The Royals
traded for Jason LaRue, meaning that the Reds are probably out as possible trade partners to supply a backup catcher.
I'd mentioned LaRue as a possibility, since the Reds were definitely looking to move LaRue first. Now since they have Dave Ross and Javier Valentin behind home plate, the Reds are pretty much set for next year.
It's a nice deal for Kansas City, because if nothing else,
LaRue gets hit by a lot of pitches, which helps to buoy his OBP even if he's not hitting that well. It's even better since the Reds are paying part of the salary, and only getting a PTBNL out of it. I wish the Sox could've gotten into that action.
So, with one candidate down in the Anybody But Sandy Alomar Jr. pool, let me toss another one in here:
Pittsburgh.
First off, I like trading with Pittsburgh because it's obvious they're not looking to win. Since the Todd Ritchie debacle, Kenny Williams has won his last two trades with the Pirates, acquiring Damaso Marte, then trading him back for Rob Mackowiak.
The Pirates seem happy with
Ronny Paulino, which means two guys might be up for trading:
Humberto Cota and
Ryan Doumit.
Doumit would be the better of the two -- he's a better hitter and has a stronger arm, though supposedly he lacks in the gamecalling. But because of that, the Pirates might not be inclined to trade him, because he's still cheap. Instead, they'll probably mess with his head and get him stuck between positions until he's pretty much useless, and then ship him away for nothing.
Cota, on the other hand, is running out of time. He's shown flashes of pop, is decent defensively and hits lefties better than righties. He wouldn't be worth much, but it's at least worth bringing in a new body to see if somebody can catch lightning in a bottle. Quality catchers don't come cheap, so unless Kenny is willing to invest some money into the position, somebody like a Cota will have to do.