CINCINNATI -- Over a week since the General Managers Meetings wrapped in California, the Reds remain on the hunt to add starting pitching to their roster through multiple avenues.
Often the initial talks at those meetings lay the groundwork for deals that get done later in the offseason.
"We had a lot of good dialogue with the other teams. We're getting a decent sense for the market at this point," Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams said on Friday.
Cincinnati's rotation was 14th out of 15 National League clubs last season with a 5.02 ERA, and it led the NL with 151 home runs allowed.
Williams did not identify which pitchers the Reds are focused on acquiring, but it was clear that the club isn't just looking to add just one.
"I hesitate to put an exact number on it. You don't know what these guys are going to cost," Williams said. "You don't know how many you're going to be able to attract. You don't know who is going to be on Major League deals and who is going to be on a Minor League deal. Certainly, the idea is we want to improve the pitching, and I think a reasonable thing would be to target at least a couple of pitchers from outside the organization, either through trade or free agency."
Dallas Keuchel and Patrick Corbin top the class of this year's free agents, while others include Matt Harvey, Derek Holland, Anibal Sanchez, Giovany Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill and Lance Lynn.
Williams has more payroll space to work with this offseason, and he has the funds to be more aggressive in trying to add players. But in recent years, the Reds have not made big free-agent market splashes.
The club will remain cautious before breaking that trend, if it happens at all.
"We want to target guys who could have a positive impact on the team," Williams said. "We've always been hesitant to make the commitments at the very top end of the market because they have a lot more risk carried with them. We'll chase down as many different options as we can. Historically, we've been careful about that top end of the market.
"We're comfortable with multi-year contracts if that's what it takes as long as it's in the right value and appropriate length for the pitcher we are targeting. We're open to acquiring pitchers with multiple years of control. For free agents, we would be comfortable committing to a multi-year contract. Whatever it takes to get something that will positively impact the team."
The free-agent search is not limited to pitching as Williams has feelers out about position players as well.
"We're looking at that as well to see if there are opportunities or not to improve the team," he said. "We've got a pretty strong group of position players, but we're definitely looking out there on the market because you never know if you'll have to give up one of your guys in a trade. You want to keep your options open."