40 for 40 Presents: Josh Reddick

Who Am I?

Josh Reddick

Corner outfield

Age: 30

Height: 6′ 2″

Weight: 195

Bats left, throws right

How Did I Get Here?

Reddick was originally drafted by Boston in the 17th round of the 2006 draft. He was traded to Oakland, along with Miles Head, for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney in December 2011. After several good seasons in Oakland, he was traded to the Dodgers (along with Rich Hill) for Grant Holmes, Jharel Cotton, and Frankie Montas. (At that point, Reddick’s season fell apart… he posted only a .396 OPS in August.) In November 2016, he signed as a free agent with the Astros.

Contract status:

Reddick signed a 4 year, $52M contract that pays evenly over the life of the contract. This seems like a huge amount for a slightly above-average corner outfielder, but according to the folks over at FanGraphs, who say that $8M per win above replacement is roughly the going rate, he may have come at a slight discount.

Why Am I Here?

Reddick was brought in to stabilize the outfield; expect to see him in right field on most days the good guys face a right handed starting pitcher.

What Are My Strengths?

Reddick has a pretty good eye, and home run strength that isn’t going to rate up there with Gattis or Correa but can definitely hold its own; 15-20 HR is a reasonable expectation. Reddick also had a reputation as a plus defensive outfielder earlier in his career, even winning a Gold Glove in 2012, but that seems to have fallen off in the last couple seasons. Finally, Reddick is slightly above average on the base paths – not a burner by any means, but showing good judgement in when to go for the extra base, and stealing at more than an acceptable rate.

What Are My Weaknesses?

Reddick looks to be prone to long slumps – his power has all but disappeared in the later parts of the season, and as mentioned above, he really cratered with the Dodgers. Also keep an eye on his defense – as mentioned above, that reputation as a plus-level defender in the corners seems to have fallen off, and right field at Minute Maid usually needs a very strong arm.

Loves to hit: Last year, Reddick was feasting on sliders, hitting .314 with a whopping .608 SLG in 51 AB.

Hates to hit: You may have heard the Spring Training reports that Reddick wants to face more left handed pitching.

Last year, Reddick got 104 plate appearances against lefties, and managed only a .155/.212/.155 line. Yes, you saw that right. He didn’t have a single extra base hit against lefties. He should only face lefties in cases of extreme emergency, or extreme blowout.

What is my future with the Astros?

You saw that contract – Reddick is here for a while. And while you’d love to see a $13M player every day, the fact of the matter is that a platoon is necessary for him – if they can work out the roster space, a Teoscar Hernandez platoon may be coming soon to an outfield corner near you.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

Who else would I remind you of?

Bats left, throws right, good eye, decent pop but not outstanding, capable outfielder… all of this screams “Terry Puhl” to me.