Something tells me that there a couple of these incentives that Reynolds may have trouble reaching.

New Indians first baseman Mark Reynolds can earn an extra $100,000 if he wins the AL MVP and $50,000 if he wins World Series MVP

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) December 11, 2012

Now, I’m not saying Reynolds has no shot at reaching the full earning potential of his contract, but it’s going to be tough to get that last $150,000. Cleveland lost 94 games last season and is still dangling two of their best players as trade candidates. Meanwhile, Reynolds is a career .235/.332/.475 hitter who has ony ever lead the league in one category and that was strikeouts. Four times in a row.

Reynolds, 29, was non-tendered by the Baltimore Orioles just over a week ago, making him a free agent. Known for high strikeout totals and high homer totals, Reynolds saw both of those numbers drop significantly in 2012, though he did establish himself as a pretty good defender at first base. Prior to the 2012 season, Reynolds was primarily a third baseman, and not a very good one.

Reynolds posted a .221/.335/.429 line in 2012. Image: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

The Indians plan to use Lonnie Chisenhall as their everyday thrid baseman, but in the past two seasons he’s been unable to win at bats away from light-hitting Jack Hannahan. The plan, for now, is to use Reynolds at first base, where he takes over for the disappointing Casey Kotchman. Cleveland has also been pursuing Kevin Youkilis to use at first base and I’m not sure this move takes them out of the market for Youk. Cleveland also has parted ways with long-tim DH Travis Hafner, so if Youkilis agrees to join Terry Francona, his former manager, in Cleveland, Reynolds could be used as the DH. Having both Youkilis and Reynolds would also give the Indians a bit of security should Chisenhall once again come up injuered or ineffective.

Reynolds averaged 35 home runs per year in a four-year period from 2008-2011. He also averaged 208 strikeouts per year in that span, leading in league in each season. Last season, with the Orioles, Ryenolds cut his strikeout number down to 159, which was actually tied for seventh in the league. His home run total also plummeted in 2012, however, as he finished with just 23 to go with a career-low .429 slugging percentage.

If Tribe fans focus on the low batting average and high strikeout rates, they will hate this signing for Cleveland. Instead, they should look at what Reynolds does well. At age 29, he’s still very much in his prime and there is no reason to think last year was anything but a bad season at the plate. Reynolds will be going to a park that plays well for right handed pull-hitters and he’ll rpovide a much-needed right handed presence in a lineup that slants heavily to the left. He won’t hurt you defensively at first base and he will instantly be the biggest power threat in the Tribe lineup.

At $6 million and on a one-year commitment, this signing was an inexpensive way for the Indians to get marginally better. He’s not the final piece they need, of course, but Reynolds can potentially take a weakness in the lineup and make it a strength. Just don’t expect him to hit .280; that’s just not who he is.

Reynolds got his strikeouts under control last year, but his power numbers suffered as well. Image: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

According to Ken Davidoff, the idea has at least crossed the minds of those in charge with the Mets of signing the former Diamondback and Oriole and playing him in the outfield. The expected cost, which Davidoff guesses at roughly $7 million per year, is too high for GM Sandy Alderson’s tastes.

The #Mets have contemplated the idea of signing Mark Reynolds to play OF. His price ($7 mil-ish) might be too high, though.

— Ken Davidoff (@KenDavidoff) December 4, 2012

Reynolds was non-tendered last week by the Baltimore Orioles, but Buck Showalter told MLB Network that the Orioles would like to re-sign both Reynolds and fellow free agent Nate McLouth. GM Dan Duquette also expressed concerns over reynolds’ potential salary. The Orioles declined a $13 million option on Reynolds before deciding to non-tender the slugger last week.

Reynolds could be a fit for multiple teams given his ability to play either corner infield position. His bat will play much better than his glove, but teams like the Pirates and Indians could use him at first base, while Philadelphia, the Yankees, and the White Sox are in the market for third basemen. The Astros could potentially make the best use of Reynolds’ talents by slotting him in as their designated hitter.

When the Baltimore Orioles declined a 2013 option on corner infielder Mark Reynolds, they did so without losing his rights. Reynolds, who receives a $500k buyout instead of an $11 million salary for next season, still has a year of team control remaining and will now be subject to his third year of arbitration eligibility. If the two sides make it to a hearing, MLBTR projects Reynolds’ arbitration figure to be $8.9 million for 2013, so the Orioles are taking a calculated gamble and could easily wind up saving close to $2 million overall by declining the option.

Reynolds averaged 38 homers a year from 2009-11, but fell to 23 long balls in 2012. Image: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Now, it’s also possible that if the Orioles weren’t willing to pay Reynolds $11 million, they may not be willing to pay him $9 million, either. The arbitration process can be messy and unless the two sides have had some fairly in-depth discussions on a new deal, it’s not a given that Orioles GM Dan Duquette would want to engage Reynolds in this way.

Reynolds just turned 29 and has immense power. He had a pretty rotten season in 2012, at least until a late-season run that saw him put his power on display against the Yankees. Reynolds wound up with a respectable 23 home runs, but that total was easily the lowest of his career. Reynolds did manage to cut down on his strikeouts last year and showed himself to be fairly adept with the glove, particularly at first base. My guess here is that the Orioles will try to sew up a multi-year deal with Reynolds before this ever gets to a hearing.

On the off chance that it goes the other way, the Orioles could simply turn Reynolds loose on the market by not tendering him an offer for next season. Should that happen, The Houston Astros could be a great fit for the right handed slugger. Houston is in the market for a designated hitter who can also play on the corner infield. The Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park would see an awful lot of activity with Reynolds at the plate.

Baltimore could only watch helplessly as Pedro Strop, who has been fantastic all year, ran through a meltdown inning that allowed five Yankees runs to score on the strength of just three hits. Strop doesn’t get all the blame, of course, Randy Wolf got New York’s rally started with a bout of ineffectiveness of his own. You expect that kind of thing from Wolf, but O’s fans must have been distraught when Strop imploded.

With the score tied at six, New York turned to David Robertson, who buzzed the tower on Adam Jones before Jones turned around a fastball and cleared the wall in left-center to break the tie. Two batters later, Mark Reynolds put the game out of reach with his second homer of the night. Sound familiar? If you paid attention to the series last week between these two clubs in the Bronx, it should. Reynolds had a pair of two-homer games in that series.

September 6, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds (12) hits a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles defeated the Yankees 10 – 6. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

For the better part of five months, Reynolds had been an abject disappointment at the dish for the Orioles. After averaging 38 bombs per season over the last three years, Reynolds has just 12 longballs through 103 games this season and a paltry .397 slugging percentage. Since that series began in the Bronx, however, Reynolds has added eight home runs to that total in just the past seven games.

Baltimore saw a crowd of better than 40,000 on the night they honored Cal Ripken Jr.’s iron man streak and unveiled a statue of their former shortstop. While the fans have been slow to embrace this club, if this game didn’t get O’s fans excited, I’m not sure what will.

The Yankees and Orioles meet three more times this weekend; the final three meetings between the clubs this year. It might not have been the race we expected to see, but if Thursday night is any indication, the Yankees might be in serious trouble down the stretch.

For more on the Orioles, visit Birds Watcher.

Jason Hammel was terrific in the Orioles win, as he was able to outduel Jordan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals in the 2-1 victory. Hammel finished with a Game Score of 80 (a very high mark) after pitching eight innings of five-hit ball. He allowed just one unearned run while striking out ten batters and walking none. Mark Reynolds hit his sixth home run of the season, while the Nats offense was lead by Ian Desmond who got on base three times.

June 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Jason Hammel (39) reacts with catcher

Pirates 4, Tigers 1

A.J. Burnett was fantastic in six innings, as the former AL East starter allowed just two hits in six shutout innings with three walks allowed and four strikeouts to his name to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to victory. The Tigers couldn’t get anything off of him, while Andrew McCutchen and Rod Barajas had a combined five hits between them.

Braves 4, Red Sox 1

Atlanta Braves starter Jair Jurrjens is getting back on track, and he was lights-out through 7.2 innings with just three hits, one run, and one walk allowed against the Boston Red Sox offense. Jason Heyward and Martin Prado had three hits each, and Heyward had two doubles to lead ATL to the win.

Twins 5, Reds 4

The Minnesota Twins were able to squeeze out a win in this one, with Glenn Perkins walking a tight line to nab his second save of the season after allowing two hits- but with two strikeouts- in the final frame. Ryan Doumit doubled and homered for four hits in total to help overcome a homer and a double from Reds outfielder Chris Heisey. Scott Rolen had three hits and homered for the Reds, while Ben Revere had four hits for Minnesota.

Mets 6, Yankees 4

The New York Mets emerged victorious in this Subway Series battle, and Frank Francisco backed up his strong words by grabbing saved number 18 on the season. The Yankees actually out-hit and out-homered the Mets, but games are won by runs.

Blue Jays 12, Marlins 5

The Miami Marlins floundered against the Toronto Blue Jays in a nightmarish outing for Anibal Sanchez, who had no answer for the likes of Brett Lawrie and Jose Bautista.

Rangers 4, Rockies 1

Roy Oswalt had a solid debut for the Texas Rangers and showed why he still has it. The solid veteran did give up nine hits, but he only allowed one run and one walk with six strikeouts through 6.2 innings.

Indians 2, Astros 0

Although Lucas Harrell outpitched Ubaldo Jimenez in this duel, the Indians won the game 2-0 behind a sac fly in the first inning and an eventful RBI single in the ninth.

Brewers 1, White Sox 0

The Milwaukee Brewers did not waste an excellent outing from Zack Greinke, but they did undo another great game from Chris Sale with the win. Greinke had a Game Score of 84, while Sale had a Game Score of 80. Greinke pitched what should have been a nine-inning complete game shutout, as he allowed just three hits and one walk. Sale tossed eight innings of four-hit, shutout ball with seven strikeouts and a walk allowed. Jesse Crain gave up the winning run in the tenth off of an RBI single from Rickie Weeks to drive in Nyjer Morgan. John Axford got the save.

Cardinals 11, Royals 4

The St. Louis Cardinals absolutely dominated the Royals in a putrid outing from K.C. starter Vin Mazzaro, who is certainly prone to these types of games. Matt Carpenter and Jon Jay were back in the line-up, and they scored two runs each. Matt Holliday had three hits, Carlos Beltran drove in four runs, and David Freese also knocked three hits.

Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 1

A Jason Kubel homer gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead in the fourth, and the home team didn’t look back in the 6-1 win.

Angels 8, Dodgers 5

Ernesto Fieri and the Los Angeles Angels shut the door on the Los Angeles Dodgers in this rivalry matchup, with both pitching performances being unsavory. Andre Ethier and former Angels Juan Rivera and Bobby Abreu led the way for the Dodgers in the loss.

Giants 5, Athletics 4

The San Francisco Giants took a hold of this Bay Area rivalry (so many rivalry games) in what was a narrow finish and an eventful ninth inning. The Giants tied things up 3-3 in the ninth on a Brandon Belt double with Hector Sanchez and Gregor Blanco supplying RBI singles. The first to get a lead, the second to give some breathing room that would prove to be much needed after Josh Reddick hit a solo shot for the final run in the game as the A’s came up short on their comeback attempt.

Padres 9, Mariners 5

Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez did all they could for the M’s, supplying seven hits together in the first two spots of the Seattle line-up. Chase Headley and Clayton Richard drove in three runs each, while the venerable Will Venable scored three times and had three hits in a game that any lead-off hitter would be proud of.

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