Reds Retain 3, Guardado Files For Free Agency, Narron Out
By
KC2HMZ
Posted at 9:39 am
On Wednesday, the Reds exercised 2008 club options on Adam Dunn, Scott Hatteberg and Javier Valentin and declined a $3.5 million 2008 club option on Eddie Guardado.
On Thursday, Guardado filed for free agency, and his agent, Kevin Kohler, said that he and Guardado were “very surprised and disappointed” that the Reds did not pick up Guardado’s option. Reds GM Wayne Krivsky reportedly expressed hope that Guardado could still return next season.
The club decided Wednesday to pick up Adam Dunn’s $13 million option, which triggers a full no-trade clause until June 15 with limited no-trade protection for the rest of the 2008 season. Dunn thus becomes the Reds’ highest-paid player, passing Ken Griffey Jr. ($12.5 million). The Reds also picked up Scott Hatteberg’s $1.85 million option and Javy Valentin’s $1.35 million option on Wednesday.
Another Wednesday announcement from the Reds was that coach Johnny Narron won’t be back next season. Narron, the brother of former manager Jerry Narron, remained with the Reds after his brother was fired as manager, officially as video and administrative coach. However, his unofficial capacity as regards his relationship with Josh Hamilton was probably more important.
No sooner do I post that and begin to believe that I’ve taken care of Reds’ news for the day, than the team announces the hiring of two former Reds players to positions in the minor league system.
According to the official site, Bill Doran was named minor league infield/baserunning coordinator, and Tom Browning will be pitching coach at extended spring training and in rookie league Billings.
I’m always happy to see former Reds players get a shot at coaching in the organization. Guys like Doran and Browning, both of whom won World Series rings with the Reds as members of the 1990 Reds team that swept the Oakland A’s in the Fall Classic, are of course no exception. But both have also worked with the Reds before.
Doran held various jobs in the organization from 1995-2000 and was Bob Boone’s 1B coach in 2001. More recently he was the bench coach in Kansas City and was the interim manager for the Royals at the end of the 2006 season.
Browning is in the Reds Hall Of Fame. They especially ought to find a spot somewhere in the organization for a guy like that, even if it’s dancing on top of a dugout during the seventh inning stretch. But Browning was a special instructor at spring training shortly after Mr. Castellini bought the team. He must have shown enough promise as a coach that they found him a spot working with the young pitchers. Here’s hoping he can help fix the train wreck that the Reds’ development of young pitchers has been the past few decades.
HMZ