We heard yesterday that the Reds are likely to decline their half of the $4MM mutual option on Orlando Cabrera for 2011 and that the club has interest in retaining Jonny Gomes and Ramon Hernandez. Here’s more news on the 2010 NL Central Champs from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
- Devin Mesoraco’s progress could impact the offers the Reds make to Hernandez. Mesoraco, a 22-year-old catcher, had an excellent season at the plate this year. The 2007 first rounder hit .302/.377/.587 at three minor league stops with 26 total homers. He’s now playing in the Arizona Fall League and figures to need more minor league seasoning given his lack of experience in the upper minors.
- The Reds have talked to Arthur Rhodes’ agent about bringing the lefty back in 2011. Rhodes told Fay he’d like to return and talks will resume next week, so there’s a chance the sides work something out before Rhodes hits the open market.
- The Reds expect Jay Bruce to qualify as a Super Two, but they haven’t heard official word yet. Bruce would likely earn a few million if he’s arbitration eligible this year and that commitment would likely affect the Reds’ ability to spend on other players.
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes heard in June that the Super Two cutoff will be earlier than usual this year and that Bruce will be the Super Two with the fewest days of service time. With just two years and 125 days of service time, Bruce will have less big league experience than any Super Two in recent years.
The Reds would probably be smart to see if they can go ahead and lock up Votto and Bruce to a somewhat team-friendly long-term contract. And before anyone says it, Votto doesn’t deal with hypotheticals. Put a contract offer on the table and he’ll talk about it.
I see Bruce deserving of a Ryan Braun type extension (6-7 yr/45-55 mil) with his recent success but relatively inconsistent production year to year so far.
Votto is looking at more of a Pujols type extension (7 yr/90-100mil) with his level of performance and consistency.
Those are just an idea, I have no clue what would actually get it done.
I would keep Votto over Bruce, Bruce is way too inconsistent to offer a long term to.
Votto is 26, Bruce is 23. His consistency will improve as he matures more, but his talent is just as much if not more than Votto’s.
Bruce’s smaller contract would be due to his lack of consistency and less production so far. If we could lock him to a long-term team-friendly deal I would jump at it in a heartbeat. Bruce has shown his ability to improve at the big league level. Bruce finished the year as the Reds’ hottest hitter.
You know that they can sign both of them, right? Extending one of them doesn’t mean they can’t extend the other. Besides, where do you get that he’s inconsistent? His OPS was over .800 in every month of this season other than July and was over 1.000 in August and September. Not to mention he just put up a .846 OPS in his year 23 season? Kid’s a stud.
Bruce does not deserve anywhere near Braun money.
Go year to year with Bruce and I’d be willing to bet he makes more than Braun by the time the contract would have ended. If he avoids injuries, his talent will elevate him to elite levels at the plate and not just in RF. Braun’s contract is very team friendly. Teams take a risk by offering security to young talented players, players accept that security and also the fact they could make more if they hadn’t signed long term.
Going year to year with Bruce will get expensive quick.
Go year to year with Bruce and I’d be willing to bet he makes more than Braun by the time the contract would have ended. If he avoids injuries, his talent will elevate him to elite levels at the plate and not just in RF. Braun’s contract is very team friendly. Teams take a risk by offering security to young talented players, players accept that security and also the fact they could make more if they hadn’t signed long term.
Going year to year with Bruce will get expensive quick.
Bruce does not deserve anywhere near Braun money.
I see Bruce deserving of a Ryan Braun type extension (6-7 yr/45-55 mil) with his recent success but relatively inconsistent production year to year so far.
Votto is looking at more of a Pujols type extension (7 yr/90-100mil) with his level of performance and consistency.
Those are just an idea, I have no clue what would actually get it done.
Tough break for the Reds
I agree in locking both of them into long term deals as soon as they can. They have Harang’s horrible contract off the books and they can use that money.
One thing not mentioned is Jay Bruce’s defense. Take out the obvious (and horrendous) error in the playoffs against the Phillies, but he has excellent range and nobody will challenge his arm anymore. His offense is very streaky (look at the last part of the regular season and his HR total) and hopefully will become more consistent with more experience. But look at the whole package, his arm has saved runs by throwing guys out, but also from guys refusing to run on him.
Votto put up great numbers this year (and solid numbers the 2 years before), but I wouldn’t give him a Pujols contract just yet. I’m a huge fan of Votto and want to see him stay in Cincinnati as long as he plays baseball, but Pujols gets that type of money because he has produced MVP numbers year after year. You know nothing is going to get done until after the MVP awards are announced, which can only help Votto’s strength at the bargaining table.