In case you missed it, Cincinnati sent the 29-year-old Frazier, who hit 35 home runs last season, to the Chicago White Sox, but the prospects they received in return came from the Dodgers.
Key for the Reds is Jose Peraza, a 21-year-old speedy but powerless second baseman who doesn't walk much (think Luis Castillo) and figures to succeed the soon-to-be-traded Brandon Phillips. Some see Peraza as having the ceiling of a utility infielder. If that's the case, the Reds didn't just do poorly, they got fleeced.
Not sure what to make of the other two players the Reds received. Outfielder Scott Schebler is a left-handed power bat, which could play well at Great American Ball Park. He hit .241 at Triple-A last season. Brandon Dixon, an infielder/outfielder, has the look of organizational depth.
Realistic fans knew Frazier, a two-time All-Star, had to be dealt because the Reds lost 98 games last season and have embarked on an extensive rebuilding project. Frazier was on the verge of becoming too expensive for a small-market team and thus was on borrowed team in the Queen City.
Budget restrictions preclude championship-level spending by the Reds, so they’re going the other way, stockpiling young players. Hey, it worked for the Houston Astros.
As ESPN’s Buster Olney put it last month, “If the Reds don’t strip down their team, they’ll probably continue to float somewhere in the middle.”
Fans want to believe the Reds know what they’re doing, but it’s a hard sell when most of the players acquired in these salary-dump deals are unknown to all but prospect hounds or Baseball America subscribers.
Problem is, unrealistic fans buy tickets too, so it will be interesting to see to what extent interest wanes as the recognizable names continue to dwindle.
In the meantime, this young fan's reaction on the WCPO-TV website kind of says it all.
It’s mock draft season already for the Browns
When you’re 3-10, it’s never too early to talk about next season. And for the Cleveland Browns, it’s never too early to talk about the draft.
Barring an unlikely four-game, season-closing win streak engineered by Johnny Manziel, the Browns figure to have the first or second overall pick April 28 and are being projected to take Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa if they don’t take a quarterback.
Pro Football Focus has them taking California quarterback Jared Goff. Others think it’ll be Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch.
Click or tap here for your one-stop mock draft roundup on cleveland.com.
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