The Cincinnati Reds and Joey Votto have agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract. He can still become a free agent after the 2013 season is over.
Votto is the National League Most Valuable Player. In 2010, Votto hit .324/.424/.600 with 37 home runs and 113 RBI.
You can read about the other Reds moves this offseason, if you click here.
Here is everything you need to know about this deal.
Cincinnati Reds fans are anxious for the start of the 2011 season. Unfortunately, many of us have been engaged in the NFL and haven’t followed the Reds very closely. There have been a few off-season player transactions to catch up on.
The Reds didn’t make any huge deals like this one or this one but they did do something.
Here are the moves they did make.
The Reds have agreed to sign Edgar Renteria, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The deal could be worth as much as $3 million with an incentive package, according to Levine.
Here are five reasons not to like the move.
Francisco Cordero is tied with Heath Bell for second in the major leagues in saves.
He is 24 for 30 (80%) for the season. His career save percentage is 81.5%. His save percentage with the Reds 85.8%.
Here are some more stats to chew on.
Of the 15 pitchers with 20 or more saves, Cordero is worst in the league in WHIP (1.55), ERA (4.20), and third worst in batting average against (.263).
The Reds pay Cordero a lot of money, so continuing to run him out there for every save will likely be the choice.
Here are five other in-house choices.
According to many reports, the Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of signing Gary Matthews, Jr. Matthews had a big year for the Texas Rangers way back in 2006. That year he put up .313/.371/.495/.866. The LA Angels then swooped in and signed Matthews for a huge deal.
Matthews’ big year in 2006 skewed his career numbers, but the Angles ignored that and tried catching four years of lightning in a bottle. It didn’t work out.
After three disappointing years, the Angels ended up getting the Mets to take him as insurance for Carlos Beltran. Recently, the Mets cut ties with Matthews.
Here is why he is a bad idea for the Reds.
Surprise! Pete Rose is back in the news.
Apparently, there is a collector who has x-rayed one of Rose’s old bats. He has discovered that the bat has something in it that may be cork or a similar substance. He even has some evidence that the bat was used in a game.
This is not really news, as a 2001 Vanity Fair article made the same allegations.
Here is why we should not care.
Roy Oswalt has asked the Houston Astros to trade him. He is owed quite a bit of dough so he won’t be easy to deal. He will get $15 million for 2010 and 2011. In 2012, there’s a club option for another $16 million, or a $2 million buyout. Good luck taking that salary on. He also has had groin and back troubles. Given the salary and injuries, the Astros may not get a lot back. He is off to a good start with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.
The word on the street says that that Oswalt wants to go to a contender. His short list includes the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. Those teams don’t seem like likely places for him to end up.
Here are the teams where he could.
Ken Griffey, Jr. is a first ballot Hall Of Famer. That is obvious. Those Hall Of Fame skills are long gone, though. He was bad enough last year. Here are Griffey’s 2009 stats: .214/.324/.411. That isn’t good. Today, though, he flat out stinks. Check out his 2010 line: .191/.252/.213. Ouch! This isn’t new, either. Ken Griffey has been a below average player for years.
With all of that said, he is still very popular in Seattle. Griffey gets a big cheer when the lineup is called out over the PA system before the game. When he comes to the plate, people get off their butts to cheer for him.
It is not Griffey’s responsibility to bow out gracefully. The Mariners must take the bold step of cutting him. Here is why.
Derek Jeter is a first ballot Hall Of Famer. There is no evidence that Jeter is even interested in the hit record. However, if he averages 188 hits per season for the next nine seasons (including this one), he can pull it off.
Jeter is ahead of Rose’s pace now. It would be fun to watch someone challenge a great record like this. It also would be nice if the hit king was eligible to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame.
Here is why it won’t happen.