July 2009 - Cincinnati Reds Wiretap

The Dodgers may not have ended their pursuit of Reds starting pitcher Aaron Harang after all. Yahoo! Sports writes a deal that would send reliever George Sherrill to Cincinnati for Harang is still possible. The Reds, however, want a prospect along with Sherrill, especially since they are willing to pay as much as $10 million of Harang's $14 million salary.

The Reds signed veteran third baseman Scott Rolen to a contract extension recently, which could mean something significant for prospect Juan Francisco. Mark Sheldon of MLBlogs Network writes that Cincinnati could move Francisco to the outfield or he could be a trade chip at some point.

Scott Rolen agreed Saturday to a two-year contract extension with the Reds that guarantees him an additional $13M while converting almost half of his 2010 salary to a deferred signing bonus, according to an Associated Press report.

The Dodgers are no longer trying to acquire pitcher Aaron Harang from the Reds. Los Angeles had explored the possibility, but Harang is owed at least $15 million over the next year if he's dealt and the two sides couldn't agree on who would pay a majority of the money. Harang went 6-14 with a 4.21 ERA for the Reds in 2009.

The Dodgers have began exploring a possible trade with the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Aaron Harang, according to multiple baseball sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks. Harang, a 31-year-old right-hander, finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2007 and tied for the league lead in wins in 2006 with 16. The Reds are asking for one or two players on the Dodgers' major league roster in return. The Dodgers would want the Reds to pay for a portion of the $15 million Harang would be guaranteed if he is traded. Harang is owed $12.5 million in 2010 and has a $12.75-million club option for 2011 with a $2-million buyout.

The Reds allowed outfielder Jonny Gomes to become a free agent on Saturday when they failed to offer him a contract for next season. Gomes hit .267 with 20 homers and 51 RBIs for Cincinnati in 2009. He played under a split contract this year calling for salaries of $75,000 in the minors and $600,000 in the majors.

The Reds are working under a budget, but general manager Walt Jocketty confirmed interest in Jamey Carroll and Noah Lowry. "We haven't discussed him at length," Jocketty told MLB.com of Carroll, an infielder. "He's gutty and a tough player, a gamer-type of guy that's hard-nosed." Cincinnati is hoping that they'll be able to reel in one of the two free agents during this week's winter meetings.