For the first time in what seems like a month, we’ve got some new information on the Cincinnati Reds and Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez. Back in early January Jesse Sanchez reported that the Reds had come to an agreement with the infielder for a $6M signing bonus. The Reds denied the report, which is how they always handle their business until the ink has dried, but they did note that he was a player that they were interested in. They also noted that he had just become a free agent two days ago and that things were still early.
Then five weeks went by and we heard nothing about the Reds and Alfredo Rodriguez from anyone. There was a lot of speculation about what was going on, but the Reds weren’t telling anyone much of anything about the deal or their interest. Well, with spring training starting today (YES!), it seems that being there in person put John Fay in the right place to talk to Walt Jocketty about the situation.
Deal has yet to be completed. Jocketty said it had “broken down.” https://t.co/KTjdFoz9lR
— John Fay (@johnfayman) February 18, 2016
This, of course, could just be a stalling tactic if the two sides agreed to hold out until July 2nd, which as I wrote yesterday, would be greatly beneficial for the Cincinnati Reds for so many different reasons. At the same time, maybe the two sides were very close at one point to an agreement, but they haven’t been able to get exactly what they wanted and things have deteriorated a bit from there and other teams have stepped into the fray. We probably won’t know exactly how this all is going to play out until Rodriguez ultimately signs with someone, which could take place any day now or extend into July if he’s waiting for a new signing period to sign with a specific team.