Did the Reds really turn down Shane Victorino because of Logan Ondrusek?
If the Cincinnati Enquirer is to be believed, the Phillies could struggle to gain anything of value in exchange for center fielder Shane Victorino.
Did the Reds really turn down Shane Victorino because of Logan Ondrusek?
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
If the Cincinnati Enquirer is to be believed, the Phillies could struggle to gain anything of value in exchange for center fielder Shane Victorino.
Paul Daugherty, a columnist at the paper, included a tidbit on his blog that said the Reds nixed a deal that would have seen Victorino head to the Reds in return for Ondrusek, straight up.
Ondrusek is a 27-year-old righthander who is in the middle of his third full season in the major leagues. His 2.70 ERA looks good, but everything else about him says that he is at best a No. 4 or No. 5 reliever in a contender's bullpen (which is where he slots in the Reds bullpen). His strikeout rate is passable -- 6.1-per-nine this year, 6.0 for his career -- but he has walked at least 4.0 batters-per-nine in the last two seasons, which isn't something you want to see out of a guy who is pitching in high-leverage situations. If you do see it, you better be getting more than 6 strikeouts-per-nine.
That being said, he has gotten results, converting 31-of-37 hold/save opportunities in his career while stranding 77 of 97 inherited runners, and his groundball and home run rates are both solid. His whiff rate (17 percent), is slightly above average, as is his strike rate (62 percent).
Frankly, if the Phillies are hoping to get relief help in exchange for Victorino, which is what all of the indications are, Ondrusek is about the level of guy they can realistically expect. Anybody better is probably going to be an integral part of a contending team, which is the type of team that would be trading for Victorino. The only hope is that teams get more desperate as the deadline approaches.
Frankly, this sounds like it would have been a great trade for the Reds. From the Philies perspective, it would have been a cheap, usable bullpen piece who is better than anybody they have at the moment, aside from Antonio Bastardo and Jonathan Papelbon. But he profiles closer to Michael Schwimer than he does Papelbon. Ondusek would give the Phillies what they hoped they were getting when they signed Chad Qualls. But according to Daugherty, he won't be giving them anything.
No surprise. Vic has a very distorted view of his value.— 4thand10- Why would you trade Victorino when his stock is at an all time low?? Sign Victorino now, you can probably get him for half that you could have gotten him before the season. Trade Pence!! He is ridiculously overrated. Which is how you get the most return. ML ready 3B prospect and an above average bullpen arm.. Deal done!— FetchDixon
- If the Reds did this they're just dumb, Victorino is an everyday player, they can reach down to Chattanooga , or where ever their minor league affiliate is and find 3 or 4 Logan Ondruseks. Hell, the Phils have sent 6 or 7 of these type pitchers back and forth all season. I have a feeling that if the Phils really wanted to make that deal, the reds would make it.— drbob1
- I'm sure the rest of the league knows that Victorino's trade value is probably near zero. He's overrated and doesn't even play particulary good defense anymore. Sure he looks OK hitting second with big time sluggers Howard and Ruiz behind him try hitting him seventh on a lousy team. Barring some injury to a contending team in CF I don't see him going anywhere.— subgen
- did Clueless Rube really offer Victorino for Logan Andrusek? whatsamatter can't talk Dontrelle to trying again? why not trade Lee to get Qualls back? Contreras should be ready to re-test his 59-year old arm with a little rehab...— warbiscuit
- lost in the exuberance of Ron Roenicke gift-wrapping last 2 games to Phils is how awful Papelbon did everything to lose the game once again until Roenicke inexplicably safety-squeezed with man on 3rd... he out-Chollied Chollie— warbiscuit
- drbob1 I agree with you. I find it hard to believe any team would not trade a 4th or 5th bullpen arm for Victorino. If anyone said no to that deal it was Amaro.— cupajoe
- i love the first post, keep shane because of the awesome come from behind victories this week? really? it's amazing how the fan base is so shortsighted and goes up and down with every win or loss. and can't look at the big picture at all. the brewers bullpen is actually worse than ours. i can't take anything from those wins,nothing was happening in any game until the starters came out. now if they take two of three or sweep the braves,and continue to win some series, then maybe we can start talking about momentum. that said trading one of your starting eight at this point is ridiculous. as dumb a ballplayer as shane is, he is better than anything else we have for the outfield right now. so trade your best outfielder and weaken what already is a weak defensive out field for a bullpen guy, this does not help with a down the stretch run for the playoffs.— deatheater
- Keep Shane; we don't need to give him away for another junk bullpen peice!— JBinPA
- Have you looked at his L/RHP splits and came to their senses.— channelclemente
- Phillies have had luck with slick-fielding CFs over the last decade (or whenever Rowand came over). Doug Glanville was decent too. Phillies don't have a lot of .300+ hitters over the same time span. It could be attributed to the dimensions of the ballpark, but I think a lot has to do with scouting and priorities. Best two hitters (from a contact/base hit perspective) over the last decade were Abreu and Utley. Team needs to focus on locating and developing those guys over the swing-happy folk. (Wonder how well the team would manage if it could simply prolong innings.)
As for Victorino, yeah, his stock is on the decline. Barring an injury and a team in need, he finishes the season in Philly, and they should offer arbitration. Hopefully he'll sign elsewhere.— pillsbury
