Major League Baseball

Jocketty gambling on Rolen in Cincy

Published Aug. 8, 2009 4:13 p.m. ET

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The Reds have lost 14 of their last 16. They have dropped to fifth in the National League Central. They are headed for a ninth consecutive losing season, extending their longest streak of futility in the last 50 years.




Typically, such teams strip their roster of veteran talent at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Not this one. Last Friday, they acquired third baseman Scott Rolen — and his $11 million salary for 2010 — from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Why?

"He's an All-Star, Gold Glove, above-average offensive player," general manager Walt Jocketty said this week. "Anytime you add a player like that — and what we hope he will bring with his leadership on the field — that will be a big lift for us."

Sounds justifiable, right? Rolen, a .320 hitter in Toronto, is a more reliable defender and better contact hitter than Edwin Encarnacion, his predecessor in Cincinnati. And Rolen had told the Blue Jays that he wanted to play closer to his Indiana home. So, everybody wins.

Well, not necessarily.

If you're a Reds fan, there are three reasons to fret about this trade.

1. Jocketty parted with two highly regarded young pitchers, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart, in addition to Encarnacion.

2. The new team leader — the guy with the biggest paycheck and most experience among position players — has an achy left shoulder that required disabled list stays in 2005, 2007 and 2008. And he played more than 115 games only once in the past four seasons.

3. Jocketty alluded to Rolen's All-Star appearances and Gold Glove awards. He has five and seven, respectively, tangible signs of a great career. But none are dated more recently than 2006 — the same year Rolen won a World Series playing for Jocketty's Cardinals. Because of injuries, Rolen hasn't been the same since. But Jocketty surely remembers what was.

So, the state of Cincinnati's franchise can be summed up thusly: The '09 Reds are a lost cause, and the '10 Reds will succeed or fail based on a third baseman who turns 35 around Opening Day.

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