Loading ...Mark Sheldon will be writing an article later today that Yonder Alonso has been practicing at 3rd base and in the outfield corners to see if he can play other positions.
If Alonso’s bat pushes the issue later this season or next year, Jocketty says that Votto is not the one who would move to left field.
Lots of speculation has involved Votto being moved to left field when Alonso is ready for his promotion. Jocketty dispelled that notion.
“It will take some time to figure it out,” he said. “That’s why we want to see him (Alonso) at different positions. He’s got a great bat and Joey is going to be at first base for a long time. I don’t see moving Joey.”
If Alonso rebounds from his wrist injury this season, I expect that he will be moved to another organization between now and opening day 2011.
UPDATE 3/2/10: Sheldon’s full profile on Alonso is up at reds.com. It’s definitely worth a read.
In addition to the profile on Alonso, there are a few paragraphs dedicated to the positive relationship between Alonso and Votto.
Of all the big leaguers Alonso has befriended and learned from, some of the most valuable advice has come from the one guy who would seem to have the most reason to be worried — Votto.
“He’s a great baseball player and probably the best on the team right now. But he’s a good person at heart,” Alonso said. “He cares about people and he cares about you. It’s really tough to find guys like that, especially at the same position. Maybe they might not talk to you as much. But he’s always like, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ He opened his arms the first day I was here.
Why would Votto help the guy seeking his job? For starters, he doesn’t view there to be an awkward situation, or even a situation, that should draw attention. He’s just one teammate helping another.
“He’s trying to do his job and I’m trying to do mine,” Votto said. “There are 30 teams and tons of first basemen. Obviously, I want to play for the Reds and he wants to play for the Reds. We’ve got time. He’s not in the Major Leagues yet. Hopefully he will get there. When he does, that’s when we’ll figure it out. Right now, I treat everybody the exact same way. Nobody gets different treatment.”
I hope there is a solution that keeps both of these young players in the organization for many years.
“If Alonso rebounds from his wrist injury this season, I expect that he will be moved to another organization between now and opening day 2011.”
Agreed. From what I understand his defensive skills are only adequate for a first baseman. The organization probably would not add extra stress to Joey by trying to switch his position.
Hmm. I bet Joey could be a competent LFer. He’s a good athlete. I like his work at first. But I guess if you can get a good return on Alonso…
Votto is an average to below average first baseman. The organization thinks they’re being proactive by trying Alonso in the OF, but the truth is you’d only be making a good defensive team average.
This is a showcase move, but exposing Alonso’s lack of athleticism by putting him in the OF is dumb.
Please make sure we get an elite SS prospect in the deal. If that means throwing in a Wood or Dickerson , so be it.
It’s really a shame that Joey can’t be moved to the outfield and have Alonso play 1st base. I mean a Votto, Stubbs, and Bruce in the outfield with Alonso at 1st (30 HR potential easily), Phillips at 2nd and a solid pitching staff (Cueto, Volquez, Bailey, Chapman, Leake) would definitely make us contenders in the future.
Alonso just doesn’t have much trade value unless he a) hits like an absolute beast, and/or b) proves he can play a tougher position.
This is why I generally don’t like using your top draft pick on a guy who, even at age 21, is probably limited to 1B/DH duties. 1B/DH is the easiest possible thing to find. Practically every team already is set there.
Anyway… good for the Reds to be somewhat proactive about this. I’d LOVE for Alonso to turn out to be a competent 3B or LF or — dare to dream — catcher!!
Do you really think the Reds will be able to afford Joey Votto in another 2 years. If the Reds are going to move someone in the next couple of years I would think it would be Joey, which is a pretty disappointing prospect. I heard Hal McCoy speak this Winter and he alluded to this same thing.
In another two year, the 8 figure salaries of Harang, Arroyo, Cordero, and Phillips will be off the books. A new core of 7-8 figure salaried players will be on the payroll. I see no reason why that couldn’t be Votto.
If Votto stays healthy, he won’t be eligible for free agency until 2014. I would expect if the plan is to keep Votto that they would buy out his 3 arbitration years, and possibly try to buy out his 1st year of free agency, too.
I don’t see why they’re so afraid to move Votto to LF. He’s gotten better at 1B, but he’s really not that good with his footwork around the bag.
Didn’t I read somewhere that Votto has spent the off-season working on his defense? Let’s hope he’s greatly improved. We know he doesn’t shy away from hard work, and his bat certainly speaks loudly enough for us to give him a chance.
Well, luckily, defense at 1B doesn’t really matter a whole lot (in terms of number of runs allowed/prevented). That’s why big sluggers end up there. They can’t do much damage there.
@GregD: Agree. Hard not to see Votto around for a long time. All due respect to the Face of the Franchise, Brandon Phillips.
I would think it would be smart to showcase Alonso in the ST. Unfortunately, the REDS don’t have a DH position come up too often.
@Sultan of Swaff: On what do you base that? Most of the numbers and scouting reports I’ve seen say Votto is actually a little above average at first.
@GregD: Arbitration looms next year. If the Reds, and most small market teams, keep up their tradition then Votto is replaced by Alonso and the cycle continues. Casey replaced by Votto, Dunn replaced by Bruce, etc., etc.
They need to trade Alonso once his wrist is proven to be healthy. I have serious doubts he can play any other position, even Walt has mentioned before he was only a 1B and they given up on trying him at third. I will be surprised if he is ever a starter for the Reds.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again- I watched Greg Luzinski play a very average left field for the Phillies for a good many glory years in the 70′s and in the Championship season of 1980. He certainly was no wizard with the glove and would lumber around out there but the Bull would catch what he could get to and knew where to throw the ball. Granted that he usually had a defensive caddy such as Jerry “Mud” Martin (except when Danny Ozark fell asleep in the ’77 playoffs against the Dodgers on that Black Friday that I attended and am suffering through to this very day), but that potent bat more than made up for any mediocrity in his defensive contributions. How about 1977 where the Big Guy hit .309 with 39 homers and 130 runs batted in even following Mike Schmidt who himself had over 100 RBIs?
All things being equal and giving the Kid the benefit of the doubt, there is no reason that Alonso could not do the same thing. All of you fans in Cincinnati want more punch in the lineup but you can’t seem to get this guy out of the Queen City quickly enough.
Let’s see how much of a Butcher Boy he is in left. Maybe he’ll surprise all of you doubters and solidify what looks to be a hole in the Reds lineup.
There’s a big difference between arbitration and free agency. I can see Votto getting an offer similar to Ryan Bruan – 7 years, $45 million.
Why are they working out Alonso at BOTH outfield corners? It would seem as though RF is spoken for? I don’t understand a move to third or LF anyway. We have a pretty decent logjam in those spots.
The most valuable place Alonso could play is catcher. I see nothing wrong with sticking him behind the plate with the Bats for a year. He can’t be worse defensively than some of the catchers the Reds have played here and there over the past few years.
@Mark in CC: hate to say it…but I agree with this…Votto is gonna be with the Yankees or Red Sox in 3 years
@WORLD: That’s also my same arguement for giving Francisco a legitimate shot at LF too.
Log jam yes, but log jam of high quality talent, probably not. Especially LF… we all basically argue over who potentially is going to be the least mediocre or have the fewest number of weaknesses. Frazier is a wildcard in that he’s still an unknown quantity. And 3b… After Rolen, then who that we would be really comfortable with?
It comes down to opportunity costs (defense, maybe trading OPB for SLG)… could be Frazier, Fracisco could be Alonso. Why not?
With due consideration given to defense, I’d rather have a LF that reliably makes a pitcher think before he throws and can be a real run producre. If we were more secure if LF, we could have absorbed Janish and utilized his defense. In short, what exactly are we looking for in LF that none of these guys (Alonso, Francisco) is allowed even a fair shot just to see? The Reds will probably always be a team that has a few parts we’d like to tweak, it’s just deciding what parts we want to emphasize.
How much precedent is there for a guy to just begin to learn how to catch at this point in his career? Seems to me that there is an awful lot more to it than just the mechanics, which have to be tough enough if you are not used to it.
Uh, the Yankees have a pretty good player at first who is tied up for pretty much the next decade. Better scratch them off the Votto list.
If he can successfully play any of those positions, it opens up more options for the Reds. Whether it be internally or whether it increases the number of trade partners.
One year ago, no one expected Encarnacion and Bruce to miss so much time. Valaika was talked about a lot last spring as a good SS/2B prospect, yet might be looking at a backup role in AAA this year.
@WORLD: they’ll DH him
If not mechanics then what? The “call the game” aspect of catching? I mean, if all else fails, have the managers relay the calls to the catcher. I’ve never understood why catching is considered the hardest position to learn. The most physically demanding position possibly, but not the hardest position to play.
Joey Votto would NEVER agree to be a Designated Hitter at this stage of his career. I’ve met him, sat with him while he blasted rockets out of the spring training complex at Sarasota, and talked with many people in the Reds organization who think he’s the best.
Sit on the bench for the whole game and just swing three or four times?
No way.
@david: Some of those years were Braun’s major league minimum years. According to Cot’s Contracts, Brauns gets:
2010:$1M, 11:$4M, 12:$6M, 13:$8.5M, 14:$10M, 15:$12M
2010 is a “major league minimum”. 2011-2013 are arbitration years.
If he qualified as a Super-2 this offseason, then his salaries from 2010-2013 increase a total of $6M over the 4 years. Total comp from 2010-2015 (5 years) would be about $47.5 million, not counting his signing bonus ($2.3M) or performance bonuses.
Justin Upton signed an extension today with the D-backs. He gets a little over $50million over 6 years, one of which is a “major league minimum” year. Three years of arbitration buyout. Two years of free agency buyout.
So, to your point, I agree. I could see Votto getting a Braun/Upton type deal that would keep him here the next 4-6 years.