All Things Bubba

The Reds traded a minor league pitcher to the Royals, and got reserve infielder Jeff Keppinger in return. To make room on the roster, infielder Ray Olmedo was DFA'd.

I have to admit, that kind of surprised me. Olmedo's stats aren't great, but he's young yet, and hasn't really gotten a lot of time to play. And he was doing well in winterball. Marc says the Reds management had issues with his work ethic.

Well, looking at the numbers, Keppinger is probably a good pickup. He's a much better hitter than Olmedo for both average and power (judging from their minor league stats), and appears to be better on defense, too. And he's only one year older.

The Reds also announced the Winter Caravan schedule. Near as I can tell, Winter Caravan is something small market teams do to promote the team in the off-season. Team officials, broadcasters, and a few players travel around and make stops in various towns, where fans can talk to them, get autographs, pose for photos, etc. Not a lot of players listed yet, and apparently, it's not the big name stars who sign up for this. Bubba is not on the list, and I don't know if they'd ask him. He's not really known to Reds fans.

Meanwhile, it's looking like former Reds pitcher Scott Schoeneweis will sign with the Mets. (The Yankees, in search of a lefty reliever, were reportedly interested in Schoeneweis. Villone says he's still hopeful the Yanks will call, and Pittsburgh is still hoping they can trade Gonzo, but the Yanks may just use Vizcaino against lefties. He's got good numbers against southpaws.)

Labels: Reds