The MLB trade rumor mill has slowed down considerably since the winter meetings and now that things are into 2014, teams are starting to get their rosters set for spring training and the upcoming season and new reports have the Cincinnati Reds possibly thinking about a deal involving Homer Bailey or Brandon Phillips and teams like the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners or Boston Red Sox could be interested.
The Reds were speculated as a team that could start dealing in the offseason with Phillips making a ton of money at second base, but the Yankees balked at a deal for him and nothing went down and while there were rumors about Bailey, there was nothing substantial. Now Hardball Talk is reporting that general manager Walt Jocketty may not have a choice when it comes to Bailey, as the team may not be able to afford signing him to a new deal, meaning a trade is likely. Bailey will hit the market after next season and since he is likely going to make $9.3 million in his final year of arbitration, a trade could be coming.
Bailey has tossed a no hitter and last season he had one of his best years with a 3.49 ERA and 199 strikeouts and he pitched in over 200 innings with a 11-12 record and this comes after last season when he went 13-10 while making 33 starts, a career high. Bailey has shown flashes of brilliance and teams like the Braves, Mariners and Red Sox may look at him if they miss out on the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes.
The Reds are hoping to sign him long term, but with Phillips making money and Joey Votto on a $200 million deal, there may not be enough room for him to sign a deal as well. The Reds have issues in the lineup and their bullpen, but the starting rotation is pretty solid and they likely could get a nice package for Bailey.
From MLB.com:
"He would be probably the one guy that's going to be the most difficult because of how well he's done and where he's at in this service class," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "Young pitchers are getting quite a bit."
"At this point, we really haven't discussed anybody but Homer to sign long term," Jocketty said. "Homer is the only one we've pursued, but we've had internal discussions on the other guys. We just have to see how it all fits in, financially."
