Kuzul

Based on your general disposition, you see the Cincinnati Reds in one of the two following lights: They’re a team at or floating around .500 with baseball’s worst OBP and worst bullpen ERA, or they’re a team at .500 and tied for the remaining wild-card slot.

History suggests Reds owner Bob Castellini will see the latter. He’s a competitive soul, so long as the Reds can sniff a playoff spot, don’t expect them to sell.

Still, given both scenarios, if the Reds make any deals this year, it is likely they’ll hit the market as sellers rather than buyers. They’d rather subtract payroll than add more. So if the Reds fall out of contention, the following is a short list of trades they should be thinking about.

Johnny Cueto, SP

If the Reds are selling, consider Johnny Cueto the Apple Watch. He’s the biggest trade chip the Reds have, and he’s guaranteed to bring a sizable return for any team willing to make itself an immediate World Series contender.

Any team trading for Cueto at the deadline is probably already good enough to be in contention. Cueto would make that team good enough to win it all.

His price tag is unclear. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays were in a similar situation with ace David Price, who was near the final year of his contract. When they finally moved Price, they received Drew Smyly, a talented MLB-ready starter (now 19-14 with a 3.23 ERA in three years), infielder Willy Adames, rated the No. 77 prospect by MLB.com this year, and infielder Nick Franklin from the Seattle Mariners, a first-round draft pick from 2009.

That’s a sizable return for the Cy Young-winning Price. Cueto doesn’t have a Cy Young, but he finished No. 2 last year in National League voting, and he’s already off to a good start in 2015.

The Boston Red Sox are a suitable match. They have the second-worst rotation in baseball and the worst rotation in the American League. They do have Henry Owens, an impressive left-hander in Triple-A. They also have a good, young left-handed batting outfielder in Brock Holt, who’s hitting .278/.388/.450 this season at the major league level.

Marlon Byrd is only a temporary solution, and 2016 is rapidly approaching for Jay Bruce, so Holt would be a natural request. They also have Deven Marrero, a 2012 first-round draft pick who is now a Triple-A shortstop hitting .291/.368/.659.

Brandon Phillips, 2B

Remember, this is only if the Reds are selling. And if they’re selling, there’s no reason to keep Brandon Phillips and his contract on the payroll. He’s having a good season by every measure, slashing .316/.343/.357, and that’s why he must be moved if the Reds are selling.

His value will never be higher.

After the Reds failed to move Phillips last year during the offseason, expect them to try again. It may not be far-fetched to see Walt Jocketty package Cueto with Phillips, though, in fairness, Phillips should be performing well enough to require a decent return—maybe a top-10 prospect, depending on how persuasive Walt can be on the phone. 

It’s not just his bat. He’s healthy, and his defense is as good as ever. Phillips has become a valuable trade chip in a short time. If he can keep his production up, especially at this rate, the Reds should have no problem flipping him.

With the New York Mets‘ David Murphy hitting .210 in 100 games, the Mets could be potential suitors. Eric Sogard has been underwhelming in Oakland, so Phillips is also an option for Billy Beane, who won’t hesitate to fill a need at the deadline. 

In all likelihood, moving Phillips would be more about payroll reduction and less about return.

Jay Bruce, OF

Jay Bruce is a sell-low candidate, but considering his contract is up in 2016, the Reds have to consider getting something for him if they want to rebuild. 

Bruce is slashing a miserable .176/.290/.396—this following his worst career year, a year in which he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. Neither his current slash line nor last year’s is remotely close to his career numbers.

If the Reds are trying to rebuild, Bruce won’t be a part of it. And he won’t bring much back—maybe a good prospect. Most people would have expected more for a talent as prized as Bruce.

Bruce is a good option to deal for on the cheap and stick in the middle of a lineup. Despite a poor slash line, he has 15 RBI, third on the team. 

How valuable is the RBI stat when measuring a player’s value? 

Bruce has been a memorable part of this team’s core for a long time, but with his contract nearly up, he makes for an easy trade candidate—unfortunately in the sell-low category. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Cincinnati Reds are getting no love.

In the most recent season outlook, Grantland writer Ben Lindbergh’s NLC Preview uses a lot of data and makes mathematical projections, and not even the numbers are improving this team’s outlook. In case you haven’t got around to it, here’s an excerpt on why we can expect the Reds to suck in 2015:

Projected Record and Over/Under: 76-86 — PUSH. With [Joey] Votto injured, Ryan Ludwick and [Jay] Bruce banged up and slumping, [Brandon] Phillips declining, [Billy] Hamilton disappointing and [Zack] Cozart being Cozart, the Reds had one of the weakest lineups in baseball last season, despite [Devin] Mesoraco’s breakout and Todd Frazier’s dependable bat. Votto’s return, Bruce’s likely rebound and Marlon Byrd’s arrival should restore the scoring to a respectable level.

If GM Walt Jocketty keeps the roster intact, the Reds could rival the [Milwaukee] Brewers, but if he resigns himself to a rebuild and deals [Johnny] Cueto and Byrd at the deadline, Reds fans will be in for some bad baseball in the second half.

According to this outlook, if everything goes in the Reds’ favor, they should be good enough to compete with the Brewers.

It’s hard to knock something so objective. But, you clicked to read why we should be optimistic, and there are a few reasons, actually. The Grantland article makes several predictions that, if true, would probably cause the Reds to perform as poorly as everyone thinks they will. 

First, the article assumes Votto will miss about 40 days. That would be crippling. Second, the projections say Raisel Iglesias will finish with a 4.93 ERA. And finally, the rotation includes Jason Marquis right now, not Homer Bailey. While this is accurate, it shouldn’t be the case going past April.

The following is a short list of reasons to be optimistic for the Reds’ 2015 season:

1. The team has proven MLB talent. 

No one outside of Cincinnati cares that an almost identical roster managed 90-to-90-plus in three of the last five seasons. But the irrelevance doesn’t make those feats invalid. The roster is full of talent. 

Hardly anyone is talking about what the Reds offense could look like. But ESPN’s Doug Glanville is. He recently pegged the Reds offense as No. 2 in the National League in a live broadcast on SportsCenter.

With the arrival of Byrd, and hopefully prolonged health for the annual contributors, it’s hard not to be excited about the potential of this lineup, which features speed, patience and some power.

Everyone knows what they can expect from a healthy Votto, Phillips and Bruce. And then, of course, there’s Frazier and Mesoraco, who became contributors last season. But consider how the bench has performed this spring:

Brennan Boesch: .382/.379/.655
Chris Dominguez: .327/.333/.618
Kristopher Negron: .385/.475/.577

There are suitable options off the bench, a luxury the Reds haven’t enjoyed in a long time, minus former fan-favorite Chris Heisey, who is no longer with the team.

The Reds currently boast an MLB top-10 offense this spring, and at +36, only three teams in all of baseball have a better run differential. It’s not necessarily optimism at this point; it’s just what is physically happening.

2. The starting rotation has performed well this spring.

This is not by any means is an indicator for success. But it’s a lot better than a questionable rotation getting shelled before the season starts. The following is a list of ERAs currently held by the starting rotation:

Cueto: 3.86
Mike Leake: 0.64
Anthony DeSclafani: 3.51
Marquis: 3.46
Iglesias: 3.68

And one unforgettable detail is that this isn’t the 2015 rotation, just the one for April. The Reds still stand to gain Bailey and his 3.71 ERA from last year. His ZiPS projection is 3.54 in 173 innings, via Rotochamp.com, where you can see it next to every other projection, most of which all predict a good season out of Bailey.

We know what we’ll get from the front of the rotation because we’ve seen Cueto, Leake and Bailey for years. We know how good they are. We have absolutely no idea how MLB-good DeSclafani will be, or Iglesias.

I take their projections with a grain of salt only because they virtually have no MLB data to base anything on. They’re question marks. If even just one of them can replicate what Alfredo Simon gave them last season, the Reds will stand a good chance of winning four out of every five games.

3. 2014 can’t happen again.

Nothing analytical about this point, just pure subjective assertion. Everyone’s over the injury talk, and they should be—we’re like a week from Opening Day. Move on, but don’t forget a pivotal lesson we all learned: injuries to critical players have critical consequences.

We watched a team go from winning 90 games in 2013 to winning 76 games in 2014, with virtually an identical roster. Regardless of popular tough-guyisms bestowed upon us by local media, a team isn’t going to overcome the loss of that many vital contributors in a season.

Even local media that dismissed injury as a reason for 2014 are finding it harder to validate their previous convictions. Take this dramatic 180 from The Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty in his morning blog just this week:

I saw two more entities pick ’em to finish 5th in the Central. That’d be last, scorekeepers. SI.com and W. Leitch think that way. Leitch figures they’ll win 74. Ouch. I’m not known for bubbling optimism, and I’m no FanBoy, but … doesn’t anyone else believe this team can win 85-ish, not barter Cueto at the deadline and at least keep us interested through Labor Day? They can’t possibly be as hurt as last year, right? Jay Bruce had an aberration last season, not a definition, yes? Joey Votto will be back to his new self, getting OB 40 percent of the time, depending on others to provide the semi-meaningless RBI, yeah?

Why no love for the Redlegs?

Why no love for the Redlegs? A great question, as there were probably readers asking Daugherty the same thing last September when he wrote this:  

Do not go into the offseason believing this year was an injury-fueled aberration.

Do not believe that a healthy Joey Votto would have made a 15-game difference. Or even a 10-game swing. Ten games better would still put the Reds a game behind Pittsburgh, for the second wild card.

Do not think the season would have been a roaring success with Mat Latos healthy in April and May, with Homer Bailey whole now. Believing that health is the answer is a fool’s game. Who’s healthy this year might not be next year. 

This isn’t about any one columnist. I’m simply making the point that not even the most ardent and unforgiving of critics last year can stand by what they wrote. And we shouldn’t either.

The negative outlook surrounding the Reds, mathematically, incorporates data from a time when it didn’t matter. National analysts and computers only care about the data, which is never a bad thing. But that’s data from a bombed and depleted 76-win Reds team. That’s data on two pitchers, Iglesias and DeSclafani, who have virtually no MLB data on them. 

I think the outlook for this season is grossly underrated. And on that note, I must defer to Chuck D and Flavor Flav.

Stats courtesy of MLB.com, unless noted otherwise.

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It’s finally come to this, Cincinnati Reds fans. With virtually no hope remaining in what has been one of the more miserable, disappointing Reds seasons to date, we shift our focus to 2015. In Redsland, 2015 is all we have. Beyond that, very little is guaranteed. 

Anyone with even a fractional interest in this team understands where improvements need to be made.

For years, dating back to 2010, left field has been a constant area of debate. We remember the days of the Jonny Gomes and Chris Heisey platoon. Ryan Ludwick was supposed to put an end to that, but in typical Reds fashion, a crippling injury in 2013 has reduced Ludwick to a shell of his former self.

He was signed by Walt Jocketty to essentially be the power bat in the middle of the order. But Ludwick has just 10 home runs in the near 479 plate appearances since he injured his shoulder on Opening Day of 2013. The power outage seems to be real. But it was probably expected considering he is 36 years old anyway.

And it’s not just the power. Everything from batting average, OBP and slugging have all been down since the beginning of 2013. With that in mind, it’s probably realistic that the Reds will spend $4.5 million just to send Ludwick off.

And with his departure comes the topic of replacements. 

The popular idea may be to just hit the market and sign a big bat. But with so many vital players approaching arbitration, that’s unlikely. Because of what these players are making now, it is not far-fetched to assume that Mike Leake and Mat Latos get salaries close to or above $10 million. 

Alfredo Simon’s salary will likely jump from just $1.5 million to maybe somewhere around $5 million, but that is strictly a guess and is in no way validated. Could be more, could be less.

Then there are, of course, the salaries of Jonathan Broxton, Sean Marshall, Homer Bailey, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto.

Unless there is a decision to increase payroll, it is highly unlikely the Reds will have the cash necessary to procure the services of a bona fide cleanup hitter from the market. Therefore, they may have to consider internal options.

But is that a bad thing? With a healthy Votto, a healthy Jay Bruce, Devin Mesoraco and Todd Frazier, aren’t any of them qualified to bat cleanup?

In my opinion, there are enough able bats on a healthy Reds roster to hit for power. But OBP is a major problem. Per ESPN.com, the Reds are No. 28 in OBP, nearly dead last. That, more than nearly anything else, needs to be addressed. The following are three guys who may be able to help do that from left field.

Jason Bourgeois

Jason Bourgeois is the starting center fielder for the Triple-A Louisville Bats. This 32-year-old right-handed option is no stranger to the big leagues. He’s had stints with the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers. 

With a very limited time in the majors, his slash line after just 515 plate appearances in six years is .259/.305/.326. Surely that doesn’t blow anyone away, but that’s a very limited sample size.

In 15 minor league seasons, Bourgeois is slashing .282/.342/.386. This year, he’s slashing .283/.336/.372. He has 143 hits in 126 games played. This isn’t a power hitter, and he won’t drive in many runs, but he gets on base at a healthy pace and can steal a base. 

Felix Perez

Felix Perez has played mostly right field in Louisville this season in a year in which he was named to the Independent League All-Star game. On the season, Perez is slashing .282/.328/.456. This 29-year-old has spent five seasons in the Reds farm system. His slash line for those five years is .281/.330/.405.

Unlike Bourgeois, Perez does have some power. He’s got 11 home runs in 425 at-bats and 68 RBI to add to that. He also has 150 games of left field experience in five minor league seasons, with a fielding percentage of .990.

Per Rotoworld, Perez was once a prized prospect of the New York Yankees, but he lost out on a $3.5 million signing bonus when it was discovered that he lied about his age.

Devin Mesoraco

That’s right. According to Cincinnati Enquirer beat writer John Fay, the Reds plan on possibly moving Mesoraco around a bit next spring. Per Fay, Mesoraco is willing, saying:

If that’s something I was asked to do, I’d absolutely do it. There’s a few positions that I could play, probably first base, maybe left field, that would take more work. But I don’t see any harm in doing it. Spring training as long as it is, there’s plenty of time for it. I’d be more than willing.

This is a likely option to consider, because with Brayan Pena inked through next season, he’ll be able to play catcher while Mesoraco‘s bat stays in the lineup. It has been a challenge to keep him in the lineup for Bryan Price this year, so if Mesoraco becomes more versatile, it will help things out a lot.

Remember, while none of these options will blow you away, keep payroll in mind. It won’t be the No. 4 hitter who takes the Reds to the next level. It will be the team’s dominant pitching staff and, hopefully, its restructured, healthy bullpen.

The Reds need money to secure the very core of their team moving forward, so left field should be addressed as cost-efficiently as possible.

*Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.

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Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who went hitless in his first game back from the disabled list Monday, needs just two more hits to reach 1,500 for his career.

After missing more than five weeks of action due to a torn tendon in his thumb, Phillips rejoined the Reds Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals, starting at second base and batting sixth in an eventual 6-5, 10-inning loss.

Though he registered just one walk in his five plate appearances, Phillips appeared to make it through the game without incident, setting him up to reach the 1,500-hit milestone before the end of this week.

With 1,409 of his 1,498 career hits coming in a Cincinnati uniform, Phillips ranks 12th on the all-time franchise list for a team that can lay claim to some excellent hitters.

The top two spots on said list are unsurprisingly held by MLB hit king Pete Rose (3,358) and Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin (2,340).

Signed with Cincinnati through 2017, the 33-year-old Phillips will likely climb into the top-10 spots on the franchise hits list, as he’s just 30 behind 11th-place Frank McCormick (1,439) and 90 behind 10th-place Ted Kluszewski (1,499).

Ninth-place Frank Robinson has a comfortable lead over Phillips, with the Hall of Famer’s 1,673 hits for the Reds besting the second baseman’s 1,409 by a margin of 264.

While he has a shot to become the sixth player in franchise history with 2,000 hits in a Reds uniform, Phillips has shown undeniable signs of decline the last few seasons. Following perhaps the best year of his career in 2011, the veteran second baseman dropped back to his career norms in 2012 and then sunk even lower in 2013.

While his batting average has bounced back a bit from last season’s .261, Phillips owns perhaps his worst slash line since joining the Reds, sitting at .269/.307/.388 through 87 games.

His .695 OPS would mark a personal worst during his Cincinnati tenure, falling just short of the .706 mark he posted last year. Prior to 2013, Phillips’ worst season-long OPS as a Red was .750 from 2012.

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After seven long weeks atop the Reds player power rankings, Johnny Cueto was officially lifted from the throne following a disastrous outing against the Washington Nationals. It was an odd sequence of events; the first two runs to cross the plate were unearned. By that time, Cueto had already been laboring, working nearly every full.

But on a night when the Reds’ ace was less than perfect, the defense behind him was less than adequate, making for a beating at the hands of the Nationals and a new No. 1 in this week’s power rankings.

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Cincinnati Reds star Brandon Phillips is an entertainer. Whether its playing a Gold Glove-caliber second base, smacking 18 home runs or flying around the basepaths, BP knows how to have fun.

I caught up with him at an MLB 14 The Show event on Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. We discussed the game, the sport and a host of other things.

Cincinnati Reds Talk captured this cool image from Phillips’ Instagram just before our interview:

We all got an opportunity to play the game a bit. Both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 versions look awesome. In fact, the build of the PS4 version we played was still updating. It looked even better on Wednesday than it did on Tuesday.

Baseball gamers are anxiously awaiting its full release. The PS3 version drops on April 1, and the PS4 version will be available on May 6.

BP wants everyone to know he’s a force in the game. I promised him I’d draft him onto my Chicago Cubs team during my fantasy season on the game.

It shouldn’t be a bad move, considering he hit .261 with 18 home runs and 103 RBI in 2013. It was the fourth consecutive season he hit 18 homers.

Phillips needs just 37 home runs to join some elite company at his position. If he hits that mark, he’ll become just the 11th player to hit 200 homers as a second baseman.

As of now, there’s only nine, but the Seattle Mariners‘ Robinson Cano needs just four to join the 200 club for second basemen. It seems a safe bet he’ll reach that number within the first two months of the season—at least.

Believe it or not, Phillips has been in the league for 12 years. He’s played his entire career in the state of Ohio, having spent the first four seasons in the Cleveland Indians organization.

As a veteran, I picked Phillips’ brain about some of the up-and-coming second basemen in the league, as well as gathered his thoughts on the Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout, arguably the best player in the majors today.

Take a look at the interview and keep an eye out for more information on the release of MLB 14 The Show.

Follow me. I like sports and video games…a lot.

@BMaziqueFPBR

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The New York Yankees were unsuccessful in keeping Robinson Cano, but you have to credit them for trying.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes first broke the news that the All-Star second baseman agreed to a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners. However, the Yankees tried an interesting tactic in order to help in the negotiations.

Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty admitted Saturday that previous trade rumors concerning Brandon Phillips were intentionally leaked by the Yankees, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The idea was that if New York appeared to have a Plan B in place, it would be less desperate to overpay for Cano. This would keep the price down in the event that no other team was willing to match the expected cost.

Unfortunately, the Mariners ruined this strategy by offering Cano a decade-long contract to make him one of the richest players in baseball.

Of course, the Yankees’ plan was also hurt by a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports early in the week. He noted that while there were some early trade talks, the odds of actually trading the second baseman appeared unlikely unless there was a significant offer on the table.

This puts Brian Cashman and the rest of the New York front office in a tough position going forward. 

The club has attempted to replace the offensive production it lost by signing Carlos Beltran to a three-year deal, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. Still, it must find a new second baseman with two of the best in baseball currently off the market.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

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There hasn’t been much action early on in the 2013 offseason by any team, and the Cincinnati Reds aren’t likely to make much noise the rest of the winter. With most of the roster set, general manager Walt Jocketty will work on adding some finishing touches.

It will be a tough task as Cincinnati doesn’t have much payroll flexibility. The lack of available money kept the Reds from giving pitcher Bronson Arroyo a $14.1 million qualifying offer. Now the team has to figure out creative ways to improve the roster.

Don’t expect many big moves by the Reds. There aren’t many spots open on the roster, so they won’t be in the running for most high-profile free agents. However, The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay believes the Reds are up to something.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the moves the team could make this offseason.

Re-sign Shin-Soo Choo

This is the likeliest of any big move that the team could make, but even this move could be a long shot. 

Cincinnati made a bold move to trade center fielder Drew Stubbs and shortstop Didi Gregorious last offseason for Shin-Soo Choo. The Reds had been missing a productive leadoff hitter, so trading for Choo was the best solution Cincinnati could think of. For the most part, it was a success.

After Choo declined the Reds’ qualifying offer, via Fay, he will now test the market.

The 31-year-old hit .283/.423/.462 with 21 home runs, 34 doubles, two triples and 20 stolen bases. He joined teammate Joey Votto as the only National League players to draw 100 walks this past season, and he led the majors by getting hit by a pitch 26 times. He got on base 300 times this past season.

Choo‘s biggest weakness was hitting against left-handed pitching. He hit only .215 with only seven doubles and eight RBI against southpaws. He didn’t hit a home run against one in the regular season.

If Cincinnati can re-sign Choo, he’d be in center field for the 2014 season and then likely shift to left field after that.

As the 2013 season went on, Choo got better in center field, and he was able to show off his great arm quite a bit.

Scott Boras, Choo‘s agent, is looking to get his client a big deal. Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted that Choo could get a deal worth around $90 million, but ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported that MLB teams have told him that Boras is looking to exceed what Jayson Werth got from the Washington Nationals ($126 million) a few years ago.

The New York Yankees and the New York Mets are among the teams that are interested in Choo, and big-market teams will be able to offer more money than Cincinnati.

If that’s really what Boras is chasing, don’t expect the Reds to be able to stay in the chase very long. That’s a lot of money to give someone who was limited against left-handed pitching and was a liability in the field.

Great American Ball Park helped Choo‘s offensive numbers and hid his defensive issues pretty well. If he wants to play somewhere where he could succeed, Cincinnati is one of his top options.

Choo gave the Reds a legitimate leadoff hitter and set the tone early in many games. If the market doesn’t cooperate with Boras, the Reds could find a way to get a deal done. 

Trade Brandon Phillips to the New York Yankees for Mason Williams and other prospects

This isn’t to be an advocate of trading the second baseman, but if the club is going to pull off a big trade, it’s likely going to involve Brandon Phillips. 

The New York Yankees are the favorites to sign Robinson Cano. If that happens, they won’t be a potential landing spot for Phillips.

If Cano signs elsewhere, this could be a possibility. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Yankees inquired about Phillips, but the asking price was too steep. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported that general manager Walt Jocketty isn’t looking to trade Phillips, but he didn’t guarantee that the superstar would be on the team next season.

Another reason that a trade isn’t the best idea is that it doesn’t make sense for the team to deal Phillips. He is a three-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner and has won a Silver Slugger. The 32-year-old set a career high with 103 RBI in 2013.

Phillips plays with a lot of emotion, which can help fire up the team.

The team could use a right-handed bat, so it wouldn’t make sense to trade away the team’s best bat from that side of the plate for prospects. This team is in win-now mode, and Phillips has been a big part of the club’s success.

When the team needed him, Phillips got better at the plate. He hit .213 with nobody on, .307 with runners on and .338 with runners in scoring position.

Not all of his numbers were great in 2013. The second baseman’s .261 average tied for the worst mark during his tenure in Cincinnati, and his .310 on-base percentage and .396 slugging percentage were the worst of his Reds career. 

Don’t forget that he was drilled in the forearm on June 1 in Pittsburgh. He was hitting .296 at the time, and it was obvious that he wasn’t the same hitter after that.

If the Reds and Yankees ever get into serious discussions, Yankees prospect Mason Williams would likely have to be a part of any package. MLB.com ranks the outfielder as the team’s No. 2 prospect and No. 36 overall. 

Williams is projected to be a solid hitter with great speed and good defense. The 22-year-old bats from the left side and will continue to improve at the plate.

Catcher Gary Sanchez, the team’s top prospect, would be a nice target, but he’s unlikely to be dealt given the team’s current catching situation. The right-handed catcher can hit for power and has a great arm.

New York would have to give up one of its two top prospects, and Williams is the more realistic option. From there, the Yankees would have to throw in another high prospect or two to get the deal done.

Phillips would be cheaper financially for the Yankees in comparison to Cano. The Reds star has four years and $50 million left on his contract, and Cano is going to get a huge deal this winter. Although a trade would be cheaper in terms of money, it would cost them some top prospects.  

*All stats are courtesy of MLB.com

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The Kansas City Royals enter the offseason with a few needs, and upgrading right field or second base ranks high on their list.

A reunion with Carlos Beltran, whom the team drafted in 1995, would certainly answer one of those needs.  A trade with the Cincinnati Reds for Brandon Phillips would address the other.  It appears that both of those options have been discussed.

Beltran, who is presumed to be in the twilight of his career, is reportedly seeking a three-year contract for his services.  An outfielder who has spent his most recent years playing right field, Beltran has been one of the game’s most prolific switch-hitters in history.  He would bring stability to a position that the Royals have not been able to count on offensively in some time.

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com noted via Twitter that the Royals are interested in Beltran but concerned they may be outbid:

#Royals would love to make a Beltran reunion happen but fear being outbid by high-revenue teams such as #Yankees.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 12, 2013

Beltran is a name that some expected to be thrown around in the Kansas City offices this year, but Brandon Phillips may come as a bit of a surprise.  Royals manager Ned Yost was interviewed by Jim Bowden on his SiriusXM radio show this afternoon and confirmed that the team had discussed both Beltran and Phillips. Bowden shared these thoughts via Twitter:

Ned Yost said he & Dayton Moore have talked for hours and hours including the names of Carlos Beltran, Brandon Phillips & Ervin Santana XM89

— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) November 12, 2013

Phillips has continued to be a productive, veteran presence for the Cincinnati Reds but has seen his stock drop this season due to his outspoken nature.

Earlier this year, he complained openly about his current contract and how he felt insulted by the way it was approached.  In addition, his outburst at a Cincinnati reporter before a game in St. Louis did not sit well with people in the Reds organization.  The situation has lead some to believe that Phillips may be traded before the curtain rises on the 2014 season.

Either Beltran or Phillips would add a legitimate power bat to a lineup that desperately needs some offensive production.  Beltran could also see time at DH, allowing him to rest his knees and prolong his career a bit.  Phillips brings stellar defense as well, another sore point at second base in Kansas City.

Ultimately, the offseason is just getting started, and rumors will begin to fly.  Yost acknowledging that he and Dayton Moore, the team’s general manager, had conversations about both players does not suggest that a deal is close at all.  

But it is enough to get Royals fans excited about the possibilities. 

Follow me on Twitter to discuss all things baseball.

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The New York Yankees are preparing for life after Robinson Cano, or so it seems.

According to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the Yankees have made contact with the Cincinnati Reds about second baseman Brandon Phillips:

Phillips is said to be available in the right trade, but word is, the initial price is way too steep. Of course, that’s the way the Yankees look at Cano’s $300 million asking price, as well.

Phillips batted .261 with 103 RBI for the Reds, but is on the market after a couple incidents—one where he complained in a Cincinnati magazine article about how ownership handled his negotiations and another where he went ballistic on a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter after the reporter, Trent Rosecrans, formerly of CBSSports.com, tweeted about Phillips’ low on-base percentage.

Phillips still has four years and $50 million left on his current deal. Compared to what Cano is seeking, that would be a bargain. Then again, what would it cost the Yankees in terms of prospects?

But let’s say the Yankees were able to pull off this trade. What kind of domino effect would it have on the rest of the offseason? What would the Yankees gain or lose replacing Cano with Phillips, and how would it affect Cano’s value on the free-agent market?

What the Yankees Would Gain/Lose

The most obvious thing the Yankees would lose, first and foremost, is prospects. There’s no way that any team can acquire a four-time Gold Glover, and one that had 18 home runs and 103 RBI last year, without giving up something.

Outside of Gary Sanchez, no prospect is truly untouchable for the Yankees, so you could likely see the Reds ask for Mason Williams or Tyler Austin, along with a few pitching prospects.

The Yankees are likely going to want to keep both outfielders since Vernon Wells, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano will all be free agents after next season. They’re going to need some young bodies to place alongside Brett Gardner.

But if Phillips is the target, there’s no way the Reds aren’t getting at least Williams or Austin.

The Yankees would also be giving up on signing Cano, who kept the Yankees afloat this year, batting .314 with 27 home runs and 107 RBI.

Here’s how Phillips and Cano compare over the last two years:

Obviously Cano is better, but Phillips would come at a cheaper price, compared to what Cano wants.

Heyman reported in September that the Yankees balked at Cano’s request of $300 million over 10 years:

The Yankees have said they do not want to repeat a contract of (Alex) Rodriguez’s size. They obviously now view Rodriguez’s contract as an error, though his career path took its own turn with the steroid revelations and two hip surgeries. Cano is healthy and has never been linked to anything untoward.

By trading for Phillips, the Yankees would be guaranteeing Cano won’t be in pinstripes next year.

How Cano’s Free-Agent Value Would Be Affected

Despite the multiple teams that are interested in Cano in free agency, very few would (or even could) make an offer in the neighborhood he is seeking.

The one team (outside of the Yankees) that could easily bankroll the deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers, doesn’t seem like a candidate after signing Cuban second baseman Alexander Guerrero.

Heyman did mention that teams like the Rangers, Cubs, Nationals, Tigers, Mariners, Blue Jays, Orioles, White Sox, Angels and Giants could also have interest in Cano:

In the case of many of these teams, there’s a reason or two Cano may not be a perfect fit (mostly, it’s the money). But with a player of this stature, teams have been known to make room.

The Rangers don’t have much of an infield need since they have Ian Kinsler and Jurickson Profar for second base. The Tigers already have a high payroll for their market. While the Angels are expected to consider trades for second baseman Howie Kendrick, their bigger need would still be pitching.

The Orioles haven’t spent for a top-tier free agent in years. The Nationals like Anthony Rendon, who’ll presumably have to stay at second since Ryan Zimmerman bounced back to finish strong at third base. The Cubs seem to prefer even younger players for their major expenditures.

So, the market wouldn’t look good for Cano to get the kind of money he is seeking.

This doesn’t mean Cano wouldn’t sign with one of those teams. But with a $300 million asking price, most teams won’t come near that. That means Cano is going to have to come down on his asking price.

The bottom line is the Yankees trading for Phillips would be the worst thing for Cano. Without the Yankees, he’s not getting anywhere close to the amount of money he wants.

What Else the Yankees Could Do

By trading for Phillips and not re-signing Cano, the Yankees would have a lot more cap space to make the necessary improvements on the free-agent market this offseason.

The main thing it would allow them to do is to get into a bidding war for free-agent catcher Brian McCann:

When you look at what McCann did last year compared to Yankees’ catchers, it’s really not a contest:

There really is no comparison as McCann is clearly the better choice for the Yankees, at least until Sanchez makes it through the minor league system.

By not signing Cano to a $30 million-a-year deal, the Yankees could easily afford to pay McCann around the $16-17 million Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors projects he’ll get.

The Yankees could also make a serious run at Japanese starter Masahiro Tanaka. While it’s impossible to know what Tanaka’s value is, he will be posted, and teams will have a chance to bid on him.

As Bleacher Report’s Joe Giglio wrote in September, the posting system is a huge guessing game:

When it comes time for posting fees and free agent contracts, Tanaka is likely to receive less than Yu Darvish’s total package, but, considering the dearth of free agent arms outside of Matt Garza, could be worth a total deal around what Anibal Sanchez received last offseason.

Of course, the nature of posting fees and the guessing game around which team will win the rights to offer Tanaka a deal will be just as intriguing as the actual contract he garners.

But given the Yankees’ history of spending money, there’s no doubt they’ll put up a huge bid for Tanaka. By adding Tanaka, the Yankees will have another ace-type starter in their rotation to help take some of the pressure off CC Sabathia.

The Yankees could also look at bringing in a closer like Joe Nathan or Grant Balfour if they don’t feel like David Robertson is the man for the job.

There are so many avenues the Yankees could go if they traded for Phillips and let Cano walk.

The Bottom Line

While it is fun to think about what would happen if the Yankees decided to go another direction, the bottom line is there is no way they’ll let him go to another team.

Cano won’t get the $300-million contract he is seeking, but he’ll get close to what Rodriguez got on his last 10-year deal.

After losing Mariano Rivera to retirement and the end of Derek Jeter’s career coming up, the Yankees need a face of the franchise moving forward. Cano is that guy, and there is no way the Yankees would mess that up by trading for Phillips.

The Yankees may get a little disgruntled by having to shell out more money than they would like to keep Cano in the Bronx. But the bottom line is, they need Cano, and Cano needs them.

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