June 2012 - Cincinnati Reds Wiretap

The Reds have acquired Jonathan Broxton from the Royals, according to a source. Cincinnati already owns one of the best bullpens in the National League.

The Reds won't acquire Denard Span from the Twins ahead of the trade deadline, according to a report. Cincinnati has been searching for a leadoff hitter.

The Reds are talking to the Twins about a trade for Denard Span, according to sources. Cincinnati wanted to acquire Shane Victorino, but the Phillies dealt him to the Dodgers. The Reds are searching for a leadoff hitter and it remains to be seen if Minnesota is willing to deal Span. Span is hitting .290/.356/.396 with three homers, 32 RBI and 11 steals in 94 games. He is signed through the 2014 season, with a club option for 2015.

Barry Larkin and Ron Santo were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday. After wiping away tears as his teenage daughter sang the national anthem, Larkin began a litany of thank-yous to the important people who helped him along his journey. "If we were going to do something, we were going to do it right," said Larkin, currently a baseball analyst for ESPN. "Growing up, you challenged me. That was so instrumental." Ron Santo didn't live to experience the day he always dreamed of. Plagued by health problems, he died Dec. 3, 2010, at the age of 70. "It just feels right, a perfect ending to a remarkable journey," Vicki Santo said. "Ron left an awful hole for many of us today. This is not a sad day. This is a great day. I'm certain that Ronnie is celebrating right now."

Joey Votto will have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, leaving the Reds without their best hitter for the next three to four weeks. Votto hurt the knee while sliding into third base June 29 in San Francisco, but has continued playing. A medical exam Monday night detected the tear and Votto will have arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.

The Braves have acquired shortstop Paul Janish in a trade with the Reds. To complete the deal, Atlanta sent right-hander Todd Redmond to Cincinnati. With Andrelton Simmons expected to miss at least six weeks with a fractured right pinky finger, the Braves have spent the past week attempting to land a shortstop.

Lance Berkman expects to come off the DL on Saturday and rejoin the Cardinals ahead of schedule in his comeback from knee surgery. The first baseman accompanied the team to Cincinnati and had an intensified workout Friday before the opening game of a series against the Reds. The Cardinals planned to activate him a day later.

The Opsera is a statistic RealGM Executive Editor Chris Reina created in order to objectively rank teams by how well they hit (OPS) and pitch (ERA). In order to determine the Opsera rating for each, we take their OPS, multiply that number by 10 to move the decimal point over one place to the right and then subtract their ERA from that number. Below are the rankings through the Thursday, July 5th games: The rankings from last week are in parenthesizes. 1. (2) New York Yankees - 4.18 2. (1) Texas Rangers - 4.15 3. (3) Washington Nationals - 4.10 4. (6) Cincinnati Reds - 3.80 5. (5) St. Louis Cardinals - 3.79 6. (4) Los Angeles Angels - 3.74 7. (T7) Los Angeles Dodgers - 3.62 8. (9) Boston Red Sox - 3.55 9. (11) Chicago White Sox - 3.51 10. (T7) San Francisco Giants - 3.50 T11. (12) Detroit Tigers - 3.44 -- (17) Pittsburgh Pirates - 3.44 13. (10) Arizona Diamondbacks - 3.41 14. (16) New York Mets - 3.34 15. (14) Atlanta Braves - 3.33 16. (T19) Oakland Athletics - 3.27 17. (15) Tampa Bay Rays - 3.16 18. (22) Toronto Blue Jays - 3.10 19. (13) Baltimore Orioles - 3.09 20. (T19) Milwaukee Brewers - 3.06 21. (18) Philadelphia Phillies - 3.04 22. (21) Kansas City Royals - 2.96 23. (T24) San Diego Padres - 2.85 24. (27) Cleveland Indians - 2.84 25. (23) Miami Marlins - 2.83 26. (26) Seattle Mariners - 2.50 27. (T24) Houston Astros - 2.44 28. (28) Colorado Rockies - 2.43 29. (29) Chicago Cubs - 2.41 30. (30) Minnesota Twins - 2.24

Tony La Russa, who will manage the National League All-Star team despite his retirement after last fall's World Series, named his All-Star roster on Sunday. La Russa selected five members of the Cardinals, something that appeared to anger Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker. Baker was upset that starter Johnny Cueto and second baseman Brandon Phillips were snubbed. "A snub like that looks bad," Baker said. "Johnny and Brandon were at the center of the (2010) skirmish between us and the Cardinals. Some of the Cardinals (read La Russa) who aren't there anymore are making some of the selections."

Joey Votto of the Reds will be joined by three Giants in the starting lineup for the National League in the All-Star Game. Giants catcher Buster Posey, outfielder Melky Cabrera and third baseman Pablo Sandoval were chosen. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers and Carlos Beltran of St. Louis were chosen, along with shortstop Rafael Furcal of the Cardinals and Dan Uggla of Atlanta. All-Star manager Tony La Russa and his staff will choose the designated hitter.