Like his dad, Aaron Herr is about to become a baseball free agent.
Herr, 26, spent this season with the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds' Class AAA affiliate.
Although he had by any standard a good season, Herr did not get a September call-up to the Reds, and is not on the club's 40-man major-league roster.
At some point soon after the World Series, the Reds will decide if they want to keep Herr around. If not, he can sell his services to the highest bidder.
"I'm not allowed to talk to anybody yet,'' Herr said Wednesday. "After this season, hopefully somebody needs a position player like me and will give me an opportunity.''
Herr played 132 games for the Bats, 71 at third base and the rest at second base.
He hit .274 with a .328 on-base percentage and .467 slugging percentage. He led the Bats in doubles (31), runs scored (75) and total bases (237), and was second on the team with 19 home runs and 83 RBIs.
"He had a great year,'' Tom Herr said of his son. "He was an anchor in that lineup the whole year, did everything that was asked of him, and he really showed he can hit at that level.
"He needs somebody to vouch for him, somebody to say, 'I think this guy deserves a shot.' ''
The on-base percentage doesn't help, but overall Herr's numbers are way above average for a middle infielder, less so for a third baseman.
Teams can use middle infielders with pop. It's just that the Reds have one in their everyday 2B, Brandon Phillips.
Phillips is hitting .290 with 29 homers and 85 RBIs. He's a similar player to Herr except his numbers are all pitched a little higher, he's doing it at the big-league level and, like Herr, he's 26.
"He's definitely one of their guys, but you can't look at that aspect of it,'' Aaron Herr said.
"There's so much going on with trades, free agents. [In Louisville] guys were up and down every day, it seemed like. The bottom line is, I think this year I got myself one step closer.''
Herr has heard from a team from the Dominican Republic about playing winter ball, but seemed reluctant to go that route.
"I'm leaning toward not going,'' Herr said. "I got so many at-bats this year, I think it makes more sense to rest my body and get some time off from baseball.''
Herr graduated from Hempfield High School in 2000, and was chosen in the first round (40th overall) of that June's amateur draft.
He was in the Braves' organization through the 2004 season, reaching as high as Class AA.
After that season Herr was a Rule 5 selection of the Seattle Mariners, who released him shortly thereafter. He was then picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals' organization, and played at Class AA Springfield in 2005.
The Reds signed Herr in November 2005. He was promoted from Class AA Chattanooga to AAA Louisville during the 2006 season.
Mike Gross is a Sunday News sports writer. E-mail him at mgross@lnpnews.com
