The Other Shoe Drops: Dunn Is Done!

The Cincinnati Reds, reeling mightily since the Ken Griffey Jr. trade, firmly cemented their hold on the lower half of the National League Central division recently by trading away cornerstone outfielder Adam Dunn to the contending Arizona Diamondbacks.

I’m not the kind of guy who likes to kick a guy in the tail on his way out, but Dunn’s propensity to strike out looking (i.e. taking called third strike) and inability to score the runner from third base with less than two out must have been primary considerations in not extending his contract following this season with the Reds.

These “quirks” certainly drove Reds fans nuts for a hard-to-believe-already eight seasons of service in Cincinnati.

Hopefully, Dunn’s exodus means the small-market Reds are clearing up salary room for more of a team leader and well-rounded player who doesn’t strike out so much, who doesn’t fail to slide when there’s a close play at the plate and who can actually gun down a player from the outfield once in a while.

While the tone of this article makes Dunn sound like a terrible Major League player, that is certainly not the case. He’s one of the premiere home run hitters in the league and can break open a close game with a tape measure home run.

Count on him to give you 40 home runs, a .250 average and a good on-base percentage. This is the type of player who could slide right into the fourth or fifth hole in the order and certainly help a contending team like the Diamondbacks, who have struggled offensively after a hot start in April and May.

The Reds, meanwhile, will probably be moving first sacker Joey Votto into Dunn’s left field slot. Unless there’s another Reds outfield prospect on the way, there’s nobody outside of young Jay Bruce, speedy Jerry Hairston Jr. and crusty Cory Patterson to play the other outfield positions.

If Votto’s not moved to left, the Reds could feature the team’s worst outfield since 1983, when players named Duane Walker, Gary Redus, Paul Householder and Eddie Milner were used to flank an aging Cesar Cedeno.

(Oh yeah, that 1983 Reds team followed up a 100-loss 1982 campaign with a far more respectable 74-88 record.)

More about Dunn: There were plenty of fans of a young Adam Dunn when his Bunyan-like figure joined veteran Ken Griffey Jr. in the outfield at the start of this decade.

However, instead of a potent one-two power punch at the middle of the order, the Reds fans suffered through Griffey’s injuries and Dunn’s inconsistency. Dunn actually bottomed out in his second full season, 2003, when he hit .215 with 27 home runs.

The Reds team stood by their young star, however, and he rediscovered his confidence the following year with his best Reds season (.266 average, 46 home runs).

Anyway, the trade of Dunn comes with an overall mixed blessing:

1. Reds team management is obviously not disguising the direction the team is going. It’s time to rebuild. Why not get players for Griffey and Dunn before getting zippo for them in the off-season?

2. Losing the final veteran offensive threat in Dunn means the Reds will have a faceless offense that will not score many runs, resulting in many additional losses for the team’s final 43 games.

3. Losing Dunn also means that the already low-scoring Reds can shift their team’s offensive emphasis from an all-or-nothing power team to one that utilizes smart hitters like Votto and Bruce to manufacture runs in addition to the occasional power blast at Great American Ballpark.

The 2008 season was already running out of hope after the all-star break. It’s now time to focus on the future. Votto, Bruce and pitchers Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto give Reds fans hope. It’s now up to Reds management to surround these youngsters with a couple of veterans that can lead this team in the right direction.

Go Reds!

This has been Rod Hess reporting for Hess and the Farm (www.hessandthefarm.com).