The Cincinnati Reds added a lot of thump to their lineup with Mike Moustakas, but there’s still work to do so sere is what they should do next.
The Cincinnati Reds are being noticed by the public as real contenders for the first time in a few years, as they just added one of the big bats from the free-agent market in Mike Moustakas.
After being a big part of the Kansas City Royals championship in 2015, he had to settle for three consecutive one-year deals.
But he was finally paid the way he should be when the Reds gave him a big four-year contract to be their second baseman.
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Their lineup got a lot deeper with the Moustakas signing, as he joins the likes of Joey Votto, Eugenio Suarez, Aristides Aquino, and Jesse Winker. Not to mention that they have the best rotation in the NL Central with Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Trevor Bauer at the top.
But with that said there are still a couple of areas that could be improved if the Reds want to be a real contender for the National League Pennant.
The first area of improvement is more pitching depth. I know it seems redundant to say, but it is true: You cannot have enough pitching in an organization.
As I mentioned, the rotation is pretty much set but there is a boatload of veteran starters available on the market that wouldn’t cost a lot of money like Brett Anderson, Dallas Keuchel, and Rick Porcello.
In the bullpen, Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, and Amir Garrett will be in the back of the bullpen but then there are some questions to who will be the long man or pitch in the sixth inning if a starter struggles.
Like the starters market, there are numerous routes you could go like adding a bounce-back candidate in Arodys Vizcaino or they could add someone coming off a good year like Daniel Hudson or Will Harris.
The second area of improvement is at shortstop. I know that Freddy Galvis is great with the glove and is the starting shortstop right now, but it wouldn’t hurt to go out and get a better hitting shortstop who could also pinch-hit on a frequent basis like Adeiny Hechavarria. Eric Sogard is another possibility, as he can play three positions in the infield and has some sneaky pop.
Although Mike Moustakas is a great piece who will hit in the middle of their lineup for four years, there’s still work to do in Cincinnati for GM Nick Krall and Dick Williams.