I hope Terry stays healthy himself.

From Redleg Nation this morning:

Players who had their final year of their contract in 2024 are officially free agents as of Thursday morning. Sort of. Over the next five days those players are only allowed to negotiate with the team they played for last in 2024 – after which they can then shop their talents to any and all teams. Buck Farmer and Justin Wilson are both free agents.

Trades are back on the docket. Teams were prohibited from making trades until the World Series was over. But now that it is they can do as they please when it comes to swapping contracts of players.

When it comes to players who have options – and the Reds have several of them – everyone involved must make the decision on an option within five days of the World Series coming to an end. In this case, that will be Monday. Cincinnati has a club option on Luke Maile for $3,500,000 ($500,000 buyout) and Brent Suter for the same (with a $250,000 buyout). Nick Martinez ($12,000,000) and Emilio Pagan ($8,000,000) each have a player option. Jakob Junis ($8,000,000 with a $3,000,000 buyout) has a mutual option.

Pagan player option exercised.

Maile club option declined.

Junis mutual option declined

Suter club option declined. Re-signed on 1 year deal plus a club option.

France outrighted off 40 man, elects free agency.

Martinez player option declined. Offered Qualifying Offer.

Suspecting Ella DeLaCruz needs to move to CF/RF (arm + speed).  He has been a spectacular, but inconsistent liability at SS where soundness and dependability are a must.  End that experiment now and let him begin to develop the fundamental outfielding skills that match his natural gifts.

Looks like the Reds are leaving Bally/Fan Duel and will likely be produced by MLB TV. I know that may stink for some of you, but I'm pumped about being able to get in-market Reds games again. Padres went a similar route and it's like $19.99 a month in season for the games or $99.99 for the entire season.

On 11/10/2024 at 8:56 AM, Jumper_Dad said:

Looks like the Reds are leaving Bally/Fan Duel and will likely be produced by MLB TV. I know that may stink for some of you, but I'm pumped about being able to get in-market Reds games again. Padres went a similar route and it's like $19.99 a month in season for the games or $99.99 for the entire season.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2024/11/08/cincinnati-reds-television-2025-bally-sports-diamond-sports-bankruptcy-payroll-mlb/76140100007/

I'll still go watch them in person more than I will watch them on TV.   If I can't get to the game, Tommy Thrall and the Cowboy will do just fine on the radio.

I watched parts of a lot of Reds games this year because Altafiber served it up to me. 

14 minutes ago, theguru said:

I watched parts of a lot of Reds games this year because Altafiber served it up to me. 

I did as well because it was there. I didn't go out of my way to watch it. Radio works for me just as well as Bally did.  Plus if I'm jonesing a game on TV (doesn't have to be the Reds), MLB Network usually delivers.

1 hour ago, Tranquility Base said:

I did as well because it was there. I didn't go out of my way to watch it. Radio works for me just as well as Bally did.  Plus if I'm jonesing a game on TV (doesn't have to be the Reds), MLB Network usually delivers.

I don't live close enough to go as often as those of you up north do. I'm much more of a Reds fan than MLB fan. I rarely watch non-Reds games outside of the playoffs. I'm hopeful this new deal will make the Reds available in my area, as even MLB TV and other national games were most often blacked out due to Southern Kentucky being considered Local Market.

From Lance McAlister on Facebook.

Breaking: MLB will produce and distribute Cincinnati Reds games for TV.

Per MLB:

MLB will produce and distribute local games for the Cincinnati Reds during the 2025 season. The new arrangement will give more Reds fans in the Club’s home television territory the opportunity to watch games on television or to stream digitally with no blackouts for locally distributed games.

The Reds had an average reach of 1.1 million households on its RSN during the 2024 season. With MLB’s direct-to-consumer streaming option, Cincinnati’s games will be able to reach approximately 13.5 million homes across seven states in their region.

Last month, MLB announced it would produce and distribute local games in 2025 for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins in similar fashion to how the league serviced the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres during the 2024 season. Last season, MLB negotiated cable and satellite distribution agreements and made direct-to-consumer streaming options available at Dbacks.TV, Padres.TV, and Rockies.TV.

“Major League Baseball is proud to serve fans of the historic Cincinnati Reds franchise by expanding the reach of their games and removing blackouts for fans in its expansive territory,” said Noah Garden, MLB Deputy Commissioner, Business and Media. “Reds fans will enjoy high-quality production, improved picture quality and greater access to the game and their favorite team’s players.”

"Partnering with Major League Baseball ensures a bright future for our televised game coverage," said Phil Castellini, Reds President and CEO. "This collaboration provides fans with unprecedented access to Reds games, including direct-to-consumer streaming with no blackouts, while maintaining traditional cable and satellite TV options. And, having MLB’s production expertise and resources behind every Reds game broadcast ensures our fans will have a quality viewing experience.”

Local games produced by MLB last year included special features normally associated with nationally televised games including Ump Cam, live look-ins to the MLB Replay Operations Center, Wire Cam, on-field locations for pregame and postgame, new RF camera with a shallow depth-of-field look, and increased access like in-game interviews with players.

Since 2009, Major League Baseball has owned and operated MLB Network, which has produced live games for 16 seasons, been critically praised for its content, and won 42 National Sports Emmy Awards across 13 different categories. Major League Baseball was the first professional sports league to live-stream a regular season game on August 26, 2002. In 2024, baseball fans streamed 14.5 billion minutes of live baseball games and content on MLB.TV, a record for the service.

More information about where and how fans can watch will be available closer to the 2025 season.

Martinez accepts the qualifying offer of 1 year $21 million. 

Reds and Santiago Espinal avoid arbitration, agree to 1 year $2.4 million deal.

Reds trade India and Wiemer to KC for RHP Brady Singer. 

2 hours ago, ChickenWyngz said:

Reds trade India and Wiemer to KC for RHP Brady Singer. 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/I'd/42551361/reds-land-brady-singer-royals-jonathan-india-joey-wiemer

"Singer, 28, went 9-13 with a 3.71 ERA last season, starting 32 games for the Royals while helping them to an unexpected playoff berth. Overall, he made 127 starts for Kansas City over five years, compiling a 4.28 ERA. His only down season was in 2023, when he had a 5.52 ERA."

Hate to see India go.  I like his grit.  But in the end, pitching wins in MLB.  Singer's numbers don't scream improvement to the rotation.  This feels more like a salary dump.