Joey Votto is not sure about his interest in a long-term deal, but the Reds will approach the newly crowned NL MVP about an extension, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that the team was waiting to discuss a deal until the MVP was announced to be fair to Votto (Twitter link). The first baseman was uncertain of his interest in an extension earlier in the offseason and he remains undecided.
“How open am I to that? I don’t know," Votto said. "You’d have to see the figures and talk about the years. Because we haven’t had any conversations about it. It wouldn’t be fair to comment on it. I’m not trying to dodge the question. But I’ve got nothing.”
Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau parlayed MVP seasons into big arbitration raises in recent years. Albert Pujols, who has the same agent as Votto, signed a seven-year $100MM deal with Jocketty back in 2004. It's unclear how long the Reds would like to lock Votto up for, but he has set himself up to earn over $30MM for his three arbitration seasons. Agent Dan Lozano could compare his free agent value to that of Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez, so Votto will be expensive to sign long-term.
Sorry Toronto, the Canadian MVP will never be a Blue Jay. SIGN HIM REDS!!!!
ya never know!
why do you think he IS dodging the question… If a guy wanted to stay long term he would say hell yeah.. he’s not going to say I don’t know.. that’s just a way to avoid the situation while he still has a few years left…
If he had to pick one team though that he wanted to be on aside from the Reds, it would be the Blue Jays though…From what I know about Votto, he is a real family guy and he obviously had the situation with his father a while back. He is a good guy, he’s going to be honest…If he doesn’t know I think that means he just doesn’t know, but we’ll see what happens…My gut tells me he will be a Red for a very long time and rightfully so.
lol I actually know Votto and let’s just say tv has helped improve his image a huge bit… Im not saying he’s lying purposely or anything, but he’s not going to say, well I want to consider the possibility of playing for other teams before I get locked in, let me sleep on it…
I love it when people anonymously claim to know a superstar on a random blog. Tell Joey I said “Hi.”
Duh.
He would be worth it. They need to sign him longterm.
VERY Good. Don’t want the Yankees saying, “Well, we can sign him too and put him in RF or DH him right guys?”
Why limit it to the Yankees, that’s unfair. The Red Sox could use him for RF and DH once Ortiz’s and Drew’s contracts are up.The Yankees were going to draft him in 2002, as he was a big target on their radar if he fell, but the Reds took him at 44th overall. The Yankees aren’t stupid and they obviously know they don’t have any need for him now.
Mostly because I’m from NY and I have to deal with stupid deals the fans think would work, stupider than Met fans ideas.
The callers on Francesca’s show are absolutely stupid
I think the Yankees should trade Posada to the Twins for their top prospects. Posadas a hall of famer, so the Twins need him and it works it out for everyone. Francesca agrees after.
as a twins fan, i like.
I’m not saying that I disagree with you guys or that your comment isn’t funny, it is…But not to nitpick, but Votto actually can play the OF…There was talk a couple of years ago about putting him in LF if Yonder Alonso was ready…
He played outfield for Team Canada when JM played first.
I would think Reds brass would be weary of signing a player to a long-term deal that would in all likelihood cost more than $100 MM. The organization was burnt by Griffey who was viewed as one of the top players in baseball when he signed and he went for a crap after going to the Reds. This team can’t afford to tie up that much money into a player. They were handicapped for years when they signed Junior.
Votto won’t be a Red long-term. Guaranteed.
If you are averse to signing a 26 year old coming off an MVP season, and 4 straight years of 125 OPS+ ball, with 150, 130 and 150 games in his 3 full seasons…..
You really shouldn’t call yourself an MLB team. Florida teams not included.
Votto has proved he is worth top-dollar and he will earn top dollar somewhere, somehow. The only questions are will he give a home town discount (no) and does he want to stay with a mediocre club (no). So therefore, he will go to arbitration, not sign an extension, easily make $10MM for 2011 and then before or after that happens, the Reds will try to trade him.
You really think they will try to trade the MVP of the NL… Even if it would be after next season I have to disagree with you there. If he does not go long term deal or even mid tern the Reds still have control of him for 3 more seasons I believe. If they can’t work out a deal by the last year of Arbitration then and only then they might consider trading him to a big market team.
The Reds would probably be wise to milk the current and best years out of Votto and let him walk. Let another team overpay fr his decline years. But they must make sure to keep the farm system producing so that they can replace his offense on a reasonable level. The opportune thing for the Reds…and all smaller market teams…is to have a younger version and cheaper version of Votto waiting in the wings when the time comes.
You also have to realize Walt Jocketty signed Albert Pujols longterm at a young age and look how that worked out, I think he will be thinking about that just as much as the Griffey deal. Walt’s no dummy and he won’t let Votto get to free agency, I don’t think he will be consistantly this good as he was this past season but locking him up now still would be a good idea
I’d stay away from him. He could possibly, some day, be an injury risk and could also start regressing at some point.
I guarantee that there’s a Braves fan out there who would take issue with the Braves signing Jason Heyward to a 10-year, $250 thousand contract. If I hear one more comment about him having ‘gap power’ I’m going to put a bullet in my head.
$25,000 per year sounds like a bargain to me. Do you think union would allow it to happen.
Hmm. I don’t know. The union will take one look at his amazing gap power and nix that deal.
Haha, well done.
You understand that….every player may “some day be an injury risk”
In fact, even Cal Ripken at this point is likely an injury risk.
Ryan Klesko was never an injury risk.
Cal Ripken is 105.
“I’d stay away from him. He could possibly, some day, be an injury risk and could also start regressing at some point.”
What you just described is virtually every young baseball player ever.
lol…. everyone is a some day injury risk … That’s the funniest thing I have read on here in some time on this site.
Surely you guys know that was sarcasm……was referring to the Griffey situation and the idiotic comments surrounding it since he left about locking up players….
“He could possibly, some day, be an injury risk and could also start regressing at some point.”
err… this statement literally applies to every single mlb player.
Gap Power.
The Red Sox need him. Make it happen ESPN.
Joey Votto will sign with the Cardinals and play 3B for the league minimum so he can talk to Mark McGwire. Callin’ it.
sorry replied to wrong quote
From reading that brief quote, is it me or does anyone else got a feeling he is looking for a deal even bigger than Teixeira?
you got that he’s looking for a deal bigger than Tex’s from THAT quote?
Really??
Lol, I pretty much love this site.
“How open am I to that? I don’t know,” Votto said. “You’d have to see the figures and talk about the years.”
Now that he won himself an MVP, sounds like he has big money on his mind now and just sounds fishy
yea but where do you get Tex’s contract from that. . you just made it up, thats all.
I was THINKING he might be trying to take aim at Tex’s contract because they are both outstanding hitters and fielders. Votto has solidified himself among the elite in the game, so if he is looking at an extension I can see himself comparing himself to Tex.
He’s got 3 years of arbitration left, you don’t get Tex money when you’re still under team control for multiple years
True, but at how fast he is improving the salary he can get from arbitration can get very high
He’s going to be a blue jay. Book it!
Please trade Alonso to the Orioles please, thank you.
WOW stupid comments.. Thats why i hate big market teams including the babies that Brandon Phillips were talking about.(for you Stl_Great) They all think they are jsut intitled to Young home gorwn talent, Pisses me off
you are still proud of that Brandon Phillips comment heh? Stay classy Cincinnati
Stay classy St. Louis with your drunken manager and steroid infused hitting coach.
Yup all brought to St. Louis by YOUR General Manager and you sure don’t have a problem taking all their washed up scraps which by the way won you you’re first division title in how many years? Reds fans that hate on the Cardinals fans kill me, they would be nothing w/o them.
Hmmm…Dennis Reyes, Ryan Franklin, Felipe Lopez, Jason La Rue, Kyle Lohse, and the beat goes on. get ur facts right mickeyblue
Here is my opinion on the topic. Votto we know is a great player now… His stats show it in every way. Heck he even only had 5 errors this season which is not that bad.
The Reds are going to make their best effort to get this guy signed long term deal. Don’t know if it would be more than a 6 year deal cause honestly I don’t know that they will commit that long. Barring injury or god forbid the death of his mother, Votto will have great seasons for several more years to come.
His first few years on the deal will be lower end guessing maybe 6 to 8 million first few years and then it will jump to like 12 million then up and up it goes…
Sorry side thought…. Someone was comparing Griffey to Votto before. and How Griffey stunk the rest of his time with Cincinnati. Its called injuries people. Not saying by any means Votto won’t get injured cause he could just as much as anyone else. This seems really dumb to compare though cause thus far Votto has never had a serious injury.
Ok back to my main thing here now. Even though he has not been committed to saying what his plans are. I could see Votto signing a 5 or 6 year deal with maybe a player option on it. Total deal might be around 80 million for 6 years or slightly higher.
Ok all have it rip my post apart lol…
not nearly enough.. Votto’s next contract will probably be his biggest since its going to take up the prime of his career.. I’d start wit a 6/100 and move from there
Oh sorry didn’t state that was my starting points for his extension. Big Oops there.
yeah he ll prolly be looking for 6 yrs/ 100+ millions .. which justifies his talent but u gotta look at the market in which Reds play and also the overall payroll … after all its about winning .. if ur paying 1/4 of ur payroll to one guy there is no way or its very hard to build a winner ….
i am not saying its impossible but hard …
if it was a jays player who was not too excited about long term deal or wanting over 100+ .. the best way was to trade him near his free agency and hopefully get 3 or 4 peices back to build around them .. like Mark teixra did for the AL champs Texas
when did that ever happen?? Jays have always locked up their stars
For better (doc, delgado, romero)
or
For worse (wells, rios)
Votto has elite defense, power(arguably, anyway), and plate discipline. $80 million over 6 years just isn’t going to get it, unless he starts regressing next year or something or is willing to sign a hometown discount(unlikely).
from what i have read from him , talking about extension , this and before .. i get the sense he wants to be near his family …….
i remember when Reds visited blue jays and one of his interview here on Rogers sportsnet he brought his sibglings with him, one of them was very young .. his father past away so i can see him wanting to sign somewhere near toronto .. maybe AL EAST and preferably with Blue jays
he also said that for the game against USA in BASEBALL CLASSIC before he became a star he took the local subway ( Go Transit to the ball park) and nobody noticed him but he said it felt very good …
i hope Reds sign him to a long term deal .. cuz its their franchise Icon .. but i think commiting anything more than 100+ million over 6 yrs is bit risky
I would agree with your statement. I too have this feeling that he wants to play somewhere where he would get a big chance to see Toronto a lot. Keeping my fingers crossed though that I am wrong.
i can understand how you reds fans are feeling right now … i love him too whether he plays in a reds jursey or for any other team (baring the yankees) i ll keep cheering for him..
but that selfishness for him to play for the only canadian team and an instant star here in T.O … is too much to handle
unlikely to happen .. maybe when he becomes a free agent after 6 yrs …we can have him
One, saying Cincinnati is a mediocre team after them winning the division is beyond ignorant. The Reds are a fast rising, heavily talented team. If Votto wants to ride the wave, and stay under the radar as his personality has shown, then being on a winning small market team fairly close to his home and he’s already there. Cincinnati is the best place for him. Toronto will never compete with the Yankees, Red Sox or Rays. The Reds on the other hand are positioned to win for years to come. Anyone who claims on mlbtraderumors.com to know a player personally is like me saying I know the Dali Lama. Votto will be offered a 5-6 year $75-$90 million contract by the Reds soon and he will be wise to accept it.
first of all nobody is saying that cinci is a medicore team but a small market team, which is obvious to everyone like Toronto , our payroll is limited ….to say that we will never be competing with the yanks and red sox is just being stupid cause if you know anything about our team we will be competing pretty soon ( as soon as next season) you guys probably play in the worst division of baseball NL CENTRAL = easy teams like Pittsburg, Astros and Cubs .. thats three pretty mediocore/ worst teams in baseball….. winning division against those teams is like walk in the park …. playing against the mighty Phillies ( smaller version of yanks/ red sox ) is another team
do i have to remind the 3-0 clean sweep in the play offs ( no-no by Doc) lol
But we ll see how you guys have positioned yourself for yrs to come ….. i donno much about your team so i can’t say much but
please don’t be an A$$, if you donno how tough it is to play in AL EAST then stick with your NL central
In his post he said what is basically the truth. The AL East has the Yanks, Rays, and Red Sox so it will be hard for the Jays to win (i.e. he is giving the AL East CREDIT). He wasn’t being an @$$, he was just stating the fact.
When he said the Reds are set up to win for the next few years, obviously our division has a lot to do with it. He never said the NL Central was the best did he? No.
The sweep by the Phils was unfortunate. The Reds played out of character and were swept. It happens on your first playoff appearance. The Phillies were swept 3-0 in 2007 playoffs and what did they do in 2008? Won the WS. I’m not saying we are going to win it all but we have a shot at it at least. Where were the Jays this year in the playoffs? Oh yeah, watching it from home.
Don’t put words in people’s mouths, it makes you look like an A$$
first of all winning the division is nothing especially NL Central ( as you guys saw what happens when you feast on lowly rated Pitts (9-6), Astros (10-5), against cubs (12-4)
so now lets see ur teams which is set for the future record against some respectable teams
Phillies ( closest to AL EAST team) = ( 2-8 including the sweep) lol thats just disgraceful
St. Lous cards: 6-12, again a good team just shows where you should have been
and to add you guys had below .500 record against Braves, Rockies, Giants and padres ….
so you think you can match the phillies of 2008 .. good luck doing that .. u prolly only have one recognized hitter in Votto and other young guns who are not ready or scott rolen type who are prolly near the end ….
yeah we were sitting at home and enjoying Docs no no during the play offs but its also due to AL EAST .. we are probably better then you guys are right now but due to divisions we play and opponents we face we have different results
85 wins only 6 wins less then you guys … after 54 games against the rays, Yanks n red sox ..
i am sure even if we won 91 games we wouldn’t have made the play offs cuz you know whatit takes more than 91 wins to win the division in EAST … its not that easy here
so shut the bleep up and go keep dreaming that u’ll be winning the division next year… as i am sure you guys will cuz u get to play Astros, pitts and Cubs more 40 time of the year …..
it shows how weak NL is let alone the Central when Doc .. who wins 21 games even without having best run support and even without having his best stuff for most part …. he sure think its easier down there then it is facing the yanks , redsox and rays 18 times each
we know what we have here
four pitching studs: Romero, Marcum, Morrow and Cecil with best of all Drabek ready to join ….
what do you guys have a druggie SP , phillips who can’t keep his mouth shut …Orlando cabrera who has no sense of sportsmanship .. not giving credit where it is due ..( Doc’s no hitter, saying it was the umpire who was giving it to him) lol ohh my ohh my …
i wanted to keep this clean buh you guys bring this your team my team stuff … read my first few post .. i actually wanted Votto to stay with Cinci … he is the franchise icon, but some fools like you just ruin the whole thing….
no plz don’t reply cuz i won’t be replying to you again
Votto will be offered a 5-6 year $75-$90 million contract by the Reds soon and he will be wise to accept it.
Sounds like a pretty crapppy deal to me? why exactly would he sign that deal?? and you make it sound like cinci will have a dynasty for years… st louis will retool and add a few pieces and cinci will fall bad in to non playoff obscurity like always. Votto would be wise to go and get paid in a big city. Which is exactly why he couldnt say that he is excited to stay longer already.. seems kinda fishy dont ya think
i agree … cards were off this yr
with their pitching .. prolly top 5 in MLB and with Holliday and pujols .. they will go as fav to win the division next yr
and yeah it does sound fishy hearing that from votto … i mean he doesn’t sound one bit excited to get a long term deal in .. prolly wanna play near to his home which would be the jays
If they’re going to sign him to an extension they better do it fast and move Alonso while they can.
Basically what I’ve gotten from this thread (as a Reds fan) is as follows-
Joey Votto’s quote actually means-
According to Jays Fans- “That he wants to play in Toronto”
According to Yankee Fans- “Yeah, we’ll sign em!”
According to Cardinal Fans- “Reds stink”
Some brilliance here guys. Reds are not going to low-ball Votto. They are going to offer a fair deal comparable to other players in previous years. Votto might accept, take the security, he likes playing in Cincinnati. I truly believe he does. He likes the low profile, so why would he want to spend a ton of games each year playing against the Yankees and the Red Sox getting things thrown at him?