Call to Arms

The Cincinnati Reds have a luxury....apparently. Young pitchers are hard to come by, and the Reds have some fine young pitchers. I mean, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, and Mike Leake? They all appear to be coming into their own and pitching damn well. The Reds also have two veterans in Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo to anchor their rotation. However, pitching has been far from perfect (except for the 4-0, minor-league skipping Leake). Aside from the putative prodigy, the Reds have a 8-10 record and a 5.11 earned runs average. More than the statistical issues, the Reds have personal issues. Lying in wait in the minors is the Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman. He was signed by the Reds for $30.25 million over six years. That is hardly child's pay (pun). The Cuban Missile is believed to be a sort of savior for the Reds (Homer Bailey II?). Chapman is being paid $4,819,166.666666667 more per year than Johnny Cueto. So you need to work him into the equation (bullpen? six-man rotation? trade?). The Reds' pitching "luxuries" do not end with Chapman. What about Edinson Volquez (who? JOSH JONES!....no). Volquez underwent the infamous Tommy John surgery and since has been suspended 50 games for substance abuse. However, Volquez was an all-star in 2008. (That isn't even too long ago like Arroyo in 2006!). I mean if Volquez comes back this season (looking more and more doubtful) the Reds have 7 starters and all appear to have value to the team. Fortunately for the Reds, i have the solution to the problem (send all disagreements to my email).

The simple solution is to trade one of the veteran pitchers (Harang/Arroyo) and move the struggling Homer Bailey back to the minors so he can develop his curveball (again). This, however, would be the move of a fool, which i do not think Walt Jocketty is. The Reds should start to solve their overabundance of starters by releasing Volquez (insert choice of shocked emoticon here). I understand that Volquez has shown promise, and was the prize in the Josh Hamilton trade, but he has the least value to the Reds at this point. The unknown affects of Tommy John on his elbow (pitching and future injuries) make Volquez the biggest risk of the 7. Then, the Reds should trade Harang. Many feel that Arroyo is more likely to go, but Arroyo has been much more consistent. Harang still has value, and the Reds can open the spot that Aroldis Chapman needs to become a big league player. Being in first place (hoo-rah), the Reds need to keep Arroyo, since he has been their most consistent pitcher since his all-star selection all the way back in 2006. With these two roster moves, the Reds rotation will be
1) Arroyo (i know, right!)
2) Mike Leake (Prodigy)
3) Johnny Cueto (On the rise)
4) Homer Bailey (the savior)
5) Aroldis Chapman (Cuban Missile?).

Now, you may argue, "What if Chapman isn't ready? What if Leake is a fluke? What if Homer Bailey isn't the savior?" To all of these arguements i counter with, "What if Harang's last two years (12-31) are the rule and not the exception. I mean can you argue that Harang shows any more promise in the future than Chapman who is 10 years younger than Harang. I would place my trust in youth rather than age. A guy who can throw 100mph is more valuable than a crumbling veteran." And for your arguments for Volquez, i say, "Edinson has proven himself, but not after a serious elbow injury. He is more likely to be less of a pitcher than he was, although for now, i hope not."

In Conclusion: The Reds have the misnomer, "luxury" of baseball....too many starting pitchers. The Reds do not have to fix the problem immediately, but do need to realize that they has a 30 million dollar investment sitting in Louisville. The Reds for now, are luxurious.