Lance McAlister

Lance McAlister

Lance McAlister covers everything in Cincinnati sports! Host of sports talk on Cincinnati News Radio 700WLW and ESPN 1530!Full Bio

 

Reds deal Farmer: Here is what it all means

Photo: Getty Images

Sorting out the Cincinnati Reds moves

The Reds were busy Friday night, making two trades.

I'd think initially, the Reds give Jose Barrero a final shot a SS with Kevin Newman as the security fallback.... that is until Elly De La Cruz is ready.

INF Matt McClain is certainly in the middle infield mix.

I'd think Spencer Steer is the 3B with Nick Senzel as a possibility and Reynolds as a fallback.

Farmer wasn't going to be in the mix as SS. It would have made zeros sense in a rebuild with the prospects available/coming. That is why they moved him to 3rd late last season.

Newman plays middle infield, has more range, makes more contact and makes less money. Farmer has more pop, but will make about double the salary (around $6m to $3m)

Farmer had a ton of respect within and was a leader with influence beyond his stats. The reality is the value of a 32-year corner infielder with a 90 OPS+ last year (100 league average) was a Double-A reliever. Teams were not beating down the door for Farmer....at the trade deadline or this offseason.

The swap of Farmer/Newman gives the Reds a little money to play with. Again, the payroll Nick Krall has been given is going down. That forces him to try to be creative.

If Matt Reynolds winds up at any starting infield spot then something has gone horribly wrong with this rebuild.

The 25 year old Casey Legumina is a reliever that likely winds up a Louisville to start. He's a guy that has stuff that hopefully plays better from the pen than as a starter.

OF Allan Cerda and RP Daniel Duarte, both non-tendered, have agreed to return on minor league deals.

The 40-man roster sits at 38, giving them some room to play with for the Rule 5 Draft.

Please keep in mind.....

I'm not stating any of this will work.

I'm just stating what I believe they are doing and why.

You may not like it, but it is the reality of the situation and it is how a rebuild works.

Rebuilds are not clean, they are not easy and they are frustrating. Losing comes with rebuilds. Lots of losing.

But starting with the trade deadline, the Reds have shown they decided to get on the path to a real rebuild they had not previously chosen....and so far....are sticking to the plan.

If ownership stays out of the way, and let's Krall, scouts, and player development go to work, we are going to find out IF they can pull it off. Maybe they can't.

But if ownership gets in the way and/or buckles to fans that whine about losing a 32-year old 3B then heaven help the franchise.

I say this with all due respect to all involved....if your team is rebuilding you can't possibly plant your flag of angst on losing Kyle Farmer.

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Official trade announcement

    CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds Vice President, General Manager Nick Krall tonight announced the acquisition of IF Kevin Newman from the Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Dauri Moreta.

           Newman, 29, originally was selected by the Pirates in the first round (19th overall) of the June 2015 first-year player draft. In each of the last 3 seasons, he was Pittsburgh's Opening Day starting shortstop.

          In 2022, Newman was bothered with a left groin injury but still hit .278 with 22 extra-base hits in 78 appearances. In his 5 seasons with the Pirates, he made 288 starts at SS, 92 starts at 2B and 3 starts at 3B.

           Moreta, 26, has been in the Reds' organization since he was signed in March 2015 as an undrafted free agent. He posted a 5.14 ERA in his 39 games over 2 seasons for Cincinnati.

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          Earlier tonight, the Reds acquired from the Minnesota Twins RHP Casey Legumina for IF Kyle Farmer.

           Legumina, 25, originally was selected by the Twins in the eighth round of the 2019 first-year player draft out of Gonzaga University. He is rated by MLB Pipeline the No. 26 prospect in Minnesota's organization.

          This season at Class A Cedar Rapids and Class AA Wichita, the Dallas native combined to finish 2-6 with a 4.80 ERA, 3 saves and 92 strikeouts in just 86.1 innings over 16 starts and 17 relief appearances. In his 2-season minor league career, Legumina is 6-8 with a 4.25 ERA and 3 saves in 25 starts and 23 relief appearances. On Tuesday, he was added to the Twins' 40-man roster.

           Farmer, 32, was acquired from the Dodgers in December 2018, along with OF Matt KempOF Yasiel Puig, LHP Alex Wood and cash, for RHP Homer BaileyIF Jeter Downs and RHP Josiah Gray. He hit .255 in his 421 appearances for the Reds.


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