Even Jose Tabata Would Upgrade the Cincinnati Reds

By Robb Hoff @NFLNostradamus on October 7, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cincinnati Reds are so desperate for a left fielder that even an overpaid singles hitter like Jose Tabata of the Pittsburgh Pirates would be an upgrade over the prospect of a platoon between Chris Heisey and Skip Schumaker.

Tabata is owed $4 million in 2015 and $4.5 million in 2016 with a buyout option of $250,000 in 2017, but the odd man out of the Pirates’ outfield was designated for assignment, making him open for other teams to claim outright or propose a trade for the career .275 hitter.

The Pirates don’t have to do anything with the 26-year-old Tabata other than continue to pay him if no team wants to take over the rest of Tabata’s comtract; but a move that would help the Reds unload a bad contract of their own could benefit both NL Central rivals.

Reds’ lefty reliever Manny Parra may not be an ideal candidate for the Pirates’ bullpen, but with the likely need for a starter in the Pirates’ rotation, lefty Justin Wilson could prepare this spring as a starting pitcher, which he was for 98 games in four minor-league seasons before pitching the last two years out of the Pirates’ bullpen.

Parra has a nauseating 4.96 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over nearly 600 big-league innings. After a decent 2013 season for the Reds — in which he filled in for the injured Sean Marshall – Parra was rewarded with an overly generous contract that will pay him $3.5 million in 2015.

If the Reds can deal Parra for Tabata, the Reds would need one of two injured southpaws — Tony Cingrani or Marshall — to rebound enough to fill the role that would be vacated by the ineffective Parra.

The Reds would get their two-hole hitter and everyday left fielder, who has an on-base percentage of .336 in 1,724 plate appearances. As for the Pirates, they could get out from under Tabata’s contract for both of the next two years and lose just the money owed to Parra on the final year of his two-year deal.

Robb Hoff is a Cincinnati Reds writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NFLNostradamus, like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.