Brewers in on catcher Ramon Hernandez?: Nope, Traded to the Reds

[And That]

According to this report, the Reds are closing in on a deal for Baltimore catcher Ramon Hernandez, but the Brewers are also interested.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hernandez isn't known for his defense, so I'd have to guess that we could get very similar production from Mike Rivera. Not sure why the Brewers would really be serious players here.

 

 

"Again, Hernandez is likely headed to Cincinnati, but the Brewers at least were part of trade discussions at some point, and might be lurking in the shadows."

So there's the possibility the Brewers asked about Hernandez quite a while ago, and decided to say thanks but no thanks... aka "lurking in the shadows."

[endaround]

And its not like Kendall is suddenly going to give up playing 130 games.

[tigerbrew]

Think I rather have Kendall back for 2009 instead.

[colbyjack]

I saw the report yesterday that the Orioles were looking to move Hernandez for a utility player that could play both the OF and IF, and Bill Hall immediately came to mind. MLB Trade Rumors guessed that it could be Ryan Freel, and they seem to be right, but it's interesting that the Brewers got involved. Hernandez isn't that huge of an offensive upgrade, and of course there is no way to quantify the defensive difference between the two. Plus, as endaround noted, Hernandez may not even play much unless the team has something else in mind with Kendall or are willing to deal with a potentially disgruntled player if his playing time decreases.

[joepepsi]

Hernandez was pretty good his first year in Baltimore. He was pretty awful and injured his second year. That made people think he was lazy. 2008 started slow, but his final numbers weren't that far off from his career numbers. His defense did seem off though. Seemed to have a lot of passed balls and his caught stealing rate was down. He's expensive, but I suppose trading Bill Hall's contract for Ramon's would be OK, since Ramon is a free agent after 2009.

[tigerbrew]

In 2009, Ramon Hernandez will be due $8M and $1M buyout for 2010. With Kendall around, Hernandez would be a very expensive bench player.

[zzzmanwitz]

In 2009, Ramon Hernandez will be due $8M and $1M buyout for 2010. With Kendall around, Hernandez would be a very expensive bench player.

 

So is Bill Hall. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[bklynbrewcrew]

I cant believe we would even consider adding Hernandez. Can we actually start hearing some rumors about some good players headed our way.

[JohnBriggs12]

Read between the lines here guys. The Brewers wouldn't want Hernandez as a backup. This, like everything else going on, centers around Sabathia. The Yankees catching situation isn't ideal. CC may prefer Kendall over any of their guys and what CC wants, the Yankees are trying to accomodate so Melvin has to inquire around in case he needs to replace Kendall.

 

I like Hernandez' offense a lot. He puts up very solid numbers (much better than Kendall lately) playing in a pitching rich division.

[Weirdos19]

Kendall was great defensively. No doubt. But I think Hernandez's offensive numbers are a significant upgrade.

 

My thoughts are that the Brewers may be thinking about puting Escobar at short and Hardy at third. There is no way that Kendall and Escobar hit 7th and 8th in 2009. So, maybe it's Hernandez and Escobar hitting 7th and 8th.

[JoeHova]

I think the situation is probably less complicated than you are making it JohnBriggs. The Brewers probably feel that Hernandez is better than Kendall (they're right, imo) and they could dump Hall's contract in the process, which means that their sunk cost is only a $4 million dollar player (Kendall) rather than a $17 million player (Hall). If this went down, I would expect them to immediately try to dump Kendall. Kendall certainly isn't any kind of building block and he also didn't have a good enough year to guarantee his spot next year. No reason to not seek an upgrade.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

It was good while it lasted.

[joepepsi]

It was good while it lasted.

Yup. Rosenthal reports:

The Reds have reached preliminary agreement with the Orioles on a trade that will send catcher Ramon Hernandez to Cincinnati for outfielder Ryan Freel and two prospects, according to a major-league source. The deal is pending the approval of the commissioner's office, because it involves a cash transaction of more than $1 million. On Monday, major-league sources said the deal would not be completed unless the Orioles picked up a significant portion of Hernandez's remaining salary. Hernandez is owed $8 million in 2009 with a club option of $8.5 million or a $1 million buyout for 2010, meaning he is guaranteed $9 million.

 

Show's over folks, move along. Nothing left to see here.