The Reds signed arbitration eligible reliever Nick Masset to a two-year extension, the team announced (on Twitter). As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Masset had filed for a $2.9MM salary through arbitration, while the Reds had countered with $2.1MM. The deal is worth a guaranteed $5.5MM and includes performance bonuses, MLBTR has learned.
Masset is arbitration eligible for the third of four times as a super two player, so the deal buys out his two remaining seasons of team control. The 29-year-old posted a 3.71 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 70 1/3 innings in 2011. The Jet Sports Management client is still on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season.
Jose Arredondo, another extension candidate, is the Reds' lone unsigned arbitration eligible player.
It better be cheap.
Masset has great stuff but often falls into a predictable set of pitch setups. He throws fastballs and cutters to get to two strikes then throws his slow curve as an out pitch. People finally caught onto it last year, so he tried to mix it up and then he started walking people. He has unbelievable stuff, he just needs to be more aggressive with it. When you can throw upper 90s, throw the heat Nicky!
i slighty disagree. i realize a well located fastball is best pitch in baseball (some wld say cutter) but i think his problem was is that he didnt utilize his 12-6 enough. if u ask me its 1 of the prettiest curves in baseball and feel he always tried to get ahead with the fb and then try to put them away with off speed stuff, nibble, then u look and its a full count. i feel he shld use his curve earlier in the counts and put them away with fb
Masset has great stuff but often falls into a predictable set of pitch setups. He throws fastballs and cutters to get to two strikes then throws his slow curve as an out pitch. People finally caught onto it last year, so he tried to mix it up and then he started walking people. He has unbelievable stuff, he just needs to be more aggressive with it. When you can throw upper 90s, throw the heat Nicky!
Getting Marshall and Madson will take pressure off Masset, I expect a BIG year from Nick.. Now Walt just needs to extend Arredondo and call it a day.
He has to extend BP to a reasonable contract before calling it a season.
I agree. You have to lock BP up before the big $ clubs get a chance to lure him away. I doubt he’d do 4/40. Maybe 4/50. Remember…he wants Ugglamoney.
masset the last 3 yrs has started god awful with eras around 6 and 7. then end up with sub 3 era.(besides last yr, north of 3) so just imagine how he finishes. masset gets a raw deal in this city a bit if u ask me. he was such an important part of our bullpen the reds brass had no choice but to keep running him out there. hopefully this yr some of the pressure will b taken off him and he can have a strong start. All masset needs is to have better pitch count selection and im telling u he is that close to being a premiere closer. he reminds me of madsen in a’lot of respects. (well besides madsens nasty changeup lol)
underrated (even by reds fans apparently)
No. We know that he is very good when he is good, but was very inconsistent last year and part of 2010. He was absolutely terrible the first month and a half in 2010, then caught fire. He was inconsistent for basically the entire year last year. He has the potential and the stuff, but he still hasn’t learned to trust his stuff. He has always had to look over his shoulder and catches a lot of flak because Reds fans know his potential. I expect a very good year from him this year, considering there’s less pressure on him after the Madson and Marshall deals.
underrated (even by reds fans apparently)
“We have a little deeper bullpen,” Jocketty said. “We figured if we use him in the right situations, that he will be more productive. With the depth we have in the ‘pen, he should be able to do that. He’s great stuff and is very reliable. He is willing to take the ball every day, which can be the problem. He might have to tell us when he needs to back off, and we might need to back him off sometimes.” — Hopefully Dusty will give him rest so then he can produce the way they want.
Hmmm…methinks Walt realizes Dusty has to go. Two consecutive retiree NL All Star managers? One can hope. One can hope.
hopefully joe torre loses out on the bid for the dodgers, bc he no longer has a job and Torre is a baseball nerd and cnt stay away to long and would want a challenge. with a up and coming team and organization like the reds. at this point in his career i think torre wants to teach but would need to the right situation to do it in
Shame we gave him up in the pointless Griffey trade.
Hopefully Nick will play these last two seasons with the Reds and then come home to St. Pete and finish his career with a real organization like the Rays.
The Reds want BP. BP wants the Reds. He is at the very least going to give you gold glove defense, a .275 average, and 20 homeruns. If he goes onto the FA market he knows he can demand much more. If they sign him now for around $10M/year for say 4 years, I’ll take it. Whether he will, nobody knows.