CCiinncciinnnnaattii RReeddss MMeeddiiaa CClliippss NNoovveemmbbeerr 2288tthh,, 22001166 Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings November 28, 2016 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 2009-Third base coach, Steve Smith and his daughter Allie begin the Amazing Race, Season 16 MLB.COM Reds value time connecting with community By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | November 24th, 2016 + 1 COMMENT CINCINNATI -- When a kid meets a Major League player, that player is no longer just a statistic on a website or a picture on a baseball card. And that kid is no longer another face in a crowd of thousands to the player. It becomes more personal. The Reds Community Fund has raised and utilized millions of dollars for Cincinnati area baseball and softball programs, youth ballfield renovations and community center upgrades. But just as valuable, and perhaps just as long lasting, is the experience for fans -- especially kids -- to have personal contact with the players, coaching staff and ownership. Baseball's Giving Spirit Michael Lorenzen, Adam Duvall, Joey Votto and Tucker Barnhart are a handful of Reds players that have given back in the community. Players have made unannounced visits to cheer up patients and parents at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, helped out at the MLB Urban Youth Academy, participated in Make-A-Wish kid visits and more. "We had a phenomenal year in terms of the numbers of community impressions that our players made," said Charley Frank, the executive director of the Reds Community Fund. "Culturally, where we've come from over the last 10 years speaks well for the players, Dusty Baker to Bryan Price, to Bob and Phil Castellini and Dick Williams. Culturally right now for our guys, it's really remarkable when understanding where it was 10 years ago." Even when the Reds endure down years on the field, such as 2016, the players can still make connections with the community in meaningful ways. Frank noted the Reds made nearly 700 community impressions in the past year. "Players can obviously make a big impact, whether it's on a day off visiting a hospital or whether they're spending time with fans before a game," Frank said. "That's how we quantify the impression. Our numbers are up exponentially from the time that the Castellinis purchased the team 11 years ago. The things we've been able to accomplish through the Community Fund really begin and end with the culture created by our ownership and leadership. That's never wavered." Last winter, Lorenzen remained in Cincinnati the week after Redsfest and spent time working in the community. Votto donated $1,500 toward each of Cincinnati Public Schools' varsity baseball and softball teams for equipment. Then, he surprised the teams by visiting the Urban Youth Academy and bringing them additional gear. "He went to his SUV and kept bringing out bats and balls," Frank said. "He had already underwritten each team to give them equipment, but he kept bringing more of his own supply because the experience of meeting with the kids and coaches resonated so much." Whenever a child from the Make-A-Wish Foundation visits the field during batting practice at Great American Ball Park, it's not uncommon for several Reds players to do more than say hello. "Players come over and really spend some time with the person that's there," Frank said. "It's not just smiling for photos. A lot of players will go into the clubhouse and get other items for them, depending on the age of the kid and the background." Members of the front office also get personally involved and pay close attention to the details. This year, the annual community makeover project came to the Lower Price Hill section of the city and culminated with the opening of the Joe Williams Community Center, a community garden and two upgraded ballfields at Oyler Elementary School. Following the ribbon-cutting that celebrated the completion of the project in July, Reds chief operating officer Phil Castellini noticed one of the sheds in the garden hadn't been fully completed. Castellini took care of that, along with a handful of volunteers from P&G. "We're cleaning up about a half-hour after the ribbon-cutting. I was under impression that Phil left," Frank explained. "But in my peripheral view, I see him in his work clothes up on a ladder helping to put the shed together. I did a double take." Frank has long appreciated the Castellini family's commitment to helping the community. "In a down year on the field and without all the hype of the All-Star Game, you think 'OK, things might slow down a little bit.' They don't," Frank said. "They're just as motivated, maybe more, to keep momentum going and keep things fresh." The Reds community efforts will continue on "Giving Tuesday" next week. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Cincinnati Reds continuing patient offseason Zach Buchanan , [email protected] 2:40 p.m. EST November 23, 2016 The 2016 winter meetings won’t be held for more than a week, but there has been some hot stove action in the last week, especially among free-agent pitchers. Left-handed reliever Brett Cecil signed a surprisingly large four-year deal worth $31.5 million with the St. Louis Cardinals, and right-handed starter Andrew Cashner took a one-year, $10 million deal with the Texas Rangers. Both players were unlikely fits for the Cincinnati Reds anyway, but baseball’s oldest franchise does have a clear pitching need. For the time being, general manager Dick Williams is content to let the market come to him. Agents for several pitchers who might fit the bill for the Reds said they’ve had no contact from Cincinnati. “A lot of times the more expensive guys tend to go off the board first, and the other guys who don’t get those deals then become more receptive to conversations,” Williams said. “We’re engaging and sort of monitoring the market.” Relief help is probably the more dire need for the Reds. At the end of the season, both Williams and manager Bryan Price added a back-end arm to their offseason wish list, ideally someone who could serve as the third head in a three-headed closer alongside Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias. (Actually deploying such a bullpen might be easier now that the Cleveland Indians creatively used Andrew Miller all the way to the World Series.) Williams won’t strictly hold any offseason relief additions to those standards, but would like a back-end arm of some sort. Several seem to be available – Daniel Hudson, David Hernandez, Greg Holland and Neftali Feliz are some who seem like obvious fits, although the Reds haven’t been connected publicly to any of them. “Our goal is to find quality pitching that can appear late in the game and essentially provide some experience that we don’t have from within, some stability in innings,” Williams said. “It doesn’t have to be a three-headed closer. It still would be nice to add someone that fits the profile of a pitcher that Bryan would feel comfortable using in the late-inning situations.” There are fewer options among starting pitchers, in part because fewer premium options exist on the market and in part because the Reds are in a bit of a unique situation. Cincinnati has an abundance of young arms on the doorstep of the majors, but won’t head into spring training knowing if any of them can hold down a rotation spot just yet. That means any rotation addition has to be reliable enough to eat innings if the youngsters aren’t ready but disposable enough to kick to the bullpen if one of them is. That would seem to make Cincinnati a tough sell to a free-agent pitcher, although Williams is confident he can find help there if the team decides it needs it. “I think there’s always those pitchers over there that are kind of crossover candidates,” Williams said. “They might start in the pen but have the length to spot start. They might be starters that you end up putting in the 'pen. Those guys are usually out there.” Williams said at the GM meetings earlier in the month that he’d like to add an outfield bat to help beef up his bench, but added in a phone conversation Tuesday that some catching help could be a target as well. He’d prefer a catcher with options to allow for some flexibility if Devin Mesoraco proves he’s fully healthy, but recognizes that such a luxury is hard to come by on the open market. “It could end up being a veteran on a team-favorable deal,” Williams said. A.J. Ellis, A.J. Pierzynski, Geovany Soto and Chris Gimenez are some veteran options available in free agency, although many of them are likely seeking situations with firmer playing-time guarantees. Any addition the Reds make is unlikely to move the needle much. This offseason is not one the Reds will use to build up, instead looking to shore up obvious weaknesses to better get through what’s likely to be an improved but still rebuilding season. But if a player is available who could be had affordably and who would help the next winning iteration of the club, Williams will be opportunistic. “I wouldn’t see us doing a deal where a significant amount of money is contributed to a player in the short-term,” Williams said. “If there were a multi-year deal where the player was going to be signed and be able to be contributing into the next window of success, that would make more sense than a larger deal that covers the 2017 season.