Homer Bailey should be irked by the moves the Cincinnati Reds have made the past two seasons.
Clearly the Reds’ front office priority has been to dump payroll by trading star players. The opening day payrolls dropped from $115 million last year to just less than $90 million this year.
Bailey expressed his dissatisfaction with the trade of Reds’ fixture Jay Bruce earlier this month. Bailey’s remarks undoubtedly echoed the sentiment of many Reds’ fans.
The Reds’ front office does look like they are doing all they can to produce a 100-game loser. The Bruce trade didn’t need to spark that thought, though. The Reds’ front office looked intent to build an historical loser for 2016 before the year even started.
The Reds compounded the problems with a pitiful trade return for Todd Frazier and completely botched timing of the Aroldis Chapman trade. The even more pitiful trade return the Reds got for Jay Bruce just made matters worse.
But the problem the Reds face is partly because of their decision to sign Bailey. In 2014, the Reds committed $105-million to Bailey over six years. Over the last two seasons, Bailey has made $28 million for just a grand total of four starts due to Tommy John surgery.
Bailey is set to make his third start of the season tonight. He looked in good form in his debut start this year, giving up two earned runs in 5.2 innings.
His second start of the year was a dud. He was battered for eight hits and five earned runs in just three innings. The poor outing was a reminder of the inconsistency that Bailey has shown throughout his career.
The one thing Bailey can control in all of this is how he pitches. He’d be much better off if he lets his arm do all the talking because if he comments about how misguided the Reds’ front office has become, he’ll only become as disgusted as Reds’ fans are.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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