A few notes from the Queen City…
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer has the breakdown of Johnny Cueto's new contract. The right-hander will earn $3.4MM in 2011, $5.4MM in 2012, $7.4MM in 2013, and $10MM in 2014. A $10MM club option for 2015 can be bought out for $800K.
- GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that the team and Edinson Volquez are still talking about a multi-year contract extension, and that he's confident they'll get at least a one-year deal done before an arbitration hearing (Twitter link). We first heard that the two sides were talking about a deal late last week.
Kinda feel like Volquez needs to prove he is back to full strength before we hand him a multi-year deal. Though if we could sign him on the cheaper side I would not mind it as much for a long term deal.
I think your Reds chances of repeating in the Central largely depend on Volquez and Cueto stepping up and becoming if not aces, solid top end starters over a full season. I don’t think the Reds can depend on Arroyo winning 17 games again and the competition in the division is better.
I agree Cueto and Volquez need to show consistency and move to the next level. Milwaukee has improved their pitching a lot, Chicago too.. They seem to have made some nice moves recently to make them a possible contender too… Only Houston and Pittsburg seem like they don’t have a good shot this year in the Central. Sure is going to be one of the most exciting seasons in recent history for this division.
The $10M option for 2015 with the 800k buyout makes this deal look even better, especially considering the upward movement of salaries we’ve seen this offseason.
Well done, Cincinatti.