The Reds won’t lose any sleep over losing Phil Dumatrait (Pirates), Mike Gosling (Blue Jays) and Pedro Lopez (Blue Jays). Dumatrait started six games last season for the Reds and he was awful as he was 0-4 with a 15.00 ERA and a 2.83 WHIP. Lefty Mike Gosling wasn’t near as bad as Dumatrait was. He pitched in 23 games for the Reds last season and he was 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP. Pedro Lopez just can’t hit and that’s the reason he didn’t get much of a chance with the Reds this season. He played in 14 games for the Reds this year and he was 8 for 45 (.178 avg, .435 OPS) with 1 run scored.

The Indians got tired of waiting around for Brandon Phillips to live up to his potential so the Reds got him for pennies on the dollar. All he did in 2007 was become a 30/30 man for the Reds as he cranked 30 homers and stole 32 bases! In two seasons with the Reds, Phillips has played in 307 games and he is 335 for 1,186 (.282 avg) with 172 runs scored, 47 homers, 169 RBIs and 57 stolen bases. The Indians have to be sick to their stomachs as they had issues at second base this season.

The Reds have hired Dusty Baker to manage the team.  Baker has 14 years of managerial experience and he has a career record of 1,162-1,041 (.527%).  He has won 3 division titles and he took the Giants to the World Series only to lost to the Los Angeles Angels in an epic series.  Baker will bring toughness and a winning attitude to the Reds which will be a welcome change in the dugout.

Three Reds players refused their outright assignments to the minors and have become free agents.  Pitcher Kirk Saarloos, outfielder Jason Ellison and infielder Mark Bellhorn are the players who are leaving and the Reds won’t lose any sleep because of this.  Saarloos pitched in 34 games (3 starts) for the Reds this season and he was 1-5 with a 7.17 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.  He worked 42.2 innings for the Reds and he allowed 54 hits, walked 19 batters and whiffed 27.  Jason Ellison played in 37 games for the Reds and he was 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .549 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs.  Mark Bellhorn only played in 13 games for the Reds and he was 1 for 14 (.071 avg, .349 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI.