C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

Yesterday, John Fay wrote a little bit about the Reds' offseason plans, mainly that they'll be searching for bargains.

The obvious needs are left field and bullpen — one of those is a big-ticket item and the other is not. For today, we'll stick with the former, because the latter is something I'll get into more next week.

So often I've been told the Reds need a big bat in left field, and I always answer, "Sure, fine, but… who?"

There's two ways at this point to get big-league ready players — trade or free agency.

Trades are another subject for another time, but with free agency starting on Tuesday, that's the focus for today.

Let's go down the list of outfielders available, based on Jeff Passan's big board of free agents:

• Yasmany Tomas — The Cuban outfielder is going to get a ton of money — more than Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes or Aroldis Chapman. That means he'll make more than the Reds can afford — even though they've surprised with Cubans before, it doesn't seem to be likely.

• Nelson Cruz — Baltimore picked him up as a bargain last year, but after 40 homers, he's unlikely to be a bargain this year. The Reds also can't play him at his natural position — DH. He played 89 games at DH this year and 70 in the field, which was key to keeping him healthy.

• Melky Cabrera — Cabrera will be asking for more in money and years than the Reds can afford.

• Alex Rios — If the price is right, he could be a good option. He hit just four homers last year in 492 at-bats, but he has too much pop for those numbers to be repeated. If he's looking for a one-year deal to get those numbers back up, Great American Ball Park may not be a bad place to do it. But he'd have to be looking for a short deal below market value, something he may not be willing to do at 34.

• Michael Cuddyer — Last year he played in just 49 games — hitting .400/.455/.800 at Coors Field and .282/.316/.418 away from home. That's not a huge sample size, but he still had solid splits in 2013, hitting .356/.414/.582 at home and .333/.386/.475 on the road. He's 35, which could be a concern, especially for a player who hasn't played in 140 games or more since 2010.

• Colby Rasmus — An interesting case, Rasmus was drafted by Jocketty in St. Louis and is 28. He could be looking for a short-term deal with guaranteed playing time and a favorable ballpark. He's a high strikeout guy, something the Reds are trying to move away from, but there's a ton of talent. He's primarily a center fielder, but an outfield of Rasmus, Billy Hamilton and Jay Bruce would be very good defensively.

• Nick Markakis — Perhaps a perfect fit, it's unlikely Markakis signs anywhere other than Baltimore. He'd be the good on-base guy that could be put at the top of the order, taking some pressure off of Hamilton.

• Torii Hunter — With Hunter, you know you're not locking him up too long and he's a clubhouse plus. He's 39, which is a concern, but still productive.

• Michael Morse — Fay's preferred target — and for good reason. He hit 16 homers at AT&T Park, but has huge raw power. He's coming off a great year for the Giants, which may be a buy-high situation - something the Reds can ill afford. He had 82 starts in left, so he can play left, but he's not particularly good out there. The question is just how much he'll cost. It's an intriguing possibility.

• Norichika Aoki — My preferred target. I like his on-base ability at the top of the lineup. He had just one home run this year, but has had as many as 10. That's not the power bat many are hoping for, but it is a help — if, as the Reds are, you're counting on Jay Bruce and Joey Votto bouncing back.

• Emilio Bonifacio — More of a utility man than an everyday player.

• Jonny Gomes — Gomes still mashes against left-handers. But if you sign Gomes, you have to play him in a strict platoon. Chris Heisey hits right-handers much better than lefties, so that would be a possibility, but only if everything else falls through. And that's assuming Heisey is tendered a contract.

• Chris Young — He could be a value signing, but only as a backup wish. He's 31 and looked good after he went to the Yankees, but that was just 23 games. It would be an interesting option.

• Delmon Young -- Like Gomes, without the likability.

• Kelly Johnson — Primarily an infielder, but has played some outfield. More of a bench player than an everyday guy.

• Josh Willingham — A bench bat more than anything, the 35-year-old is reportedly considering retirement.

• Corey Hart — Again, a huge gamble, if he were healthy, he'd thrive at GABP. The problem is he has had trouble staying healthy.

• Ichiro Suzuki — Suzuki is 41, but he still played in 143 games last year and hit .284/.324/.340 for the Yankees. He could be a cheaper version of Aoki, but it's still a gamble. On a two-year deal, he could get his 3,000th hit. He needs 166 hits to get there. He had 102 last year and 136 in 2013. Cincinnati doesn't seem like a place Suzuki would pick, though.

• Ryan Ludwick — That ship has sailed.

• Chris Denorfia — The former Red is an interesting player. He hit .279/.337/.395 in 2013 but .230/.284/.318 in 2014. He'll be 35 in July.

• Nate Schierholtz — He had 21 homers in 2013, but just seven this past year. He's more of a bench player at this point instead of a starter, but would be an intriguing non-roster invite, if he's available.

• Endy Chavez — My Endy Chavez bobblehead is one of my favorites. But he's not a fit — other than in my collection.

• Ryan Doumit — A catcher who isn't good at catching and doesn't hit enough to play outfield.

• Scott Hairston — Again, a possible option as a non-roster invite, but nothing more than that.

• Mike Carp — No.

• Alfonso Soriano — He just announced his retirement.

• Reed Johnson — He hit .235/.266/.348 for the Marlins last year.

• Nolan Reimold — May fit in Louisville.

• Franklin Gutierrez — This year's version of Grady Sizemore?

LINKS AND SUCH

• I was a little surprised last night that Brandon Phillips didn't win the Gold Glove, but I think they got it right with DJ LeMahieu. The others were probably right, as well — with Juan Lagares beating out Billy Hamilton in center and Andrelton Simmons winning at shortstop over Zack Cozart.

SABR released its final rankings on Wednesday morning — it had Phillips third behind Chase Utley and LeMahieu at second, Cozart first ahead of Simmons at shortstop and Hamilton second to Lagares in center.

Those numbers accounted for 25 percent of the vote and were also given to the managers and coaches, who do the voting.

• My go-to guy on the Hall of Fame is Sports Illustrated's Jay Jaffe. I'm a huge fan of his JAWS system, a WAR-based system that ranks players' Hall worthiness by position. Anyway, Jaffe took a look at the Golden Era nominees and gave a thumbs-up to four — including Bob Howsam — but acknowledges that's unlikely to happen. Here's Part 1 and Part 2.

• My friend Jacob writes about the first game he attended — and how he doesn't remember it. I'm the same way. I know it was 1981 at Royals Stadium against either the Brewers or the Mariners. My dad's told me several times which, but I'm still not sure. I think it was the Brewers and I got a Mariners ice cream helmet bowl. I just know they were wearing the powder blues.

• The case against Major League Baseball over minor league wages. [Vice Sports]

• One of my friends from college gives tips on island hopping in the Caribbean to the New York Times.

• Every year Facebook reminds me of one of the great newsroom traditions in this country — Election Night Pizza. And then there's this post about why the sports guys make fun of that election night pizza every year — while going over and eating it. [Sports Media Guy]

• Greg Dulli talksto Ghettoblaster. I like this: "Believing in yourself is a key element of success. If you don't, no one will."

I wish I'd learned that in my life earlier.

• Wilco from TheTonight Show's online extra section: