Winter Meeting's Heat Up

Hello my name is Michael Vanover and I just recently signed on to become a writer for The L Yes! Report. Just for a little background on myself, I have been around sports my whole life, from playing them, to watching my Dad coach, and of course as a fan. My passion for sports carried over into the sports broadcasting and journalism field. I was one of the broadcasters for the Louisville Fire this past season and have worked with 93.9 the Ticket in the past.

I am predominately going to be writing about baseball, although I will touch on other topics. This will give the L Yes! even more variety and will hopefully improve an already great website. I will be covering the closest team to Louisville, the Cincinnati Reds. I also will be following the Louisville Bats and the University of Louisville baseball team. I am excited to become a part of the site and hopefully get great feedback from all of you. Enough about me let’s talk baseball, hot stove edition.

Although the economy is in the worst shape it has been in years the salaries of these MLB players haven’t seen much of a hit. Players like C.C. Sabathia are having to debate over contracts between 90 million to 140 million dollars, and he’s not the only one. Players like K-Rod getting offered a massive contract from the New York Mets, and Jake Peavy has a salary that makes most teams cringe. All of this news is nice, but what about the Reds.

New General Manager Walt Jocketty has gone into Las Vegas (home of the meetings) like a man on a mission. After the Reds dealt outfielders Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., they are in much need of a right handed bat, preferably an outfielder. There have numerous rumors about a possible trade of Homer Bailey and another prospect to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder Jermaine Dye. This was reported as an almost done deal by the Dayton Daily News, but was quieted by Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty and Manager Dusty Baker. Also rumors surfaced today about a possible trade involving the Reds utility player Ryan Freel to the Baltimore Orioles for veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez. I feel like both of these moves would benefit the Reds. Homer Bailey (left) is only 22 years old, but could still be a bust. I don’t think he will be, but his value is still relatively high and I think both clubs could use the divorce. As far as Freel goes, he has had injury problems. Not to mention the Reds as of now have the young Ryan Hannigan as their starting catcher. He has upside, but should not be their everyday catcher yet. Today, the Detroit Tigers acquired Rangers catcher Gerald Laird today via trade for some pitching prospects.

As the news and rumors continue to flood in I will keep you posted. I will post again towards the end of the week. Hopefully there will be some interesting news from around the league and for the Reds. But one thing is for sure, any contracts signed or moved will not be small ones.