just can’t hit.
True, but aside from Moeller there are guys with at least some talent, even if a few of them are all glove, no hit. Plus, there’s the slim chance that Hamilton will suddenly learn how to hit. Personally, I”m hoping Hamilton pulls a Pena where he’s awful in that first year that the Reds have to keep him on the big year roster and then magically puts it together in ‘08. Then you trade him for pitching before anyone realizes that it’s all smoke and mirrors.
I like that bench, maybe not Moeller, but he is there to let Valentin be the left handed pinch hitter. Conine the righty, Deno pinch runner, Castro the defensive stopper. Hamilton, if he makes the team can be the kid that just watches and learns (and also a defensive sub and pinch runner)
the bench is lacking a little thump, but with the way Narron rotates his players in and out there will usually be one of the big bats on the bench on any given day.
I too would like to see some more offensive potential off that bench. They’ve got some good gloves but not much else.
Uh-oh, we might have some angry people here. The Reds traded for IF Jeff Keppinger and designated Olmedo for assignment. Anyone know anything about Keppinger other than last year’s minor league stats? Any prospect grades for him anywhere?
Silly. Someone said he’s the same guy as Brendan Harris, who they just traded away last week.
from rotoworld:
” Once again, we’re left baffled by a Wayne Krivsky move. The Reds just had practically the same player on the roster in Brendan Harris before giving him away to the Rays. Both are 26-year-old right-handed hitters. We’d give Harris the clear edge, based mostly on his versatility. Keppinger is just average at second base and has little experience elsewhere. Harris is about as good at second base, is a fine third baseman and can handle short if necessary, though not on a regular basis. On offense, there’s hardly any difference at all. If the Reds weren’t going to have room for Harris, they shouldn’t possess a spot for Keppinger. Also, this costs them a superior defensive infielder in Ray Olmedo. We’re not impressed at all with how Krivsky has handled his offense since taking over.”
Not sure if what roto has to say is so true, Keppinger’s numbers at AAA and even with the Royals last year didn’t look too bad. But if you had to DFA somebody, did it have to be Olmedo?