Pat Burrell

I guy named Anonymous posted a comment on my "Walks will haunt" post. I guess anonymous is another way to say, "Combsy." Combsy does bring up a very good point about Pat Burrell. I guess my reluctance in touting Burrel for the Reds is his terrible defense. He's basically Adam Dunn from the right side. With the Reds' new empahsis on pitching and defense, he didn't seem like a good fit. I chose to tout Juan Rivera, instead. But the Angels way overpaid for Rivera (in the current market), so he was out of the question.

Burrel signed for two years and $16 mil. with the Rays. More than Rivera total (3 yrs., $12.75 mil.) but for a more established player and a shorter commitment. But you have to assume the Rays got a better deal than the Reds could have because of there in-the-hunt-ness and the fact that he won't have to play the field very much (he hasn't played in the field yet this season). Assuming we could have gotten Burrell, however, how good would this line-up look:

Taveras
Phillips
Votto
Burrell
Bruce
Edwin
Hernandez
Gonzalez

And what would we have lost on defense? Neither Hairston, who's just not an everyday player, nor Dickerson, who is truly struggling, have played very well defensively. I expect Dickerson to get sent down shortly (he really looks lost) and either Nix to take his spot, or Gomes to get the call. (Gomes is basically Burrell without the track record of success.)

My hope is that the Reds figured they'd give Dickerson a shot, figuring if he fails and they're in the hunt, they trade for a big bat during the season. If he fails and they're not in the hunt, they haven't taken on a big contract. Here's hoping they don't wait too long with that plan.

But what they really should have done is signed Bobby Abreu, who went for 1 yr. and $5 mil. and is tearing it up with the Angels.