Rumors, Ludwick and the leadoff problem
112/04/2012 by anjru0805
As the Winter Meetings begin, the Reds have been involved in quite a few rumors. As any Reds fan knows, the biggest area of need is leadoff. I’ve written about how inept the Reds were in the no. 1 spot last season, so I don’t want to beat a dead horse. Jon Morosi from Fox Sports mentioned that the Reds like CF Dexter Fowler and the Rockies like Homer Bailey (story here). Today, Walt Jocketty said that the sides had not talked. Fowler is definitely good (.300/.389/.474) but Coors Field is huge and I think he’d be expensive.
Jocketty also said today that the Reds have made an offer to Ryan Ludwick. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer guesses that the deal is for two years, $13 million but I think Ludwick could get more. Like Fowler, Ludwick was definitely good last year but he doesn’t solve the leadoff problem. If the front office is serious about getting a leadoff guy, then that’s what they should do.
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Andrew J. Roth 
Do you think Dusty is right that Billy Hamilton is not ready yet to be the Reds’ lead-off guy?
If he can get on base, it’s almost as good as a double every time … how many bases can he steal at the major league level? It will be exciting to see once he gets to the majors.