Reds pitchers and catchers will report to camp on Saturday, February 16th. According to the most recent edition of the Reds Hot Stove Notebook, Ryan Freel and Juan Castro have received permission to report with pitchers and catchers. Both Freel and Castro are also out of options. Although most of us expect Freel to make the team, I have a hard time seeing how the Reds could justify a spot for Castro without injuries to some of the other infielders.

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Reds could still be in the mix for Joe Blanton. Rosenthal reports that Blanton won't bring nearly the same bounty as Bedard because: 1) he's not as good; and 2) he's not nearly as affordable. Rosenthal indicates that Blanton will probably earn in the range $18M over the next three years due to his arbitration eligibility. Of course, $18M for 3 years is reasonable for good starting pitching. It will be interesting to see if anything comes from this rumor.

H/t to Doug Gray at Reds Minor Leagues.

Lisa Winston at MLB.com posted a nice article today on the potential impact this year of the Reds' big four prospects. Ms. Winston concludes that the Reds' prospects have the best chance of propelling their team to the playoffs in 2008 (a la Colorado, Arizona, and Cleveland the past couple of seasons).

For those interested, the most recent edition of the Reds' Hot Stove Notebook includes Winter League statistics. Daniel Guerrero, acquired in the Hamilton trade, pitched very well.

The Goodyear City Council will vote on an agreement on Monday night (January 28th) that would require both the City of Goodyear and the Reds to negotiate exclusively with each other regarding Goodyear's spring training facility and the Reds future spring training plans. Assuming the agreement is approved, and both sides sign the agreement, it makes it unlikely the Reds will remain in Sarasota. I think Sarasota County will regret its decision not to spend its tourism taxes (which it's required to spend on projects that promote tourism) on the Ed if the Reds end up in Arizona.

H/t to CTR.

1/28/08 UPDATE: The exclusivity agreement has been signed, sealed, and delivered.

Per Ken Rosenthal, the Reds have signed Jeremy Affeldt to a one year deal for $3 million plus incentives. According to Rosenthal, the Reds intend to give the lefty Affeldt a shot at the starting rotation. In light of the money involved, I think this is good signing by Herr Krivsky. Affeldt was decent as a starter for the Royals in 2002 and 2003. The Consigliere reports that blisters were the primary reason Affeldt was converted to the bullpen. If Affeldt has resolved the problem that caused the blisters, he could be a decent starter for the Reds. However, even if starting doesn't work out for Affeldt, he still solidifies the bullpen. This was a low risk move by Krivsky.

Signing Affeldt still doesn't address the Reds' need for another top of the rotation starter. However, given the outrageous costs for good starting pitching, I'm fine with finding out if Bailey, or perhaps Volquez, can be that top three starter next year. There's also the possibility that Cueto or Maloney could fill that role by 2009.

MLB Trade Rumors has posted its Needs and Luxuries report on the Reds. Not surprisingly, the report states that starting pitching is the biggest need. Tim argues the Reds really need another front of the rotation starter, not another re-tread like Jon Lieber or Brett Tomko, if the Reds want to make the playoffs. He advocates trading Bruce for Bedard (if the O's would take that offer). Given the outrageous demands the O's have been making for Bedard, I doubt they'd trade him straight up for Bruce, although I think the Reds would have to make that deal if the O's agreed. Otherwise, I think the Reds are better off playing the odds that between Belisle, Bailey, Cueto, Volquez, and Maloney, at least one or two of those guys will become above average starters.

I would note that Jonathan Mayo makes a convincing argument that the Reds shouldn't even trade Bruce for Bedard.

Jim Callis at Baseball America loves Reds' prospects Jay Bruce, Homer Bailey, Joey Votto, and Johnny Cueto, but isn't sold on Edinson Volquez:

Volquez has exceeded 50 major league innings, so he's no longer a prospect in our book. He definitely wouldn't have ranked ahead of Bruce, Bailey, Votto or Cueto, arguably the best foursome of prospects in any farm system right now. He probably would have settled in at No. 5, ahead of Stubbs, though I'm not the biggest Volquez fan in the world. I wouldn't have advocated him making the Top 100.

Volquez throws hard and has a nice changeup, but he never has shown a reliable curveball in the big leagues and his control and command always have been spotty. I see him more as a classic tease, a guy who can light up radar guns but never will be the frontline starter his velocity suggests he might become.

However, he did think the Hamilton trade made sense for the Reds despite concerns about why a team like the Rangers would trade a pitching prospect:

Trading Josh Hamilton to get Volquez made sense for the Reds, however. They had the second-worst ERA in the National League last year and more outfielders than they knew what to do with. Now Cincinnati has an opening for Bruce to play in the majors and another candidate for its rotation.

Considering that the Rangers have been on a perpetual search for pitching, however, shouldn't it tell us something that they were willing to part with Volquez?

Per mlbtraderumors.com, it appears that Bartolo Colon has missed his last couple of starts and has yet to hit 90 mph on his fastball. It's probably for the best that the Reds aren't rumored to be in the mix for Mr. Colon.

Reds.com has posted the most recent Hot Stove Notebook, which includes the updated 40-Man Roster (currently at 39) after the Jeff Fiorentino signing on Friday. I was relieved to see that both Castro and Stanton are still on the 40-Man. The notebook also lists the non-roster players invited to spring training, including Andy Phillips and some of the other players signed to minor league contracts on Friday.

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.