GM Dick Williams, Reds players in demand at MLB Winter Meetings

From his 18th-floor suite here near the nation’s capital, Dick Williams can look north and see the Georgetown neighborhood where he lived about 12 years ago while working at the campaign headquarters of the President of the United States.

But Williams, a University of Virginia graduate, doesn’t expect to have time this week to catch up with friends at his first winter meetings as the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. That’s because he is busy taking calls from other GMs about Reds players.

“I don’t even feel like I am in D.C. When you get to the winter meetings you go from suite to suite. You may go down for a bite (to eat). I don’t know if I will get to visit with any friends while I am here,” Williams said at ithe Gaylord Hotel & Conference Center.

A center of attention – literally – has been Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton, who has drawn interest from the Texas Rangers, according to published reports. Hamilton, a 26-year-old switch-hitter, hit .260 with 58 stolen bases last season.

“We have been meeting with teams that are interested in our players. I am not going to comment on specific teams and what they are asking about,” Williams said. “We have players that other teams have shown interest in. We have been willing to listen to where those discussions go. It has been nothing more than that as this point.”

So if the Reds did trade Hamilton would Williams feel good about the outfield depth of the Reds?

“That is one of the reasons Billy has an enormous high price tag,” Williams said. “You don’t replace Billy one for one. It would set off a chain of events we would have to do to replace him.”

Veterans such as second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart could draw interest as well.

The Reds appeared to have a deal in place to trade Phillips to the Washington Nationals last December.

But Phillips used his no-trade clause and turned down a possible deal. The Nationals signed free agent Daniel Murphy instead, and he finished second in the MVP voting in the National League this season.

Cozart, broke in with the Reds in 2011, bounced back from an injury-shortened 2015 season to hit .252 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs last season.

What are the chances the Reds could make a deal by the time the meetings end Thursday?

“We have offseason goals. I never limit them to get done in a set time window,” Williams said. “If you put that artificial deadline on yourself you can be forced into a bad decision. We have the same priorities we have the whole offseason. We hope to make good progress on them this week.”

How does Williams feel about the Reds rebuilding process?

“The outlook is very positive. I feel like people are really excited about this year and I feel they have good reason to be,” Williams said. “I think people are starting to see the fruits of that labor and starting to feel a little closer to the fun part where we start to contend again. There are question marks but they are question marks surrounding young talented players. That is the point we wanted to get to. This year we will learn a lot about what those guys can do.”

Reds farm team wins award: The Pensacola Blue Waves, the Double-A affiliate of the Reds, won the Bob Freitas award presented annually to the best overall franchise in each classification.

A team must be in existence for five years before it can be considered for the award and the Blue Waves just finished their fifth season in the Southern League.

Among those in the suite of Williams on Monday was pro golfer Bubba Watson, a minority owner of the Blue Waves. “It is very neat,” Watson said of the award.

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