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Reds Tidbits (2006 Season)

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Dispatch

Sunday, November 12, 2006
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Rich left for the Bay

Free agent infielder Rich Aurilia has reached preliminary agreement on a two-year deal for about $8 million with the San Francisco Giants, according to a baseball source. The contract is conditional upon Aurilia passing a physical exam this weekend.
Aurilia joins outfielder Dave Roberts, who signed a three-year, $18 million contract Saturday, as a new acquisition in San Francisco. The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported Roberts' deal earlier Saturday.
Aurilia, who hit 23 homers and drove in 70 runs in Cincinnati last year, was offered salary arbitration by the Reds on Friday. But he declined the offer and will return to the organization where he began his major-league career.
Aurilia played for the Giants from 1995-2003 and had his best career year in 2001, when he hit 37 homers and drove in 97 runs. He left for Seattle as a free agent before the 2004 season.
Aurilia played all four infield positions for Cincinnati last year. He will most likely play third base if the Giants don't re-sign Pedro Feliz. If the Giants decide to bring back Feliz, Aurilia is expected to play primarily at first base.



http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2683464
 
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Cincy

Reds insider
General manager Krivsky faces the Reds nation
BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky has been so tight-lipped on what the Reds are planning to do this offseason that his jaw has to ache.
Krivsky's standard answer to all questions from the media: We're trying to make the club better.
But Saturday at Redsfest, Krivsky faced the fans. Just Joe or Joan Fan and a microphone firing away.
Krivsky didn't exactly spill any front-office secrets and he did dance around a couple of questions, but he was as forthcoming as he's been since the season ended.
Here's what the fans got out of him:
On the Rich Aurilia situation: "It's not a lack of interest at all. We offered him arbitration last night, which should tell all the fans what we think of Rich. We think we're a better team with him on the team. Whether he accepts that offer or not is up him. He's got six days to decide. If he signs with someone else, we'll get a couple of draft picks. If he does take us up on the offer, he's a signed player."
On starting pitching beyond Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo: "You're always looking for pitching. (Kyle) Lohse and (Eric) Milton, we're pretty happy with them to be two of the five starters. For the fifth spot, there'll be competition in spring training. We'll look to add depth there. I think we're pretty well set at four spots."
On the possibility of trading Adam Dunn for a young pitcher: "I appreciate the question. When you get into talking trades - no matter who - it's difficult to do. As a general answer, we're looking at anything that makes our team better. Right now, I feel pretty good about pitching. You can say we don't have a closer but we have guys on our team that have closed. I know it's not ideal. We don't have a Mariano Rivera or Joe Nathan but not many teams do. It's my job to give Jerry as many good arms as possible. It might be a different guy each night."
On Homer Bailey (Emcee Marty Brennaman echoed the fan's question: "Yeah, Wayne, is Homer Bailey going to get a chance for the fifth spot?): "That is for the fans, Marty. Jerry (Narron), you stay out of this too. I hope you all understand that Jerry and I had a lot of fun in the media talking about Homer this summer. Both of us had Homer Bailey's interest at heart. I'm happy to answer questions about Homer Bailey. I'm glad he's in our organization. It's very important that we do the right thing by him. He'll get some innings in spring training and we'll go from there. He'll dictate to us when he's ready to come up here."
On the possibility of signing Aaron Boone or Shannon Stewart: "Shannon Stewart's a free agent. He had a serious foot injury. The last I heard he was contemplating retiring. We have to wait and see. Aaron Boone is also a free agent. We are looking for a right-handed bat to complement Scott Hatteberg. He's on a long list of players to be considered for that."
On the overall plan: "We're trying to get as many good players as we can. It's all about the team. It's not always about the sexy signing of someone for $100 million. We're trying to put a team with a capital T, players who have specific roles and who know what their roles are and contribute to winning and making the postseason. That's what we're trying to build here."
On the possibility of a grievance over the Gary Majewski trade with Washington: "We don't feel like we were dealt with fairly. You can go to the bank that we aren't going to take it sitting down. We are taking measures to put our case before the commissioner's office."
On Barry Larkin's future in the organization: "He has a job with the Washington Nationals."
Also seen and heard at Redsfest:
Bob Castellini, the people's owner, was signing autograph's on a regular basis as he walked the floor. It didn't go to his head.
"Fame is fleeting. If we don't put a contender on the field next year, no one will want to get near me."
Castellini, by the way, is doing the Elder Sports Stag Feb. 13.
Narron had this to say about Bailey: "The Cincinnati Reds have never had a Cy Young winner in their history, which is unbelievable to me. That's not to say this guy's going to do it. But he has that kind of arm. We want to make sure we give him every opportunity to be successful."
The line at the Channel 5 booth was non-existent when Ken Broo and George Vogel were signing autographs. That was not the case when Sandra Ali and Sheree Paolello were at the booth.
A signed Ken Griffey Jr. game-used jersey had a bid of $750 at the silent auction benefiting the Reds Community Fund.
Speaking of Griffey, Narron said the possibility of moving him to right field has been discussed: "We're going to do whatever we can to keep him on the field."
E-mail [email protected]
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I believe that Aurilia is a type A free agent, so we are entitled to the Giants first round pick(if not in top fifteen) and a sandwich round pick. I like getting the picks much more than I do Aurilia. Lets face it Aurilia is on the back end of his career and will probably see his stats decline from those of last year.

Also, the Reds have filed a grievance with Washington claiming that they were not informed of Majewski's sore shoulder prior to the trade being finalized. Does anybody know what we would get if the grievance is accepted by the league?
 
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Jt4prez;676899; said:
I believe that Aurilia is a type A free agent, so we are entitled to the Giants first round pick(if not in top fifteen) and a sandwich round pick. I like getting the picks much more than I do Aurilia. Lets face it Aurilia is on the back end of his career and will probably see his stats decline from those of last year.

Also, the Reds have filed a grievance with Washington claiming that they were not informed of Majewski's sore shoulder prior to the trade being finalized. Does anybody know what we would get if the grievance is accepted by the league?
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I really liked Aurilia, but I agree on the picks. Not sure what grade he got, but the long term value here is better. I had a feeling that is why they tendered him. I thought they would tender Weathers for the same reason, but it turns out they signed him (today for 2 years, $5 mill). I know we tendered Schoeneweis, so we could get additional pick(s) for him also.

As for the grievance, per the Cincy Post

"There is a grievance process with MLB, but it usually does not involve a formal hearing. That's why the Reds wanted to ensure they had every angle covered before taking their case to the commissioner. Krivsky didn't say specifically, but the Reds likely will ask for an additional player as compensation should their case be upheld."
 
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Cincy

Weathers took less pay to stay
BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - In the end, it came down to a chance to win and lifestyle for David Weathers. The 37-year-old right-hander could have made more money elsewhere.
"The last two years of my career I wanted to play for a team with a chance to win," Weathers said from his home in Loretto, Tenn. "I was also looking at the convenience of playing close to home. That outweighed the money. I left money on the table."
Weathers agreed to a two-year, $5 million deal with the Reds.
It's a done deal," he said. "I just have to take a physical."
Weathers likely will pass. He went 4-4 with 3.54 ERA with the Reds last year. He appeared in 67 games and recorded a team-high 12 saves.
The agreement came as the winter meetings opened here. It fills a major need for the Reds - a veteran right-hander to pitch late in games. The other news from the winter meetings was that infielder Rich Aurilia, as expected, agreed to a two-year deal to return to the San Francisco Giants.
The Reds will concentrate on adding a right-handed bat to replace Aurilia.
"That's on our shopping list," Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said. "Hopefully, we can get someone with the versatility to play other positions. (Losing Aurilia) creates a void. We'll fill it the best we can. I know he was popular with the fans."
The Reds won't officially announce the Weathers signing until Friday because he has to take the physical and they don't want to add him to the roster until after Thursday's Rule 5 draft.
"We'll be happy to have him if it all works out," Krvisky said. "We've been trying to sign him all winter. He likes Cincinnati. He likes (manager Jerry Narron). He likes the ownership. He likes the direction we're going. There are a lot of positives."
Narron said the plan is to use Weathers and left-hander Mike Stanton in a tandem to close games.
"I like that (Weathers) isn't afraid to take the ball in the ninth inning," Narron said. "And I like that he's not insulted to pitch in the seventh and eighth."
Weathers closed the season strong. He had a 1.64 ERA in 29 games after the All-Star break.
Weathers explored free agency. He reportedly had an offer from San Francisco.
"The Reds needed to know," he said. "I felt it was the right fit for me."
Details of the contract weren't available, but Weathers said it includes some incentives if he's used as a closer.
Aurilia arguably was the Reds' MVP last year. The club offered him arbitration Friday.
"We wanted him back," Krivsky said. "He decided to go with a multi-year option."
Aurilia hit .300 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI last season. The Reds were in trouble when the Giants expressed interest in bringing Aurilia back to where he played for the first nine years of his big league career.
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Reported by ESPN.com in its winter meeting "Buzz" page.

2:39 a.m., from Amy Nelson
? Mark Loretta has been offered a two-year, $6 million contract from the Reds.

I don't get this one. We have Phillips to play 2b, Freel and Castro to back up. Maybe as a platoon with Hatteburg at 1b? Our right handed option? I don't seem him as a backup at 3b or SS, so he really can't replace Aurilia. Anyone have better insight on this?
 
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