All Things Bubba

All kinds of trade rumors swirling over the past couple of days. The Reds may be ready to stick a fork in their season, and hold a fire sale. Or at least sell some of their stars today in hopes of making a run next year.

A Reds scout was spotted at the Yankees-Diamondbacks game last night. Everyone thinks the Yanks are after Adam Dunn, or maybe David Weathers. But Hal McCoy hinted tonight that Hatteberg is the target, not Dunn.

That actually makes sense to me. There's no room for Dunn on the Yankees. They don't need an all-bat, no glove outfielder. True, Damon has had injury issues this season, but Dunn doesn't have the range for CF.

The Yankees do need a first baseman. Hatteberg is pretty old, but he'd only be a rent-a-player. And that's what they need this season. Minky's on the DL for a couple of months, and Giambi's probably out for the rest of the season. Phelps is a nightmare on defense. Basak will be stuck behind Cairo, and probably wouldn't be that great even if he did get a chance to play.

Hatteberg's got a good bat (though perhaps not as good away from GABP). And his defense is very solid. Baseball Think Factory picked him as the NL's Gold Glove first baseman last year.

(The AL picks are here. Minky is number 2 on the list; I guess they don't agree with those who say his Gold Glove days are behind him now. Most interesting is the comment that the Yankees' outfield was horrible defensively, and that that's why they couldn't get past the Tiggers. Damon was fine last year by their stats, but Bernie, Melky, and surprisingly, Abreu, were terrible.)

Anyways, assuming there's substance to these trade rumors...who were the Reds scouting last night? Most of the Yankees' 25-man roster are probably beyond the Reds' budget. Melky Cabrera is a possibility. The Reds will need an outfielder if they trade Dunn. Melky has better range than Dunn, though his bat is suspect. He's young and cheap.

Another possibility: Kyle Farnsworth. His $5 million a year salary is reasonable. The Reds desperately need a closer, and Farnsworth was one, before he became the Yanks' setup man. I think the Yanks would be willing to deal him, because he's kind of a pain. He can't pitch more than one inning, he can't pitch on back-to-back days, and his back is prone to going out with no warning. You gotta love his 102 mph fastball, but all his limitations are a serious burden on the rest of the pen.

We'll have to wait and see if anything comes of this. The Reds are playing much better lately, and so are the Yanks. Maybe they'll decide there's no need for a trade.