Cincinnati Reds'

Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings December 8, 2014 CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Sometimes, friendships take the hit in baseball John Fay, [email protected] 8:44 a.m. EST December 7, 2014 The news of the Chris Heisey trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers hit the Heisey and Cozart households hard. Chris and Zack Cozart, of course, were teammates and are close friends. Their lockers were next to one another at Great American Ball Park. They carpooled to the ballpark and were virtually inseparable for the road. But they didn't take the trade nearly as hard Lisa Heisey and Chelsea Cozart. "You're with your teammates so long during the season – all day, everyday," Zack Cozart said Saturday at Redsfest. "We have certain bonds. Mine and Chris was more than the other guys because our wives are such good friends. We hung out a lot. "We know it's a business. We know we can be gone at any time. Our wives took it the hardest. It's one of those things. It's been weird. It's weird being here and not having him around. I had a lot of fans last night say 'tell Chris we're going to miss him.' It's bittersweet." CINCINNATI Will Winter Meetings be ripe for deal? It won't be too bad at spring training. The Reds and Dodgers train about 10 miles apart. The Heiseys and Cozarts, in fact, will share a house. "It worked out," Cozart said. "We'll get to hang out a little bit more. It's weird though not having him here. Usually after Redsfest we go out to dinner together. But he's looking forward to the opportunity. He's gotten some good words of encouragement from the Dodgers. COMEBACK KID: Right-hander Nick Travieso, the club's top pick in the 2012 draft, had a breakout year this year. He went 14-5 with a 3.03 ERA for Single-A Dayton. He was 8-1 with a 2.25 ERA in July and August. This after going 7-6 with a 4.65 ERA in the his first two years of pro ball. "I just had a lot more confidence in the second half," Travieso said. "What worked for me in the past is what I needed to go back to – go out there and pitch the way I knew how to." For Travieso, 20, that meant getting back to the fastball. "I really relied on my fastball a lot more," he said. "I was a lot more confident with it. Secondary stuff will get you so far, but you can't get anywhere without the fastball. I realized that. It took me a little while." BULLPEN PLAN: While the Reds will likely go outside to improve the offense, fixing the bullpen is going to have to come largely from within the organization. "There are certain guys that I don't think will come in and have to pitch their way onto the team," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "That being said, I think we're going to have a highly motivated bunch to come in ready to do considerably better than we did last year. And we've got guys who have had a history of having success. J.J. Hoover was a big part of the 2012 and '13 clubs. Manny Parra had a big year in 2013. Sam LeCure had a great first half and not as good second half. We hope to have Sean Marshall back." Will Winter Meetings be ripe for deal? John Fay, [email protected] 7:57 p.m. EST December 6, 2014 Walt Jocketty was asked about four times on the big stage at Redsfest about Yoenis Cespedes. Jocketty answered the same way each time: I can't talk about players on other teams. Cespedes, the Boston outfielder, has been linked to the Reds since a rumor of an impending trade for the Mat Latos popped up on Twitter. The apparent source of the rumor was a 14-year-old kid who describes himself as a "baseball insider." (That's fodder for another column). Jocketty, the Reds general manager, said he hasn't talked to the Red Sox about Cespedes. Without violating any tampering rules, Jocketty confirmed that there are big bats on the trade market that fit the Reds stated need for offensive help in the outfield. Cespedes is likely among them, along with Oakland's Brandon Moss and Atlanta's Justin Upton. All three would be big upgrades offensively in left field for the Reds. The problem is all three would be upgrades for a lot of teams. "I think there are players available," Jocketty said. "But there are a lot of clubs looking for hitting. It's not going to be that easy to complete trades right now. The other factor we have to be concerned about is how they fit in our payroll." Trade talks will heat up Sunday when clubs head to San Diego for the annual Winter Meetings. The Reds haven't made a deal at the Winter Meetings since they traded for Ramon Hernandez in 2008. Will they this year? "I don't know if we'll get something done or not," Jocketty said. "If we don't, we still have time before spring training starts. I'm not real sure how fast things will come together. The free agent market really slows things down." The aforementioned outfielders would fit into the Reds' budget – provided the club traded either Latos or Mike Leake in the deal. Latos and Leake are due to become free agents after the season. The Reds have all but promised not to trade Cy Young runner-up Johnny Cueto. Upton would be the biggest upgrade, followed by Cespedes and Moss. Let's look at each: Upton: He would take the most to get. It would likely take Leake or Latos and a prospect. But Upton hit .270/.342/.491 with 29 home runs and 102 RBI. He's the perfect right-handed bat to separate Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Upton will make $14.5 million. That's why the Reds would have to move Leake or Latos in the deal. One bonus: You can make a qualifying offer to Upton after 2015, so you'd a get a draft pick. The Reds probably would not make a qualifying offer to Leake. They probably would to Latos if he's healthy and returns to form. Cespedes: He hit .260/.301/.450 with 22 home runs and 100 RBI. He makes $10 million next year; so the salary is wash with either Leake or Latos. You probably do the deal for Leake if you're the Reds, but not Latos. Why? Because if Latos is what he was in 2012 and '13, he's more valuable than Cespedes. Moss: He hit .234/.334/.438 with 25 home runs and 81 RBI. mlbtraderumors.com estimates he'll make $7.1 million as a second-time arbitration-eligible player. He's also controlled in 2016. Again, the get any of the above – or a hitter of that caliber – the Reds are going to have to trade away a starting pitcher. The rotation was the strength of the team this year. But the team finished 76-86. "I'd take this starting five pitchers any day of the week," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "You wouldn't find a guy who was any more excited to have these five returning starters healthy and ready to go. Starting pitching is not an area where I feel we need to improve. That being said, we are challenged. We're not hiding behind what's right in front of us, and that is the fact that we've got four guys that are a year away from not arbitration but free agency. That poses a challenge because you'd like to pay every single player you have what they deserve, and we'd love to have this pitching staff intact. I just don't know if that's possible or realistic." Jocketty has also said the club is interested in the free agents Nori Aoki and Michael Morse. They were interested in Torii Hunter before he signed with Minnesota and in Michael Cuddyer before he signed with the Mets. (Jocketty did shoot down any chance the Reds would be in on Melky Cabrera). Hunter signed for one year and $10.5 million; Cuddyer signed for two years and $21 million. That tells what kind of money the Reds can spend. You can make an argument that the Reds would be best off bringing back Latos and Leake and adding an Aoki or a Morse. That's what the front the office has to decide. "I think the bottom line is we have to work with what we have to work with," Price said. "I don't know if we're capable of giving everybody what it will take to, number one, keep them here and do what we want payroll wise. That will be a challenge and I don't know if I can answer that question because I don't know. In order to that I think we're going to have to find different ways to put the rest of the 25-man roster together where it will all fit in payroll. Reds' Lois Hudson honored at Winter Meetings C. Trent Rosecrans, [email protected] 5:07 a.m. EST December 8, 2014 SAN DIEGO -- Lois Hudson, the Reds' director of minor league administration, was awarded the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award by Minor League Baseball.

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