To use the Las Vegas metaphor, the Reds came home from the Winter Meetings without dipping fully into their gambling wad.
The trade for Tanner Roark added probably $10 million to the payroll. That’s offset by the $6 million the club saved by non-tendering Billy Hamilton. With the payroll expected to go higher than ever – think $130 million or so – the Reds are in a position to get a lot more done.
There are fans clamoring on Twitter for the Reds to bump the payroll beyond $130 million based on the rising value of the team.