The Reds announced that they exercised Brandon Phillips' 2012 option and declined their option for Francisco Cordero (Twitter link). The Reds will pay Cordero a $1MM buyout instead of a $12MM salary and they'll pay Phillips a $12MM salary instead of a $1MM buyout.
Phillips, 30, hit .300/.353/.457 with 18 homers in 674 plate appearances for Cincinnati in 2011. He has made his desire for an extension clear, stating in September that it would feel like “a slap in my face” if the Reds pick up the option without talking long-term deal. But if the sides do discuss an extension, don't expect a hometown discount "There’s no homeboy hookup. That ain’t going to work," Phillips said.
The Reds discussed an extension for Cordero, a Type A free agent, toward the end of the regular season. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained in his recent offseason outlook article that the Reds "can't afford to commit $5MM a year for two more seasons of Cordero."
brandonphillipstraderumors.com come July
Both solid moves if you ask me.
But I didn’t ask you.
No surprise here. Didn’t Phillips not want the Reds to exercise the option and instead work out an extension?
This doesn’t come surprising to me. I don’t understand why there were even talks about the Reds exercising Cordero’s option. Cordero is way to expensive and is getting towards the end of his career, not to mention there are younger and better options out there. Good move by the Reds part.
Wow. I did not see this coming. At all.
Does this open the door for Chapman to close next year?
Or you guys think they’ll go out and sign K-rod?
I personally think that if they paid all that money for Chapman, they should try and turn him into a starter.
Walt has already stated that they plan on getting Chapman in the mix as a starter.
Tough crowd 37 saves and a 2.45 era and they want to dump you. I would think he will garner a lot of interest from teams looking for a closer. Hell Bmore would love to swap him for Kevin Gregg.
Seems like a preemptive move that can’t really hurt him in the long run. I mean, a year older going into FA, which I am sure is disappointing to him, because he’s gonna lose out on a couple million, but it’s also a flattering mood as they basically say they view him as being worth MORE than $12MM because now that number is very reasonable.
This doesn’t mean they can’t work out an extension during the off-season and void his current 1 year contract in placement of a better paying plan over the long-term. I’m sure Phillips has mixed feelings about this turn of events.
Lets face it, being a FA turning 32 ain’t the same as being a FA turning 31, but the guy has still made $39MM by the end of next year, which ain’t too shabby and he’ll still easily be in line for a 3-5 year deal at about $13.5MM a season.
I think Phillips will be okay either way.
Phillips wanted an extension. I’m sure he’s not happy with this. This guy plays hard all the time. He’s a very good player so you know he won’t dog it. Especially because it’s going to be a contract year.
Phillips must be pissed. This guy could have earned tons of cash in the market and now he has to wait one more year and post another solid season.
In terms of the future I think this was a terrible decision for the Reds. Your star second basemen stated he would view it as a “slap in the face” if they exercise the option and they still going on and do it. Next year reds will be looking for another 2nd basemen.
The Reds lose nothing on this. Philips has said that there would be no discout. If the Reds want him they will need to pay him next year. With no discount there is zero reason for the club to pay top dollar for him this year.
I want the Jays to make a move on Phillips.
I don’t understand why everyone thinks Phillip’s going to be so upset. Yeah they picked up his option, but that doesn’t mean they can’t extend his contract. From everything I’ve read they are still in negotiations.
Wow people think just cause they took the option on phillips and they didn’t on Cordero that those two won’t be in Cincy for a while yet. Guess what folks all this says to me are these two things.
1. Phillips not wanting to play long tern without a discount for the Reds does not mean he is gone after next year. They still could sign him to a multiyear deal very much like they did with Arroyo and Bruce last year.
2. Cordero could still be back this just means he is currently a free agent and guess what The Reds have exclusive negotiating rights to him for several days. They may be still trying to hammer out a deal
brandon…who?