Bengals1181 Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 [quote]Reds sign first-round pick Alonso Club agrees to terms with first baseman before deadline By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com CINCINNATI -- It went down to the wire, but when midnight ET struck and moved Friday into Saturday, first-round Draft pick Yonder Alonso was signed and sealed as a member of the Reds. After they were seemingly far apart most of the day, a deal was reached shortly before the looming deadline. Terms were not revealed, but Alonso signed a Major League contract through 2012 that is believed to be worth $4.5 million, plus incentives. "There was a lot of negotiating on both sides," Reds scouting director Chris Buckley said. Alonso, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Miami, and agent Greg Genske had made it public that he was seeking $7 million and didn't appear willing to budge. Obviously, they did in the end. What helped bring the dollar figure down? "Midnight," Buckley responded. "We've got a deadline. If it wasn't done, it's a reality that he would be a college senior. This is your last big year with the leverage." General manager Walt Jocketty said late Friday afternoon that the Reds had made their final offer to Alonso and were waiting to hear back. But talks continued well into the night. "There was a lot of massaging the deal," Buckley said. Several first-round picks from the 2008 Draft remained unsigned as the deadline approached. On Friday, the Orioles signed No. 4 pick Brian Matusz to a $3.47 million deal with a big league contract. The No. 6 pick, Buster Posey, also signed a big deal with the Giants believed to be worth more than $6 million. [b]By signing the 22-year-old Alonso to a Major League deal, the Reds have to place the first baseman on their 40-man roster. [/b]But that was a lesser concern for the club during negotiations. "One, we think he'll be here quickly," Reds assistant GM Bob Miller said. "It's not like we're worried about the [Minor League] options. The other issue is we have a lot of free agents and have some room. If it would have been a really tight roster, it would have been much more difficult." An obvious question surrounds where Alonso will play once he reaches the Majors. The Reds already have a young rookie first baseman in Joey Votto. "He played first most of the time at Miami, but Miami had a good third baseman," Buckley said. "We think he can play third base. He can definitely play first. He may be able to play third." During his junior season at Miami, Alonso batted .370 with 24 home runs and 72 RBIs. Alonso has not played baseball since the College World Series in June. The Reds haven't formally assigned him to a team in their system, but the plan is to have him go to their Minor League complex in Sarasota, Fla., and work with either the Gulf Coast League club or Class A team. The Reds inked two other Draft picks on Friday, with 30th-round selection Juan Sulbaran and 35th-rounder Matthew Fairel agreeing to deals. Both are pitchers. This year, the organization signed 35 of its 50 Draft picks. Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 They knew that's what he wanted. My question is whether he or Votto moves to the outfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwilly31 Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 [quote name='Jason' post='688016' date='Aug 16 2008, 09:06 AM']They knew that's what he wanted. My question is whether he or Votto moves to the outfield.[/quote] Obviously you didnt read the article. They have no intentions of even trying him in the outfield. They said possibly third if not first base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 [quote name='bgwilly31' post='688020' date='Aug 16 2008, 10:18 AM']Obviously you didnt read the article. They have no intentions of even trying him in the outfield. They said possibly third if not first base.[/quote] They said he MAY be able to play third. What if he cant? And if he can, what to they do with Edwin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 [quote name='Jason' post='688244' date='Aug 17 2008, 02:01 PM']They said he MAY be able to play third. What if he cant? And if he can, what to they do with Edwin?[/quote] move EE to 1st. he has a damn good glove and solid range. his problem is his arm. 1B's hardly throw shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalrick Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 [quote name='ThurmanMunster' post='688655' date='Aug 18 2008, 02:24 AM']move EE to 1st. he has a damn good glove and solid range. his problem is his arm. 1B's hardly throw shit.[/quote] EE has a hell of an arm too... His problem is his concentration, not his skills... And again, have you ever seen if he can scoop a ball coming to first? It is not easy (as you make it out to be)... It is probably the hardest thing an infielder can do, at any of the 4 positions... And the most important... Not sure why you would move Votto and Alonso out of first base, to place our 3rd baseman there... Sounds like another rebuilding year (or two) if I ever heard of one... Why don't we play EE every other month, since he is usually our best hitter for one month, then our worst the month after? I'm only half joking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 [quote name='bengalrick' post='688712' date='Aug 18 2008, 10:35 AM'][b]EE has a hell of an arm too... His problem is his concentration, not his skills... [/b] And again, have you ever seen if he can scoop a ball coming to first? It is not easy (as you make it out to be)... It is probably the hardest thing an infielder can do, at any of the 4 positions... And the most important... Not sure why you would move Votto and Alonso out of first base, to place our 3rd baseman there... Sounds like another rebuilding year (or two) if I ever heard of one... Why don't we play EE every other month, since he is usually our best hitter for one month, then our worst the month after? I'm only half joking....[/quote] Agreed, and he is still fairly young. There are times he looks like a gold glove 3rd baseman, and when he doesn't, it was usually a throwing error. I would leave him there. I guess I could live with Alonso at 1B and Votto in LF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 [quote name='bengalrick' post='688712' date='Aug 18 2008, 09:35 AM']EE has a hell of an arm too... His problem is his concentration, not his skills... And again, have you ever seen if he can scoop a ball coming to first? It is not easy (as you make it out to be)... It is probably the hardest thing an infielder can do, at any of the 4 positions... And the most important... Not sure why you would move Votto and Alonso out of first base, to place our 3rd baseman there... Sounds like another rebuilding year (or two) if I ever heard of one... Why don't we play EE every other month, since he is usually our best hitter for one month, then our worst the month after? I'm only half joking....[/quote] i know he has a hell of an arm but its erratic. i know its concentration, but still. I have played 1B and SS a lot in my career. I know that scooping a throw from some terrible people is hard as hell to do. But EE has played 1B (a long time ago, before his pro career) in his career and was pretty good. Idk if the Reds will consider moving him to 1st or not. But i heard some on the team think EE could be a very good defensive 1B and they think Alonso could be a pretty good 3B. Votto needs to move out of 1B because he is pretty bad, if he moves to LF it will be a small upgrade over what Dunn did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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