The Reds are next in our arbitration eligibles series…
- First time: Joey Votto, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Jay Bruce, Bill Bray
- Second time: Jared Burton, Corky Miller, Laynce Nix
- Third time: Jonny Gomes
Votto will reach arbitration with a .314/.401/.557 career line in 456 games, including 268 runs, 90 home runs, 298 RBIs, 28 steals, a second-place Rookie of the Year finish, an All-Star appearance, and probably an MVP award. He'll have no problem making $7MM or more, and he doesn't know if he'd be interested in a long-term deal.
Rotation members Volquez and Cueto will certainly be tendered contracts too. John Danks' first-time arbitration salary of $3.45MM could be a target, though Cueto has the superior platform year among the two Reds pitchers.
Bruce isn't going anywhere either. MLBTR broke the news in June that he will be the Super Two with the least amount of service time this offseason, at two years and 125 days. Carlos Quentin's $3.2MM might be his goal.
Bray is worth tendering. He had Tommy John surgery in May of '09, limiting his career numbers. He was pretty good in 28.3 big league innings this year in his return. Burton would be slightly more expensive, coming from an $810K salary. Dealing with asthma and lack of strength this year, Burton spent most of the season at Triple A. I could see this one going either way depending on how the Reds feel about his health. His raise would be minimal.
Miller, who was outrighted in July but had his contract purchased in September, will likely be non-tendered for the flexibility. Nix was outrighted in November of last year and re-signed to a minor league deal. He was better this year, but was limited by an August ankle injury. I lean toward the Reds non-tendering him and attempting to re-sign him to a minor league deal again.
The Reds non-tendered Gomes last year coming off a .267/.338/.541 season, re-signing him in February. He performed worse on a rate basis with more playing time this year, but managed to knock in 86 runs. Gomes' current contract with the Reds has a $1.75MM club option for 2011 with a $500K buyout. I'm not sure if they'll find the $1.25MM net price to their liking, but according to Cot's Baseball Contracts the Reds have to release Gomes if they decline his option. Perhaps that means he's not technically arbitration eligible.
If the Reds let all of their free agents leave and also cut Gomes, Miller, and Nix, I estimate they'd have around $60MM committed. That'd mean $16MM to work with if payroll is held steady, and perhaps more given this year's attendance jump and playoff revenue.
Friends of Joey Votto have stated he never answers hypothetical questions. His “I don’t know” to the question if he’d be inclined to sign a long-term deal is a non-story folks.
Man I hope this is true. You have to think Cincinnati is a place Votto would like to stay. It’s quiet, he can lay low. The media is tame and we have dedicated fans
Like to see the Yanks pick up Hernandez. He’s an upgrade over Cerv, offensively and defensively. And it would make a better platoon partner for Hernandez/Montero(he has to be up) while Posada DH’s on those days.
Typical Yankee strategy: Troll into other teams’ farm bread line-ups and par them off to the detriment of the game with their one unfair advantage: $. What a disgrace to the game of baseball. Do you have ethics sir, or is life to you about how much one can plunder from another? You are an animal not a man for subscribing to this philosophy. Uncivilized, unethical & un-sportsman like.
Does the $60MM committed include the option or buyout for Arroyo? I hope that’s included, as it seems likely that the Reds pick up that option.
Gomes = 86 RBI, shows how meaningless that stat is.
We (the Reds) need 3 things….a consistently hitting catcher, a consistently hitting right handed Left Fielder, and a SS. Here we go….Catcher – Vic Martinez, SS – Derek Jeter, Left Fielder Carl Crawford. Now here is the big one – – – Trade some of our pitchers to make room for Cliff Lee……….and my favorite song “I like Dreamin'”