By Thaq Diesel

“I had a few teams calling me, which was pretty interesting,” Guardado said. “My agent told (the Reds) we were going to give them the first opportunity because I got hurt and I couldn’t do my best for them. I try to be loyal to the people who help me.”

That is pretty noble and I like Eddie all the more for that sentiment.  Just the same, it’s hard to say if he’ll come back this year and if so, how effective he’ll be coming off elbow surgery.  Even if he does come back for the second half, the Reds have no defined closer.  The back end of the Cincinnati bullpen looks like the achilles heel going into 2007, just like last year.  “Closer by committee” is always a suspect proposition but looks like the eventual outcome based on the personnel on the roster.

This deal looks familiar.  The Reds sign a guy with some baggage but who could, if the planets align, be a significant contributor.  Again, the money in question is low, the incentives are there for Eddie if he does come back and produce.  Like almost all other deals for the Reds this year, it’s cheap and safe. 

The upside to this is that Guardado is a true “pitcher;” like Trevor Hoffman, Guardado doesn’t rely on overpowering pitch speed to get batters out.  Rather, he knows how to throw junk up there and keep hitters off balance.   It’d like to have a proven closer in the pen.  Even better if he’s not on the mend, but this kind of “project” signing looks to be the MO of the Reds under Krivsky.  If it works, I’m fine with the stray cat player approach.  If not, there could be some long games this year.

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