Cincinnati Reds still have the Walt Jocketty syndrome
Walt Jocketty moved upstairs for the Cincinnati Reds, but nothing has changed.
Dick Williams is the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Too bad nobody can tell. The Reds are still functioning as if Walt Jocketty is in charge. There was some expected similarities. He is still in an overview role. What is going on at Great American Ballpark is intolerable.
First, there’s what happened at the deadline this year. The Reds traded away young slugger Jay Bruce with one more affordable, controllable year. Then they kept everyone else. This included such stalwarts as Ross Ohlendorf, Ivan Dejesus, and Tyler Holt. These are the low cost bench players that contending teams could use.
Most rebuilding clubs would jettison veterans and bench players like those guys around mid-season. Never would someone have imagined Ohlendorf making it the whole year. Now one must question whether he’ll be back in 2017.
It’s more than just that. A tradable Brandon Phillips transitioned to 10-and-5 Phillips under Jocketty’s watch. This is intolerable. Phillips’ contract is still a decent deal for a larger market team. It’s an albatross. The contract is choking the Reds out of valuable salary.
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Jocketty appears to be responsible for trading Todd Frazier.
And how about the trade of Todd Frazier? In what scenario do you trade the young cornerstone of your team? Frazier wasn’t a Jocketty guy. Walt traded for Scott Rolen when he got to Cincinnati, trading away young slugger Edwin Encarnacion. He dumped Encarnacion. Then he shoved Frazier out the door. He did this because they weren’t Rolen. How can the fans believe that Dick Williams is in charge?
Williams is from the financial sector. He has the new age sabermetrics helping him make decisions. This looks like Jocketty is still in charge. Jocketty has never successfully rebuilt an organization.
Jocketty was the general manager of the Saint Louis Cardinals before joining the Reds. He came in with a stocked team and minor league system. The Cardinals won the division half of the years Jocketty was there.
Jocketty was in charge when the Cardinals drafted Albert Pujols. By contrast Jocketty also acquired Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds. He wanted to have veterans and veterans only, if possible. Jocketty began as the Director of Minor League Operations for the Oakland Athletics. Somehow he still doesn’t have faith in young players.
Jocketty needs to truly step aside. The Reds are rebuilding. That is not something that Jocketty is good at. It’s time to give WIlliams his chance.
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