Redleg Nation would like to express its condolences to the family of ex-Red Jim Beauchamp, who passed away at the age of 68 of leukemia.

Surprisingly, the Reds have a pretty solid group of pitchers on the cusp of the Major Leagues. Check out this post by Doug, wherein he takes a look a the group, from the Homer Baileys and Johnny Cuetos to the others who might provide some bullpen help in Cincinnati this year (and in the future).

If the Reds get even mildly lucky with some of these pitchers, the staff could be outstanding in 2009…and possibly not bad in 2008.

Redleg Nation would like to offer a very fond farewell to C. Trent Rosecrans, the departing beat writer for the soon-to-be-defunct Cincinnati Post. Not only will we miss Rosecrans’ voice in the paper on a daily basis, we’ll also miss his presence in the Reds blogosphere.

Best of luck to you, Trent. Keep us updated on your future plans.

Rosecrans has this article this morning saying that GM Wayne Krivsky likely isn’t finished tinkering with this roster, but I think we all knew that. Also, he has “an early look at the 2008 Reds,” which serves as a decent “state of the team” update. Then there’s this:

Krivsky will still likely trade for or sign a veteran starter along the lines of Jon Lieber, Mark Prior or Livan Hernandez to compete for a spot in the rotation and add insurance in case some of the young arms aren’t ready.

There’s also the possibility of signing former Red Mike Cameron to fill center field for a season in order to nurse Bruce along.

I wouldn’t complain about Lieber, Prior, or Hernandez, but I can’t figure out any reason to sign Mike Cameron for the salary that he will command.

UPDATE: If you don’t want to look ahead, Reds.com has a review of 2007 for the Reds. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to look back on that disaster, but there’s the link if you are a glutton for punishment.

Well, the Hamilton trade has been consummated, love it or hate it. So where are we left standing, and what holes are left to get filled in for us to have playoff hopes next season? Here is a look at what the 25 man roster might look like on Opening Day as we stand now:

C Ross
1B Votto
2B Phillips
SS Gonzalez
3B Encarnacion
LF Dunn
CF Bruce
RF Griffey

C Valentin
IF Hatteberg
IF Keppinger
OF Freel
OF Hopper

SP Harang
SP Arroyo
SP Belisle
SP Bailey
SP Volquez

CL Cordero
RP Weathers
RP Bray
RP Burton
RP Stanton
RP Coffey
RP Majewski

>> Continue

On the Josh Hamilton trade, I’ve looked at it from every angle, and I’m ready to make my call.

I like the trade.

Yes, I think I’m the only Redleg Nation editor who doesn’t dislike the trade. I hate losing Hamilton, but I really like the upside of Edinson Volquez (although I’m already sick of typing his name). Volquez and Homer Bailey and Matt Belisle can all be decent 3-4 type starters this year, and the first two have stuff that could push them higher in the rotation very soon. Toss in Cueto and things are looking pretty good.

No, Wayne Krivsky didn’t get a steal here, but most trades aren’t a steal for one side or the other. The Reds got good value for Hamilton, and that’s all you can ask (both teams actually got good value, I’d say). It may work out for Cincinnati, or it may not, but I think it’s a good risk. I’m fine with the trade, for what that’s worth.

I’m still torn about the trade of Josh Hamilton to the Rangers in exchange for Edinson Volquez, Texas’ minor league pitcher of the year. It will probably take a few days for me to decide, and part of that is the fact that I really liked Josh Hamilton, so I’m not sure I can be completely objective about this.

I’ve said multiple times that I thought trading Hamilton was a good idea (there is a good chance that his value will never be higher than it is today), but I’m just not sold on Volquez yet. I need to research him a little more. He’s never been, as someone said in the comments yesterday, as highly rated as Homer Bailey, but that doesn’t mean that he does not have the potential to be a very good pitcher in Cincinnati.

So I’ll wait to draw my final conclusions about this trade. For now, here’s what others are saying about the deal…

–Here’s CTR’s piece in the Post, which includes this quote from Hamilton:

“I think I was in the right place for me coming back to baseball,” said Hamilton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft. “Cincinnati welcomed me with open arms - who would have thought a city that had never seen a guy play baseball would? It’s going to be one of my favorite places forever. I enjoyed the fans, the organization, I talked to (general manager) Wayne (Krivsky) and told him how much I appreciated the opportunity in taking a chance and seeing what I can do.”

I was there on Opening Day when Hamilton got a standing ovation. It was a surreal moment.

CTR also has some interesting quotes about Volquez and about the trade:

“(Volquez) is athletic with a live arm,” Krivsky said. “He’s from the Dominican Republic and his idol is Pedro Martinez. He’s got charisma, animation. He’s got a fastball, in the 92-94 (mph) range, but can go get 97 when he needs to. He’s got a hard breaking ball that acts like a slurve at times. He’s got impressive stuff, it’s a matter of him maturing and commanding that stuff.”

Volquez also started six games for the Rangers last season, going 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA.

“This trade would not have been done had we not felt that (Volquez) was able to not only compete, but win a job in our rotation in ‘08,” Krivsky said.

The trade of Hamilton could open up a spot in the outfield for Jay Bruce, Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2007.

“We have depth in the outfield and we’re trading from our position of depth,” Krivsky said. “To have a guy like Jay Bruce and Chris Dickerson and (Norris) Hopper, we have some depth in the outfield. It allowed us to consider trading a guy like Hamilton, and if we didn’t feel real good about the starting pitcher coming back we wouldn’t have made the deal.”

Krivsky, though, didn’t rule out another move for a more experienced starter.

“It depends on what you’re giving up and the price tag from the standpoint of talent, or if it’s a free agent, years and dollars,” Krivsky said. “You’re always looking for pitching. There aren’t any jobs being given out, they will have to earn a position. With Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Matt Maloney and Homer Bailey, you have four starters that are 21-24 that are on the cusp of making a mark on the major leagues. To have four guys 21-24 with the type of ceiling all four of these guys have, we feel good.”

All that is reasonable, though (A) I’m not sure what Volquez’s “charisma, animation” has to do with anything and (B) mentioning Jay Bruce’s name in the same sentence as Hopper and Dickerson is insane.

On that note, please tell me I’m crazy for foreseeing Norris Hopper in CF in the Opening Day lineup:

With Hamilton gone, the Reds’ center field position is open for competition in the spring, Krivsky said.

“That’s what spring training will determine,” Krivsky said. “(Manager) Dusty (Baker) will play the guy who earns it. With Hopper, (Ryan) Freel, Dickerson and Bruce we’re comfortable with the four guys in competition for playing time.”

–John Fay wonders if this trade will “make way for Jay” Bruce, but I’m less than confident. I hope Bruce is the Opening Day CF.

–Red Hot Mama finds the trade “neither inexplicable nor completely insane.”

–Hal McCoy says that the glut in the outfield made Hamilton expendable.

–Some quotes from Hamilton and Krivsky on Fay’s blog.

–Some folks have wondered whether this trade makes it more or less likely that the Reds will be able to swing a trade for Baltimore’s Erik Bedard. The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Bedard is not likely to be traded by Opening Day at this point.

From MLB.com:

Texas continues to troll for a center fielder, a search that currently winds from free agent Mike Cameron through Los Angeles and Cincinnati. The Rangers apparently like the outfielder the Dodgers are trying to move — Juan Pierre — but only if he brings along a significant portion of the $26.5 million remaining on his contract. Discussions with the Reds involve Josh Hamilton, but include a price (Edinson Volquez) the Rangers may not want to meet.

Did Volquez have some injury issue in ‘07? He started the year in A+ and finished in the majors.

UPDATE 6:45 PM Friday: Per the Official site, Hamilton has been traded to Dallas for two young pitchers, right-hander Edinson Volquez and left-hander Danny Herrera.

The hard-throwing, 24-year-old Volquez fanned 166 batters while going 14-6 at three Minor League stops last season.

Herrera, 23, appeared in seven games for Class A Bakersfield and 34 games for Double-A Frisco. All of his appearances for Frisco were in relief, and he allowed 43 hits and struck out 64 in 52 1/3 innings.

Questions to ponder:

• Was Krivsky right to trade Hamilton at his peak?
• Did he get enough in return?
• Does this mean Jay Bruce starts the season in CF, or does this clear a path for Freel/Hopper?
• John Sickels liked Volquez, but questioned whether the Rangers could develop him. Are the Reds any better-equipped?
• What does this mean about the apparent “win now” mandate?
• Does Volquez get packaged up for Bedard?

John Fay’s Sunday column deals with the Reds continuing search for more starting pitching:

They’re going to continue to try to land a starting pitcher. That’s Wayne Krivsky’s mandate from ownership.

The only limitation is he has to do it without giving up Jay Bruce. So far, that’s what has kept the Reds from completing a deal with Baltimore for left-hander Erik Bedard.

They continue to try to swing the deal without Bruce included. The hope is the Orioles will ease off their demand for Bruce and accept a package built around Homer Bailey.

At this point, I’ve decided I’d rather just keep Bailey (and Joey Votto and whomever else). I’m seriously concerned that Krivsky will overpay. He does have a history of that, you know.

Then, again:

The Reds had expressed interest in Haren but thought the price was too steep. The A’s apparently wanted a package that included Johnny Cueto.

Hmmmmm. That surprises me. I’d rather hang onto Bailey than Cueto, since Bailey is presumedly closer to being ready to contribute to the major league club, but maybe (probably) the Reds know something I don’t.

I guess the question is what else was included in that package that included Cueto. If the Reds were willing to give up a package of Bailey, Votto, and Josh Hamilton, for example, but weren’t willing to do the deal with Cueto included…well, that would be disconcerting. No way to know that, I guess, and our beloved General Manager isn’t usually forthcoming with information about anything.

Here’s what worries me, though:

My sense is the Reds will get something done. Going into the season with Matt Belisle as the No. 3 starter isn’t a good plan. Belisle might develop into a consistent winner. But “might” is the operative word. The same can be said of Bailey.

The stakes in the NL Central got a little higher last week when the Houston Astros added Miguel Tejada (speaking of the Mitchell Report) and Jose Valverde, the major-league saves leader.

Reds ownership doesn’t want three question marks in the rotation. Krivsky, in the final year of his contract, knows winning is essential to his job security.

That sounds like a recipe to get a deal done.

Sounds like a recipe for Wayne Krivsky to push the panic button to me. And we know what happens when Wayne Krivsky pushes the panic button because he thinks he has to win now.

Our buddy Justin has taken something I’ve been wondering about lately — How much is too much to give up in a trade for Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard? — and actually performed some analysis. Here is his conclusion, but be sure to go read the entire post; it’s a very thought-provoking post with much more baseball goodness than I can quote below:

Nevertheless, what this analysis indicates to me is that a package of any two of the Reds’ prospects would be severely overpaying for two years of Bedard. Now, Bedard’s trade value could be greatly improved if you could extend Bedard beyond the 2010 season. But the potential for such an extension seems questionable given Bedard’s comments about wanting to test free agency. Furthermore, pitchers don’t tend to make particularly good investments in the long term because of how unreliable even great pitchers tend to be past age 30.

Given that a one-for-one trade of any of the Reds’ prospects for Bedard is apparently very unlikely, I have to say that I’m really hoping the Reds do not end up making this deal. So good luck to the Dodgers, Mariners, and anyone else who might want to step in and try to outbid Krivsky.

Thoughts?

I see that the Enquirer is running a promotion or a contest or something where they are asking people to “Draw and color a picture or your other favorite Red and share it with The Enquirer.”

Okay, I can’t really understand that, but I’d LOVE to see the pictures you guys would submit. If anyone submits a picture to them (and why wouldn’t you?), please send me a scan of it to post here. Or if you are feeling bored and wanna put your photoshop skills to good use on a Red, send that to me as well. We’ll post it here.

Man, I wish spring training would get here. I’m getting loopy or something….

Nice to see:

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jim Bunning, R-Ky., announced passage Wednesday of a Senate resolution honoring Joe Nuxhall, longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster and former pitcher who died in November.

“Ohio has lost a beloved son and baseball one of its most distinctive voices with the passing of Joe Nuxhall,” the resolution reads.

“The Senate honors the life of Joe Nuxhall, baseball legend, dedicated family man, and civic-minded leader.”

We’re sure gonna miss the Ol’ Lefthander around here.

From FoxSports:

The Reds are pushing for Haren as well as Bedard, apparently believing that they could acquire such a pitcher without including outfielder Jay Bruce in the deal. A package centered around Homer Bailey and Joey Votto might not be enough, but the Reds’ reluctance to part with Bruce is understandable. One rival G.M. says Bruce could be another Larry Walker . . .

This deal I’d do, assuming I could get him signed to an extension…it solidifies the rotation (Haren for Bailey), yet you will still have the need for another starter. Losing Votto would leave a sizable hole at 1B for the foreseeable future, unless they try the Dunn experiment again with more success.

Anyone go to RedsFest this year? Record attendance, I’m told.

Red Hot Mama has a nice recap, with video and pictures. I can’t believe she didn’t purchase the Tom Shearn jersey, though.