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Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings January 28, 2015 CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Bullpen arms are still out there for Reds By John Fay / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @Johnfayman There are still plenty of interesting names out there if the Reds decide to try to bargain shop for free-agent relievers. The list includes three closers from last year: Francisco Rodriguez (44 saves for Milwaukee), Rafael Soriano (32 saves for Washington) and Casey Janssen (25 saves for Toronto). They are extremely unlikely to fall into the Reds' price range. Everything the Reds have said this offseason indicates they do not have a lot of money to spend. But with spring training three weeks away, players are often willing to drop their asking price for opportunity. The Reds can offer that. The bullpen had the second-worst ERA in the National League last year, so spots will be open. Related: Reds' bullpen still awaiting attention Related: Reds hope bullpen bounced back from rough 2014 Also: Better bullpen a high priority for Reds Here's three intriguing names still out there that might fall into the Reds' range: -- RHP Burke Badenhop. He put up a 2.29 ERA in 70 games for the Red Sox last year. -- RHP Joe Thatcher. He's held lefties to a .230 average in his career. Had a 3.86 ERA last year, but he struggled after being traded from Arizona to the Angels. From Kokomo, Ind. -- RHP Alexi Ogando: Has started and relieved. Wasn't very good last year (6.86 ERA), but he was good in his previous years with Texas. I don't know if the Reds are a) interested in any of the above or b) could afford any of the above. So far, the Reds have tried to address their bullpen problems by adding a couple of minor-league free agents with big-league experience. Left-hander Jose Mijares and right-hander Nate Adcock have a decent shot at making the club. Mijares has a 3.23 ERA over 324 big-league games. He did not pitch in 2014 after getting cut by Boston in the spring. He put up a 1.71 ERA in Winter Ball in Venezuela. Adcock, 27, has spent time in the big leagues three of the last four seasons. He was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA for Texas last year. The Reds could also use Jason Marquis in a bullpen role. The other thing the club needs to do is look at all of the young arms in the organization. That can work out. Scott Williamson, who was part of the Reds Caravan this year, is a living example of that. He came into camp in 1999 as a non-roster invitee who had spent most of the previous year at Double-A as a starter. He went 12-7 with a 2.41 ERA and 19 saves in '99 to win the Rookie of the Year award. Doc’s TML: Does everyone like Reds’ Devin Mesoraco deal? By Paul Daugherty / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] The Reds got proactive with their catcher, announcing yesterday a four-year, $28 mil deal that buys out all three of D. Mesoraco's arbitration seasons and gives him $13 mil the first year he would have been a free agent. The bigger part of me says this is a smart deal for The Club, and about what it did for Bruce and Cueto. The five-year Cueto deal that expires after this season has been bargain basement. If Bruce rebounds this year, his six-year contract was also wise. Mesoraco? There are advantages to locking up a player before his initial run at arbitration: He avoids the occasional ugliness of the arb debate. He gets security; the team gets cost certainty. Each has peace of mind. There are disadvantages, mostly for the team: The money is guaranteed, so if the player is injury prone, you're up the creek. Plus, the three arb years are there to provide the team a measure of control. The player can't go anywhere. You might have to pay him more than you'd like – arbitration is rigged toward the player – but he's yours. You don't have to sign him, in other words. A case could be made that the Reds could have waited another year. It's a little harder to make that case when you see that Mesoraco's money this year is $2.4 mil, which is close to what he'd have made in arbitration. And of course, every year you wait comes with the possibility the price will go up. Enquirer Reds beat writers John Fay and C. Trent Rosecrans offer some of the latest Cincinnati Reds news. And yet, here's what makes you nervous: Mesoraco has had only one very good year, last year. Cueto had three years and 32 wins when the Reds locked him up. Bruce had 68 homers. His RBI totals and his OPS had risen in each of his three major league seasons. What matters most to me – and what I think tips the scales – is Mesoraco's head. It's firmly atop his shoulders. He's a conscientious player, to whom the money won't matter, at least not on the field. He's gained respect in the clubhouse. This will give him more. Locking up a rising star is good business when the rising star isn't a head case. That leaves T. Frazier and Chapman. Frazier is as deserving a deal as Mesoraco is, for all the same reasons. But what agents call "the comparables'' make him more expensive. As for Chapman? I doubt the Reds will spend lots of money to retain a closer, even one as good and theatrical as The Missile. They've proven me wrong in the past (Votto, Phillips) so we'll see. Meanwhile. A PET PEEVE, ONE OF ABOUT A MILLION… W.Jocketty referred to our town as a "small market.'' It's not, unless you define the market as the Tristate area. This is a regional team, with lots of big places no more than two hours away. Gas prices have taken a pleasant freefall; it will be interesting to see what effect, if any, that will have on attendance. Regardless, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Oakland would love to have Louisville, Lex, Dayton, C-bus and Indy within commuting distance. The Reds are small-money, not small-market, and actually, they're not even small-money anymore. Now, then. I DIDN'T WATCH THE ENTIRE PRO BOWL (I know, what a missed opportunity on my part) so I had to go back to the DVR to watch A. Dalton's attempt to lead Team Carter to victory. And to hear the boos rain down when he didn't. (This was a feisty crowd for a Pro Bowl, BTW. No leis-n-alohas in Glendale.) The 4th-and-10 pass Dalton threw from the Irvin 19 was ridiculous, and not in a good way. A quacker off his front foot, because he saw a rusher in his face. It had no chance. Fans booed a lot. I know it's a make-believe game. I know no one wants to risk an injury being a hero. But the other QBs had nice days. Dalton looked like he does here, even as he had all that high-flying talent around him. Mean anything? Probably not. As I said in December, I've made my peace with this issue. Average is as average does. The challenge that remains for The Men is to build a team that can compensate for their quarterback. BECAUSE TV IS MY LIFE (AND I READ A LITTLE, TOO). I'm watching the three-night Sons of Liberty on History, which is sort of a prequel to the RevWar. At the same time, I'm reading a book called American Spring, which follows the same path. All of which means I can sound really smart while explaining what's going on in the show. Samuel Adams for $2,000, Alex. XAVIER TAKES TO THE ROAD TONIGHT, for a big test at Georgetown. It's past time for the Musketeers to play a solid 40 away from home. This team has better talent than its record shows, partly because it considers playing defense to be something of a hobby. UC HOSTS UCONN Thursday night, in better shape. You can see leadership emerging from T. Caupain. The Bearcats still need serious consistency from Clark and Ellis, and for Johnson and Cobb to be snipers from the wings. But they've played well recently. Avenging an L at Connecticut would continue the trend. TODAY IS MEDIA DAY AT THE BIG BOWL. YES, BUT WILL HE HAVE ALL HIS TEETH?… ESPN's golf experts weigh in on what to expect from Tiger at the Waste Management Open (nice name) in PHX this week. I, ROBOT… Interesting piece on ESPN.com from a veteran Boston columnist, on the ways of Belichick. And of course, he knows nothing about the air pressure of footballs: "You're sitting in a meeting and Bill will announce, 'We've traded Richard Seymour' or 'We've traded Mike Vrabel' so you think, 'Well, golly, they'll do it to me, too,'" (former tight end Ben) Watson said. "There's this built-in fear and trepidation. I've talked with a lot of guys who played there, and it's not always the funnest place to be. There's a cloud over there at times. "And, when you finally leave, you realize, 'Wow, I found my voice.