Who Built The 2010 Reds?

Colts’ fans, forgive me. It’s been 15 years.  I’m owed the right to do a Reds post today.

Walt Jocketty has gotten most of the praise for building the 2010 Reds, but is it deserved?  Today I want to look at each member of the 25 man postseason roster and figure out which GM was responsible for bringing him to the Queen City.  I recognize that especially with minor league players, one GM may draft a player, but a new GM can still contribute to his development through good organizational philosophy.  An example of this would be Votto’s comments about how Dan O’Brien’s minor league rule about taking a strike helped him learn to hit lefties.  But still, let’s give credit to the men who brought the guys to Cincy in the first place.

Jim Bowden (1):

Joe Votto.  Maybe the biggest piece of the puzzle was drafted in 2002, a year before Bowden was fired.

Dan O’Brien (8):

He was reviled as GM for good reason, but did a solid job drafting.  He drafted or signed:

Bruce, Hanigan, Janish, Fransico, Cueto, Wood, Bailey, and Ondrusek

Four pretty solid pitchers and Jay Bruce.  Not bad.

Wayne Krivsky (8):

He took unfair heat for the Kearns/Lopez trade (a good deal for the Reds in the end), and ultimately he brought in:

Phillips, Stubbs, Heisey, Arroyo, Volquez, Cordero, Bray and Bruce

There’s a lot of talent there, but it could be argued that Volquez for Hamilton was at least a mistake, if not a massive one.  Dusty was also hired on his watch (for good or bad).

Walt Jocketty (8):

He gets the credit for the playoffs by bringing in:

Hernandez, Cabera, Rolen, Gomes, Cairo, Nix, Chapman, Rhodes, and Masset.

Obviously, the Rolen deal was critical, and Cabera was an asset.  Rhodes has been indispensable, and getting Hernadez for the corpse of Ryan Freel was a steal.

Conclusion:  No one man built the Reds into contenders.  Jocketty got them over the hump, but without nearly a decade of credible drafting by others, the Reds wouldn’t be playing today.

Note:  Here’s a parrellell article about how the players were acquired. I didn’t use it for this piece, but thought it was worth mentioning since I found it after the fact.