Tim Fuller – USA Today Sports
To all Cincinnati Reds fans, shhhhhhhh! Be quiet. Don’t let the rest of MLB see what is about the happen. The Reds should sign Alfredo Simon while everyone else is looking at Mike Leake, Scott Kazmir and Ian Kennedy. Simon should cost less than the recently traded Todd Frazier would over the course of the next two seasons. He should be more reliable than Kazmir and frankly better than Kennedy.
The No. 1 starter in Cincinnati will be Anthony DeSclafani. He will average more than six innings and be an anchor for the young team, but there needs to be someone in the three or four spot in the rotation to guarantee that the bullpen will have a breather at least one other time through the rotation. The man for that job is Simon. Over the past two years Simon has thrown 383 innings, which is more than Kazmir or Kennedy among others.
Don’t forget that in 2014 Simon was a National League All-Star. His WHIP was up to 1.44 while in the AL in 2015. His WHIP in Cincinnati as a starter was 1.21. Even while his WHIP fluctuated he made every start with a 28-22 record. This isn’t a superstar stat line, but it is better than most. He also averaged more than six innings per start over the past two seasons.
For a young Reds team, his age of 34 may be a bit worrisome, but he has only pitched 717 innings. That’s only four seasons as a starter over six years. Over those same six seasons he has only pitched in 234 or about three innings per appearance. Those are low usage numbers for someone 34 years of age. Cut down on his splitter usage and it will cut down on the chance that he gets injured. Add him to the young guns and at least twice every five games they will have a chance to win.
Nick Vorholt is a writer for www.RantSports.com covering the Cincinnati Reds.
