Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes the Reds prefer to trade RHP Aaron Harang, instead of RHP Bronson Arroyo.
The 31–year-old Harang was 6–14 with a 4.21 ERA in 26 starts for the Reds last season, missing starts the last two seasons with a forearm injury, a neck injury and an appendectomy.
He is due to earn $25 million over the next two seasons, after which he can be made a free agent.
…he has struggled the last two seasons, but it might have been due to the various ailments… prior, he was quite good, getting him that big contract… he’s a big guy, he can go deep in games, and can strike batters out with a big fastball… i don’t see him as an ace, but a second-level starter, much like the Mets are probably looking to acquire…
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Harang easily has the best upside. 4.21 isn’t terrible. I’d offer Pelfrey and a few low level minor leaguers, if the Reds are looking for salary relief. I might also try to pry away Micah Owings in the deal – and convert him to a position player
Why is everyone so hot to trade Pelfrey? He had one down season after tossing over 200 innings that he had never done before. He is still young and learning at the big league level, not too mention under team control for another 4 years! Let’s also not forget that he had essentially a Triple A club playing defense behind him. (some days AA ) He should be one of the last people traded! If anything the Mets did him a diservice in portraying Pelfrey to be a # 2 when clearly wasn’t ready. Geez give the kid a chance!
why offer Pelfrey….Harang is making huge
money for a guy with that ERA and record.
Pelfrey might even be better than him. This
is salary relief….level B prospects only.
The reds want to cut salary so they shouldn’t be demanding a MLB ready pitcher for Harang unless they eat some of that contract. I think Pelfrey can still be a solid #3 pitcher in this league and would really only consider dealing him in a package to get Halladay.
Send them over a couple B level prospects and we’ll take on the entire contract. Done deal.
That’s insane. I wouldn’t offer Pelfrey straight up for Harang. He’s been average “at best” over the past two years and he has a big contract. No need to give up Pelfrey for that.
I admit that I’m intrigued by Harang because his K/BB ratio has remained solid, he just seems to have been more hittable the past couple of seasons. But I wouldn’t give up anything of real value considering his contract. Mid-level prospects oughtta do it.
Hittable pitchers who have low walk totals are what the Mets should be looking for to pitch in Citifield. I would suspect that taking him out of the great american smallpark and giving him Carlos Beltran in CF would cut out a great number of XBhits.
Of course, he would have to pitch in Philly too…
A buddy of mine who is a Reds fan says the Reds will want a major league ready bat as part of any trade for Harang. They also have holes to fill at SS and the OF.
Mets don’t have a major league ready bat to offer (unless you consider Castillo, which no GM in their right mind would). As for SS and OF, Reese Havens and F-Mart come to mind. But would the Mets be willing to trade BOTH of them in exchange for Harang? Probably not.
In short, I’d be surprised if the Mets got Harang, given what the Reds need.
The Reds have a ton of OF prospects. I think they would like a second baseman, or ShortStop.
Havens would work, but I would throw in Tejada instead. Pelfrey, Castillo, Gee and Tejada for Harang and Phillips.
Why would the Reds part with Phillips, especially as the Reds GM has said they won’t?
For the money he is owed the Mets shouldn’t even entertain the thought,………unless of course Brandon Phillips is driving the car that brings them both to Citifield!
Good point. I’d like to see Philips on this team instead of O’Dawg (if they can trade Castillo).
I’d even consider sending Pelfrey and Ike Davis over if it meant getting Harang, Philips and Votto back!
Honestly, if they could swing a deal for Philips, I would care less if they cut Castillo to make it happen! ( not good business sense of course if you know what I mean lol) As far as the other deal you mentioned, no chance of that happening. The only way Pelfrey goes anywhere is in a deal for A-Gon! No other player ( who is available) is worth dealing Pelf at this point in his career especially considering his salary and the question marks surrounding the rest of the rotation not named Johan!
as would I, but Votto is borderline untouchable
I just checked his 2009 splits to see how he pitched away from GAB. Surprisingly, the numbers show him to have been quite good last year at home and poor on the road. Who woulda thunk it? Not me.
Home: 3.43 ERA .254 BA against
Road: 5.18 ERA .324 BA
You wouldnt have to give up Pelfrey fool.
I would def check out Harang and would also inquire about Phillips.
we’re a better team with Pelfrey. Slotting him in as the #3 only makes our rotation stronger. Plus, hes only 26, let the kid keep pitching. We can’t count on Ollie or Maine, so why trade the one guy, beside Johan, that we kind of know what to expect. And even then, he still can become more consistent.
Harang would be a nice addition though. Only 2 years committed, which I love, plus he has previous success.
I have more confidence in John Maine than Mike Pelfrey, and Perez is untradable. I will maintain, as I have all off season, that if the Mets rely on these three to make 60% of their starts, it will be a long 2010. We should get rid of one of them, and since I like Maine more than Pelfrey, he’s the one I would look to trade.
I expect them both to have good years (especially if they straighten out the porous defense!)
but Pelf would be a very hot commodity if made available, given his age, stuff, past success and of course, his super cheap contract.
If anything, he is the type of guy the Mets should be looking to Get, not give up!
Also a positive that he has been healthy and durable, so from the standpoint of making his starts, he is actualy the Mets only sure thing!
Maine hasn’t been right since ‘07 and even then he really is only a 2 pitch pitcher, which obviously the rest of the league has figured out. Pelfrey has four pitches he can throw and has better stuff than John Maine by a long way, especially when you consider Citifield and Pelfrey’s ground ball tendancy’s Then there are Maine’s injury issues, so who knows if he’ll ever get back to his ‘07 self? I like Maine, I do, but to put him above Pelfrey just doesn’t make sense.
Maine had a great ST and 1st half in 2008. When he is on and not in pain, he can be nasty. I forget his entire pitch selection, but he has more than 2.
The shoulder problem is what killed him. Hard to pitch with the pain, and he couldn’t do his side BP work. I think he may have also cut out a pitch or 2.
The key, of course, is if the shoulder problem has really been corrected, and he gets 100% rehabbed in the off season (he seemed pretty good in spetember, while building up his strength, and said no pain). Certainly no guarantees, but if he is “fixed”, he could easily have the year that 2008 appeared it was gong to be.
depends on how you look at it, Maine throws a variety of fastballs and a change. Its 2 pitches, or 4…
I like Harang. Good guy to try and pick up, hoping for a rebound year. Kind of like a more durable sheets or harden, but more expensive.
Also, he is only a 1 year commitment. 2011 is a team option, with a buy out (2 mill I think). So, the real $$ minimum is 1 year, 14.5 mill (or 2/25, making year 2 a bargain if he has a good 2010).
but for that money, the Reds should take back a used rosin bag if the Mets pick up the entire salary. Trading a value like Pelf for him is insane.
Expanding the deal to include Philips, while the Mets take on all the alary (about 19m total for 2010) should still not require a ton of talent back.
Do that deal, and unload Castillo for anything, and the team will be wildly better next season already. Add a good LF and away we go!
I am strongly in favor of them bringing Harang in…to me he has far more upside than Marquis, Wolf, Pineiro and has the added quality of being a strikeout pitcher. He has been somewhat inconsistent the last 2 years but the talent is definitely there. Problem is $24mil over 2 years would pretty much take us out of the running for a Lackey or anyone else. We would have to unload Castillo in any deal for him…
Would Pagan, Castillo, Holt and a B prospect net us Phillips and Harang?
Huge $$ savings for the Reds and Pagan can play CF so they can move Bruce to a corner spot.
If we got Phillips, there would be a reduced need for power in LF and we could start to consider the 2nd tier guys for left, like Dye and could resign Delgado for a year. I feel like the Krivsky signing is a good indicator that something with the Reds could happen.
A lineup of
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Delgado
Phillips
Dye
Franceour
Catchers
would be pretty decent but a rotation of
Johan
Harang
Pelfrey
Maine
Ollie
still needs some work
i prefer Arroyo to Harang … and i would be shocked if the Reds didn’t have to sweaten the pot to trade Harang especially due to the cost.
the Reds are not going to take Castillo … that has to be a separate deal with another team.
Besides Lackey, Harang is the next best option for the Mets to pursue. Giving up compensation and paying slightly less for Doug Davis or Garland isn’t really worth the lesser performance you are likely to get. Harang is also a true #2 starter while the others can join the group with Perez, Pelfrey and the rest who can give you any type of performance on any given day…
Harang is not a #2 … Arroyo is a #2 …
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