Steve Phillips Reds Turnaround List

Man, I had no idea so many people were so high on Adam Dunn.

We need a few HR hitters in the line-up? We have them.  They are Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion - all of whom are better baseball players than Adam Dunn - and they cost a fraction of what Adam Dunn makes.

Here's the thing I don't think many people realize, for all the HRs he gives you, he costs you nearly as much with his terrible defense, bad baserunning and inability to move runners over or hit a sac fly.

Is anyone here excited when Adam Dunn comes up to the plate with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out? I'm not. He's the last guy on the team I want up for a key at-bat.

Give me a team of 8 Jeff Keppingers in the field and we will beat your team of 8 Adam Dunns 80% of the time. 

Seriously, you can subtract about 20 HRs from Dunn's stats because he will cost you at least 20 runs with his defense.  There have been at least 4 games this season where Adam Dunn's inability to track down a routine fly ball cost the Reds 1 or more runs.

In short, a left fielder who hits 20-25 HRs, better batting average, better defense, and better base-running is more valuable than Adam Dunn.

Adam Dunn is a first baseman, not an outfielder.   We already have a first baseman who is a better player than Dunn, and Votto is only a rookie.

Nasty -- we've seen Dunn long enough for me to realize that, even if he does "turn it around," in my book, he's still dead weight, mostly from the neck up, i.e., Meat Head.

(When I first read your post, and saw the "turn it around" phrase, I got this image in my mind of Dunn in left field, turning circles trying to find and catch a fly ball!)

His power is irrelevant now, and it has been for a while. And, since he can't field his position consistently well, he can't run the bases, and he can't mentor younger players, what good is he? We need a faster, younger, smarter guy in left field, and there are plenty of guys on this team right now who fit that bill.

I would love to go for it this year, but I do not think it is in the cards. Unfortunately, the only way to get Baker to play Votto, Bruce, and Bailey (and other young guys) is to make him have no other choice.