Looking back on Mark Reynolds trade, I'd prefer David Hernandez

[BuckMagic]

Just looking back on the David Hernandez for Mark Reynolds trade, I would much rather have David Hernandez. Reynolds has a solid bat but has no position and his bat is not suitable for DH. Now he has created a clog that prevents guys like Davis to get their full playing time.

Hernandez would be a great piece to have in our 'pen while it would be easy to find another bat that could provide 1-2 WAR like REynolds most likley will put out this season.

[TuckerBlair89]

While I loved DH, His value is not close to Reynolds in my opinion. Yes he is a formidable RP, but how valuable is that? RP are easier to come across than a power hitting 3b/1b/dh. Reynolds bat is easily one of the most underrated assets in all of baseball in my opinion. Yea, he defense was rather terrible this year but his overall value was still higher than DH.

check out his stats compared to the other players at his position from last year. He is on top or above the pack in quite a few.
http://orioles-nation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=565

[Matt P]

I always said when the rumors were swirling that the O's should do everything they can to send Tillman to Arizona and hold on to David Hernandez.

[Zach]

I don't understand why people keep saying that Reynolds bat is not suitable for DH. He is a power bat that will get you between 30-40 homeruns every season. If we have people that can get on in front of him then his RBI numbers would be even higher than they were this year. What is your idea of a DH? Guerrero who everyone knew would ground into a double play anytime there was a runner on first but conveniently got his average up by hitting when no one was one? I think that this was a logical risk that has actually turned out well for us. Relief pitching is something easily acquired (look at Strop this year) and while I like Hernandez was a much better risk to send to Arizona than Tillman who still could move to the pen if starting continues to not work out for him. Lets remember Hernandez as a starter before claiming he is leagues above Tillman.

[osforlife]

Reynolds has a solid bat but has no position and his bat is not suitable for DH. Now he has created a clog that prevents guys like Davis to get their full playing time.

Overall, I thought it was a fair trade. We needed power, they needed a bullpen. Looking back on it, we still need a bullpen but thats baseball. I do not understand your commments I quoted above. I think Reynolds would be a perfect fit for Designated Hitter. Why do you think that? Also, I'm not so sure he has created a logjam. Reynolds plays 1st and 3rd right? Davis plays 1st and 3rd right? I doubt we are going to put Reynolds back at third so Reynolds at 1st, Davis at third.

[DougDE]

I would take Reynolds for Hernandez 7 days a week. I personally think of a bat like Reynolds when I think of a DH. I also thought his D at 1st wasnt too bad either. Not saying gold glove, but average. Also dont see why you dont like a guy like Reynolds but are concerned about a guy like Davis being blocked. To me they're similar players and in my mind Reynolds has proven more. Dont forget that Hernandez had the year he had in Arizona, not the AL

[dan72]

Guys that play a below average defense, hit .200 with 200 strikeouts are rare.... yeah I'd much rather have David Hernandez. Pitching is what seperate good teams from all the other teams. We need pitching worse than we need an 8 hole hitter.
I agree completely with buck magic.

[osforlife]

Guys that play a below average defense, hit .200 with 200 strikeouts are rare....

He didn't play below average defense at first. He it .221.
Guys with 35+homeruns who takes alot of walks are rare too....

[Zach]

Mark Reynolds led this team this year in HR, RBIs, Runs, and OPS.

[A_K]

Mark Reynolds led this team this year in HR, RBIs, Runs, and OPS.

And BBs and pitches per plate appearance as well (and strikeouts, to be fair).

[dan72]

To be fair to Reynolds he did lead the team in a lot of hitting categories. Think about this though, how many games did we lose late? situations where the pen gave up runs or the starter got shelled midway through the game for a big inning. With Hernandez we could have minimalized a lot of that damage.
If you polled GM's league wide and asked them what wins championships, they will tell you pitching and defense. Hernandez is fairly young with a true big league upper 90's fastball, and he had an awesome year. For guys that are fans of offense and the long ball they will disagree with my take and thats fine.
What did Duquette say he wanted to improve this off season.......pitching

[BuckMagic]

I don't understand why people keep saying that Reynolds bat is not suitable for DH. He is a power bat that will get you between 30-40 homeruns every season. If we have people that can get on in front of him then his RBI numbers would be even higher than they were this year. What is your idea of a DH? Guerrero who everyone knew would ground into a double play anytime there was a runner on first but conveniently got his average up by hitting when no one was one? I think that this was a logical risk that has actually turned out well for us. Relief pitching is something easily acquired (look at Strop this year) and while I like Hernandez was a much better risk to send to Arizona than Tillman who still could move to the pen if starting continues to not work out for him. Lets remember Hernandez as a starter before claiming he is leagues above Tillman.

Reynolds' 117 WRC+ would put him 7th among DHs. I would just want to see a bit more production out of that position.

[ofahn]

AND....HE....DOESN'T....WANT....TO....BE....A....FULL....TIME....DH....AT....THIS....POINT....IN....HIS....CAREER!

[birdwatcher55]

Personally I take the impact bat (35-40 HRs) EVERY TIME over a shutdown 8th inning guy. It's a no-brainer really

[birdwatcher55]

I always said when the rumors were swirling that the O's should do everything they can to send Tillman to Arizona and hold on to David Hernandez.

LOL Dipoto wasn't (isn't) that stupid. He can sort out talent