Grading the Cincinnati Reds' Offseason Post-Winter Meetings

EDIT: A new edition was written following the trades made on Thursday December 11. Read the new grade here

With the conclusion of the 2014 winter meetings, the Cincinnati Reds and the direction they're headed are no less ambiguous. The winter meetings came and went, and Walt Jocketty returns to Cincinnati with no more than apparent rumors of having listened to offers on Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman.

The Reds haven't made a trade at the winter meetings since 2008, when they dealt Ryan Freel for Ramon Hernandez.

"I've made a lot of deals at the Winter Meetings (in the past)," Jocketty told Cincinnati Enquirer Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans. "It's just that the opportunities aren't there right now."

And there's probably a lot to what he says. Contrary to wide belief, I don't think the Reds general manager should be looking to make a deal for the sake of making a deal. Many Reds fans feel that the current product, due to last year's implosion, is flawed and is not built to compete in what is becoming a crowded National League Central. The narrative is fueled by underwhelming local media analysis.

In reaction to the Chicago Cubs signing of Jon Lester, Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty writes:

"

This major alteration of the Central landscape puts the rest of the division on notice, and turns up the flame on Jock & Friends to Get Something Big Done. The notion that standing pat and hoping good health cures all was foolish before today. Now, it's simply unacceptable.

"

This writer, in particular, has made it clear that despite the Reds incurring $47 million worth of injuries in 2014, the product—a product that prior to 2014 won 90 to 90-plus games in three of the last four years—isn't good enough to compete.

It's this concept that is spreading throughout Reds fans like a nasty virus. My problem with that is there's nothing concrete about that rationale. I point to 2010, 2012 and 2013 as reasons I believe this core group of players can compete—we witnessed it, three different years. So to maintain that Jocketty desperately needs to deal is, in my opinion, more a product of fan angst than logic.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a clear idea of ownership's direction. After this week, we'd hope we would know where the franchise is headed. But all we know right now is that shedding payroll is a major initiative.

From FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal on Twitter:

"

Sources: #Reds drawing heavy interest in Chapman as well as Cueto. Teams know that CIN needs to cut payroll - $17M is the current estimate.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 10, 2014"

Jocketty does seem convinced the current product can compete. He told FoxSports.com's Kevin Goheen: "We're still focused on trying to win and be competitive this year but doing it at the payroll we have to be at."

We used to talk a lot about that "window" of opportunity the Reds had to realistically compete for a title. Considering four of five starting pitchers are set to become free agents after 2015—a rotation that had the No. 3 best starting ERA in baseball—it might be fair to say that the window for the current product closes on October 4, 2015.

Who knows what moves will happen between now and then. But as of this Thursday morning, at the end of these winter meetings, Jocketty returns to a team that, with a healthy lineup, will have hitters sprinkled from No. 1 to No. 6, a rotation that is one of baseball's very best and hopefully a restructured bullpen consisting of a healthy Sean Marshall, Tony Cingrani and the new addition of Raisel Iglesias.

Still, throwing every egg into a one-season basket doesn't make for a promising long-term outlook. Even if the Reds can compete for an NLC crown in 2015, the outlook beyond that is uncertain.

Walt Jocketty gets a C- for the winter meetings. A deal didn't have to be made to make this team a competitor in 2015, but a left fielder is desperately needed, and at the closing of the winter meetings, the Reds are without a left fielder or a clear direction post-2015.

Yes, Reds fans have heard this for the past two years now, but it's "all in" for the Reds in 2015. And this time, it's true. Because as of now, there is no 2016 for this franchise. Jocketty's rolling the dice on a contender he built after a decade-long hiatus from baseball relevance. But should the 2015 campaign fail and the Reds arrive at a situation where three to four starting pitchers are leaving at the season's conclusion, whatever credibility Jocketty still has in Cincinnati probably leaves with them.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.