By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Reds general manager Dan O'Brien would like to keep the Reds' player payroll number hush-hush.

"Information is golden," he said. "We're going to spend a great deal of time researching what other teams' financial parameters are. That will give us a competitive advantage. The idea of not having the payroll well-known can be an advantage."

The payroll number has not been set, but one of the finalists for the GM job was told it was going to be in the "high $40 millions."

That is considerably less than the $59 million the Reds started with last year.

But given all the salaries slashed during the mid-season trades, it's a number that allows flexibility.

The Reds have $30.9 million committed to five players - Ken Griffey Jr. ($12.5 million), Sean Casey ($6.4 million), Danny Graves ($6 million), Paul Wilson ($3.5 million) and Jimmy Haynes ($2.5 million) - for the 2004 season.

Jason LaRue is arbitration-eligible and could bump to $2 million or so. Another $2 million or so would go to Juan Castro ($1 million) and Barry Larkin ($700,000 plus bonuses).

But the remaining 16 players, who would be on the roster if the season started today, would make an average of about $400,000. That puts the payroll at $41 million. The Reds are not expected to offer Ryan Dempster a contract.

That would give O'Brien $6- to $8 million to fill the hole at third base or add a starting pitcher though free agency.

Most industry insiders expect the free agent market to be flooded with players.

The Reds and O'Brien are committed to rebuilding through the player development system, which takes time.

If the timetable moves ahead and the Reds are successful, does O'Brien think CEO Carl Lindner would approve a payroll-increasing trade to help get the Reds to the top?

"Yes - underlined with an exclamation point."