I thought I otter give a welcome to some of the new Reds for 2008:

  • Dusty Baker. As much as I liked Pete Mackanin, it's hard to fault Bob Castenilli for hiring Dusty Baker. Dusty Baker has certainly had some success as a manager. (Btw, I love it that he has his own website, even if it's sorely in need of an update.) Although he has a reputation for overworking young pitchers, his reputation has probably been a bit overstated. Let's hope that's the case as he's being entrusted with some talented young pitchers in Homer Bailey and Edinson Volquez, with Johnny Cueto and others in the pipeline. We'll trusty in Dusty for now.
  • Francisco Cordero. It's hard to overstate what an important signing this was the Reds, even if the contract was a bit pricey. The signing allows Weathers to move back into a setup role. With the emergence of the Stealth Bomber (Jared Burton), and the return of a hopefully healthly Bill Bray, I'm cautiously optimistic the bullpen won't be putrid next year.
  • Edinson Volquez. Although I'll miss Josh Hamilton, I thought the trade was worth the risk. Volquez is suppose to have great stuff, and pitched decently for the Rangers when he was called up late last season. Good starting pitching is always harder to find than offense. And I liked this trade much better than giving away the farm for a two year rental of Erik Bedard. You have to figure that between Bailey, Volquez, Cueto, and Maloney, at least one or two of these guys have to work out.

Overall, I like what the Reds have done so far. I'd like to see them add an experienced starting pitcher, such as Jon Lieber, as at reasonable price. An upgrade at catcher would also be nice (although JinAz makes a somewhat convincing argument that Ross was a victim of bad luck last year). It will be interesting to see what else Krivsky is able to accomplish before spring training.