Cincinnati Reds should be relegated to Triple-A for 2017
The Cincinnati Reds can’t seem to get their act together, so maybe they need some help.
The Cincinnati Reds should accept assignment to Triple-A for their own good. If they got relegated, they would be forced to trade everyone making more than a couple of million of dollars. This would make them rebuild.
Joey Votto? Traded. Homer Bailey? Gone. Brandon Phillips? Released. Devin Mesoraco? Sold. Zack Cozart would be right on the edge. This is how the Reds should be viewing a rebuild.
When you do it this way, you can immediately see what a rebuild ought to look like. While guys like Alfredo Simon and Ross Ohlendorf don’t exactly fit, having them around isn’t as damaging as having Bailey and Mesoraco injured and getting paid.
Relegation isn’t something that MLB does. It would probably be too complex given the farm system relationship with the minor league teams, but it would be interesting. Imagine the excitement in Cincinnati right now, if relegation was imminent.
The Minnesota Twins have clinched relegation in the American League, but it would still be a four way race in the National League. The Reds, Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks each have 91 or 92 losses with the San Diego Padres at 90. That’s four teams suddenly fighting hard at the end of the season.
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MLB can announce who the promotions are early.
Given the end of the Triple-A season at the beginning of September, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders would already be in the AL. And yes, that mouthful is actually their team name. Meanwhile, the Nashville Sounds are awaiting to see who they would replace in the NL.
Of course, I don’t think that the New York Yankees want to lose Scranton as their minor league affiliate. The same goes for the Oakland Athletics and Nashville. Due to what must be a fun trip for the front office to visit Opryland on the company bill, Oakland loves Music City.
It almost seems like the stadium obstacle is as big as the farm system obstacle. Try watching games back to back nights in Oklahoma City and Arlington, Texas, as yours truly has, and you’ll understand. The OKC Dodgers had only a couple thousand in attendance and had the entire upper deck covered in company’s logos. That is not big league.
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Maybe MLB shouldn’t relegate the Reds. GABP does play like a big league park when there aren’t flyball pitchers on the mound. Sometimes it almost seems like the International League is calling, though…
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