If the Reds come to the conclusion they will not be able to sign Votto past his current contract, they should trade him.
Let me be clear (apologies to Pres. Obama), I would love to see Joey Votto play 1B for the Reds for a long, long time. But I cannot see trading Alonso, only to lose Votto a couple years later. With that in mind, would you trade Joey Votto for Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman if you knew Joey was gone after 2013?