The Cincinnati Reds were never the favorites to sign Sonny Gray, but it’s safe to assume that president of baseball operations Nick Krall at least kicked around the idea of a reunion with the All-Star starter.
But instead, Gray is set to sign with the Reds’ NL Central rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. For all intents an purposes, St. Louis has done what they set out to do this offseason – shore up their starting rotation.
The Reds, on the other hand, have been quiet during the early going this offseason. With Gray now off the board, if the Reds were to invest some money into the free agent market, which high-priced free agent pitchers could be on Cincinnati’s radar?
1. Reds could sign Eduardo Rodriguez after missing out on Sonny Gray
Sonny Gray received a lot of love this offseason, but the same cannot be said for Eduardo Rodriguez. The left-hander, who opted out of the final three years of his deal with the Detroit Tigers, put up very good numbers in 2023.
Rodriguez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA. After personal issues limited Rodriguez to just 17 starts in 2022, the left-hander got back to his consistent roots with 26 starts in 2023.
This past season was the best Rodriguez has looked since 2019 with the Boston Red Sox when the southpaw finish sixth in the chase for the AL Cy Young Award.
Eduardo Rodriguez won’t blow you away with his fastball, but the 30-year-old does a nice job of getting soft contact and inducing a decent number of ground balls.
After turnning down the remaining three years and $49-million owed, one can assume that Rodriguez will be looking for more years and more dollars. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Rodriguez will be looking for a deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $20.5 million.
Sonny Gray’s deal is reportedly worth an AAV of $25 million. If the Reds could secure a pitcher like Rodriguez for a three-year/$62-million contract, that could greatly bolster Cincinnati’s starting rotation heading into 2024.
2. Reds could sign Seth Lugo after missing out on Sonny Gray
Seth Lugo is a pitcher who’s receiving a ton of interest on the free agent market. According to FanSided’s Robert Murray, at least half of the teams in Major League Baseball have checked in on Lugo this winter.
Lugo would be a nice fit for a Cincinnati Reds team that’s looking for a middle-of-the-rotation starter. The upside, however, with a pitcher like Lugo is that he also has experience coming out of the bullpen. Lugo appeared in over 100 games from 2021-2022 as a reliever.
If the price is right, Lugo could be that perfect hybrid pitcher that allows Reds manager David Bell to piggyback some of his young starters like Connor Phillips and Brandon Williamson.
The Reds have six viable starting pitchers already on the roster. Phillips and Williamson, along with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, and Graham Ashcraft would all appear to be solid options to be part of the Reds rotation in 2024.
Seth Lugo’s experience as a starter and reliever could help the Cincinnati Reds in 2024 and into the future. If the young crop of Reds hurlers prove that they’ve got what it takes to be part of the rotation, then Lugo could be shifted into a relief role.
However, if one or more of Cincinnati’s young pitchers struggles to gain a foothold in the majors, Lugo could step in as a solid piece of the Reds rotation. Adding Lugo would be a tremendous addition to the Reds roster.
3. Reds could sign Marcus Stroman after missing out on Sonny Gray
Marcus Stroman is a name that, for some reason, isn’t getting much love throughout Reds Country. Perhaps it’s because the right-hander spent the past two seasons pitching for the Chicago Cubs.
But a closer look at Stroman’s stats might suggest that he’d be the perfect pitcher to take the mound at Great American Ball Park. Stroman owned 57.4-percent ground ball-rate in 2023, which put him among the 94th percentile according to Baseball Savant.
Stroman has been relatively durable as a starter the past few seasons. While the veteran did suffer through stint on the IL in 2023, Stroman has started 25 or more games and logged over 125 innings pitched the past three seasons.
Marcus Stroman is unlikely to command the same type of contract as Sonny Gray (reportedly three years at $75 million), though the 32-year-old did just opt out of the final year of his deal with the Cubs that would have paid him $21-million in 2024.
But perhaps Stroman is looking for a longer term deal rather than a dramatic increase in the average annual value of the contract. MLB Trade Rumors predicts that Stroman is expected to land a two-year/$44-million deal this offseason.
Though he struggled with command from time to time in 2023, Stroman typically does a very good job of keeping free runners off the base paths – something that haunted the Cincinnati Reds last season.
Source: Drew Koch, blogredmachine
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