Cincy bullpen cuts two more members

Coutlangus, Majewski are optioned to Triple-A Louisville

Cueto, Volquez "Eye-popping"

That is how ESPN's Jayson Stark puts it. Read about it here.

Rotation: It's set

It's no coincidence that the Reds are pitching in the following order:

Aaron Harang
Bronson Arroyo
Johnny Cueto
Josh Fogg
Edinson Volquez

Dusty Baker wouldn't quite say it, but that's how the rotation will line up for the start of the season.

"It's not set," Baker said. "We've still got some action. It's pretty set, except for that fifth spot. I hate to tell young kids that they're there too soon. Then if something happens, you've got to go back on your word. You want to keep them motivated and driven through the end of spring training."

Volquez pitched only two innings Thursday in relief of Homer Bailey because Volquez was pitching on short rest.

"(We did that) in order to get in sync for the rotation," Baker said. "Fogg did the same thing the last time. We figured Homer could handle starting more than coming out of the pen. It takes him a long time to warm-up."

Matt Belisle is out of the picture because of a sore forearm.

"He's going to throw today," Baker said. "He's falling behind."

That means Harang, Arroyo, Cueto, Fogg, Volquez and Bailey are the only healthy starters still in the mix. Bailey could theoretically move into Fogg's or Volquez's spot.

Source: John Fay at 10:01 AM

Behind the Scenes

A little outdated but fun to watch anyway...

Edison Volquez

For those of you who haven't seen him pitch yet...

2 More Gone

Today the Reds reassigned to minor league camp C Alvin Colina and LHP Scott Sauerbeck.

The spring training roster is at 42, including injured players LHP Bobby Livingston and SS Alex Gonzalez.

Source: Lance McCalister

PTBNL

John Fay got a tip today that the talk around the Kansas City Royals camp was that Blake Johnson is the player-to-be-named in the Brad Salmon trade.

Johnson fits profile of the kind of player the Reds would want for Salmon. Johnson is a 22-year-old right-hander. He went 9-6 with a 3.28 ERA last year for Wilmington of the Carolina League.

He was the Dodgers’ second-round pick in 2004. The Royals got him as part of a trade for Elmer Dessens in 2006. Wayne Krivsky wouldn’t give many clues about the PTBNL, only saying it would not be someone on the Opening Day 25-man roster.

The Reds have been trying to stockpile arms. A 22-year-old who’s been successful in High A would be nice to add.

Source: John Fay

Reds send Bruce to AAA

Today the Reds optioned to Class AAA Louisville OF Drew T. Anderson and RHP Marcus McBeth and reassigned to minor league camp RHP Josh Roenicke, RHP Tom Shearn and OF Jay Bruce…the Reds have 44 players remaining in camp, including LHP Bobby Livingston (left shoulder injury) and SS Alex Gonzalez (left knee).

McCoy Clears the Roster Up (And the centerfielder is...)

Here are some excerpts from the article:

"There are still 50 players in camp and 25 need to be trimmed quickly. Nevertheless, it is evident Baker is pretty set on his Opening Day lineup — not that I agree with it.

It is: CF Patterson, SS Jeff Keppinger (Alex Gonzalez remains on crutches with a bulky brace on his left knee), RF Ken Griffey Jr., 2B Brandon Phillips, LF Adam Dunn, 3B Edwin Encarnacion, 1B Scott Hatteberg, C Paul Bako (David Ross and his problem back have yet to play), RHP Aaron Harang.
The rotation: Harang, RHP Bronson Arroyo, RHP Johnny Cueto, RHP Edinson Volquez and an either/or - RHP Josh Fogg or RHP Matt Belisle. RHP Homer Bailey starts in Louisville and since Belisle has an option he might start there, too — both ready in case somebody in the rotation falters or suffers injury."

Read the rest of the article here.

Salmon to Royals

Not exactly a blockbuster: The Reds today traded to the Kansas City Royals RHP Brad Salmon in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. This spring for the Reds Salmon posted a 4.50 ERA in 5 relief apps (6ip, 7h, 3er, 3bb, 9k).

He was 0-1 with 4.13 in 23 games for the Reds last year.

Source: John Fay

Stark on Cordero

ESPN's Jayson Stark writes about CoCo Cordero. Read it here.

The Guy We Want

With the Reds trying actively to get a catcher, here is my opinion of who we should go after...

Jarrod Saltalamacchia

You may remember him from the Atlanta Braves organization. He was part of the deal with the Rangers to acquire Mark Texiera. This kid is 23 years old and hit .266 last year in 93 games (rookie year). He has the ability to catch and play first base. He is a switch hitter.

Saltalamaccahia may start the season in AAA for the Rangers. I saw him play for the Braves last year and was EXTREMELY impressed.

Affeldt to Bullpen

After a Spring Training audition to make the starting rotation, Jeremy Affeldt has been sent out to the bullpen. The emergence of Cueto and Volquez seems to have made the reason for the decision a bit clearer. Affeldt pitched in the bullpen for the Rockies last season.

Reds Seek Catching Help

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer is hearing a rumor that the Reds are "actively seeking a catcher." He speculates that Ryan Freel could be trade bait.

Fay's note conveniently gels with some info from a Jeff Brantley radio appearance that a reader passed along. Brantley reportedly said the Reds have been scouting the Rangers' Gerald Laird. On a not necessarily related note, Brantley also mentioned that they may look to trade Matt Belisle.

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan recently wrote that the Rangers don't intend to trade Laird despite some interest. On the other hand, Jon Daniels admitted in Sullivan's article that he wouldn't turn a deaf ear to anything. Laird is set to be the Rangers' starting catcher this year. Jarrod Saltalamacchia would take on a smaller role or try Triple A.

The Reds could also consider trying to acquire San Diego's Michael Barrett, who has played under Dusty Baker with the Cubs. Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez may also be available.

Source: MLB Trade Rumors

Great Reds Mailbag

Take a look at the most recent Reds mailbag. Mark Sheldon gives his thoughts on several issues including:

- Homer Bailey's situation
- The Opening Day rotation
- Who makes the bullpen?
- What is going to happen with Stanton?

Man, it sure is chilly...

Thoughts from C Trent Rosencrans...

I've got to say, Homer Bailey has had the most disappointing spring. It will be very interesting to see how he reacts in Louisville. The problem is he can dominate Class AAA hitters with his pure stuff, but not big league hitters. One opposing hitter said of Bailey's fastball -- (making a motion of a straight fastball) "give me that (stuff) in June."

* Jay Bruce has his spot in minor league camp ready, and he'll likely be there soon. I've been told by people in the organization that he's expected in minor league camp any day now. Thing is, he's played well with the big league squad, but he hasn't had one of those springs that has made the decision a no-brainer. The quad injury sure didn't help.

* Perhaps you haven't noticed, but Juan Castro has had a nice spring with the bat. We all know what he can do with the glove, but he can contribute in other ways. The biggest question, though, is his arm. He underwent Tommy John surgery and has been limited in his play, not being able to go back-to-back days. I wouldn't be shocked to see him in the Opening Day lineup at short. I know most have Jeff Keppinger penciled in with Gonzo out, but Castro is a possibility, especially with the off day on Tuesday.

* Guys with unimpressive springs I'm not worried about -- Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips, Edwin Encarnacion. I really think this is Encarnacion's break-through year.

* The rotation looks like Harang, Arroyo, Cueto, Volquez and Fogg. Affeldt will help the bullpen, Belisle could be in long relief.

* Bill Bray looks really good. If Bray has the type of season he's capable of having, "the trade" could be ruled a Reds win this year. Daryl Thompson looks pretty darn good.

* A quiet spring from Todd Coffey, which, well, is interesting. Last year there was a lot of talk about Coffey and potentially being a closer. Not so much this year after a bad, bad 2007. Saw an interesting stat in the Hardball Times Season Preview by blogger Justin Inaz of On Baseball & The Reds -- Coffey's strikeout rate increased last season, as did his groundball rate (57 percent of balls in play were grounders), but he gave up 12 homers in 57 innings -- for a 25 percent run-to-fly ball ratio. Just odd.

* Still not sure about Scott Hatteberg's role. Joey Votto has really struggled, while Hatteberg has just raked. He's a pro and could be traded, but right now, if there's any question about Votto, I think they'll keep Hatte around.

* Mike Stanton will be on the Opening Day roster. Deal with it. If he gets rocked early, there will be a decision needed to be made. But that decision won't be made until May.

* There seems to be a few too many quality utility players. We'll see what happens there with Keppinger, Freel, Cabrera, Andy Phillips and Andy Green. Keppinger and Freel certainly have the inside track because of their track record.

* Although I paused with the signing of Corey Patterson (who will be your starting center fielder on Opening Day) and Jerry Hairston, I still like the hiring of Dusty Baker as the Reds manager. Stat guys will complain about all sorts of stuff with Dusty -- but the most important part of a manager's job is managing people over 162 games -- that's why they're called a manager and not a coach. It's a different job than a 16-game regular season. I know he "ruined" Kerry Wood and Mark Prior -- did he "ruin" Carlos Zambrano too? Zambrano threw just as many pitches. Seriously, the moment Kerry Wood came to the big leagues, you heard he had the mechanics just asking for a breakdown.

* I'll miss Sarasota but, the city hasn't done much to help. It doesn't seem like the people of Sarasota really care that they're losing the Reds. I like Sarasota, and think it's probably the best location for Spring Training, but I heard a worker at the stadium got a call from a fan asking if the toilets were working that day. That's Ed Smith Stadium

Bonding to the karaoke beat

Source: John Fay

It may not lead to one more win. It may not mean a thing. But things like the karaoke night the Reds had Sunday are good for building team chemistry.

"It was a lot of fun," Marcus McBeth said. "I'm glad they did it for us. A lot of bonding."

The idea was Adam Dunn's, although he would not take full credit for it.

"I think it was a collaboration," he said. "But everyone showed up. Everyone had a lot of fun. We have a lot of new guys, so it was good for them. It's something we haven't done in the past. It went really well."

Jay Bruce said his rendition of the Copa Cabana went well.

"Awesome," he said. "I killed."

But McBeth was the winner. He did "As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith and "Gin and Juice" by Snoop Dogg. McBeth's voice is about as deep as James Earl Jones'. But he had never sung before.

"I sound good in the shower, though," he said. "I'm glad they didn't give me a high-pitched song."

Freel to Rays? Rumors...

Rays Likely To Fill Outfield Void Through Trade
MLBTradeRumors.com

According to Marc Lancaster, the Rays would prefer to fill their need for a fourth outfielder via trade as opposed to signing a free agent such as Kenny Lofton.

Lancaster notes the Rays are likely to offer one of their surplus of starting pitchers. The Rays have five pitchers competing for the final two spots in the rotation and two of those pitchers (Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel) are out of options. In addition Lancaster mentions that the Rays have a number of pitching prospects at AA and AAA that could be included in a deal.

The Rays would prefer a player that in addition to regular playing time in right field, can serve as a backup to center fielder BJ Upton. Lancaster lists several players that match this description including Juan Rivera, Reggie Willits, Coco Crisp, Reed Johnson and Ryan Freel. Ken Rosenthal previously said that Willits is untouchable, and Crisp and Johnson seem unlikely as trades rarely occur within a division. The Reds seem like the best fit of this group as they have been rumored to be active in the trade market this off-season for a starting pitcher.