Brewers GM Doug Melvin said he had conversations with several clubs before trading J.J. Hardy to the Twins this morning. One of them was Cincinnati, according to our Reds beat reporter Mark Sheldon. From a story he filed today after talking to GM Walt Jocketty:
The Reds are still looking around for a regular shortstop but can cross J.J. Hardy off their list. Hardy, who was dealt from the Brewers to the Twins for center fielder Carlos Gomez, was on the Cincinnati radar.
“We talked to [the Brewers] several times,” Jocketty said. “We didn’t match up and they didn’t want to trade within our division, which was understandable.”
Which other teams might have made sense for Hardy? It seemed he was involved in Red Sox rumors for the past two years and that seemed like a great potential fit because Boston also wants a bat. I saw some mention of the Mariners as a possibility, though it appears they are working to extend shortstop Jack Wilson. The Blue Jays also came up in rumors and the Tigers could be in the hunt for a shortstop, too.
Whichever team inquired, none offered the kind of pitching Melvin was seeking. So he did what he viewed as the next-best thing in acquiring Gomez, a top-flight defender in center field who should presumably benefit Brewers pitchers.
*
Follow Brew Beat on Twitter.
