lets talk Votto and his suitors

[lidspinner]

lets pretend the Cardinals keep Albert and lets say the cubbies get Prince....who is left that would want Votto for what he is worth....he is worth every cent that Prince gets and I think he is worth as much as Albert being that Albert is on the back side of his career.....so who can afford Votto and would they be interested in getting him a few years sooner? Just asking

Yankees? Nope, tex is at first

Red Sox? Nope Adrian at first

Angles? not sure how high they are on Navarro but he is young and cheap so maybe they want to keep him at 1st...not sure, what say you all? Russel Branyon is not playing over votto so he is not even in play here...its Navarro or Joey that we are discussing..

Baltimore? they really dont have much at first and they have a young club so they might want to look this way seeing as they spend money just when you think they will not....

Detroit? no way, Cabrera has got that on lock down...unless they decide to DH Cabrera and let Votto play 1st....small chance

Texas? they have to many 1st base/DH guys right now anyhow and they are good at those jobs...not to mention Hamilton is getting long in the tooth and might want to start DH'ing some to keep healthy..

Philly? nope, Ryan Howard says no thanks Joey

Diamonbacks? I think they are hoping that Goldsmidt(sp?) is their guy but they could be possible suitors for Joey....average shot but would they spend the money?

Giants? Brett Pill and Brandon Belt might have that spot for 2012 but Joey would sure sell well to their fanbase...not sure they would spend the money either but they have proven in the past that they will buy if they need to..

Dodgers? I think Loney has that spot locked down as well but new ownership sometimes means new faces and a new overall look so nothing is a given with the Dodgers until we get a owner....would they pay for Votto? Hell Yes

Rockies? Helton is getting older and they know Joey would flourish in that thin air....only question is would they spend the money on Joey...they already have some good money tied up in other spots and they need some pitching as Millwood is old and their young guys just did not produce like they thought...sort of like our pitching did not advance from 2010 to 2011 like we wanted and needed.....

Padres? I think Guzman has 1st locked up, he is young and he produced some this year...he is on the cheap and they control him for a few more years i believe....I just dont think Votto makes sense for the Padres...


So it looks to me like the only real suitors would be the Angels, Baltimore, D-Backs, Giants,Dodgers and Rockies......and out of those teams I really see the only ones really being able to afford Joey and truly sign him as the face of their franchise is the Giants and Dodgers and both those teams have some other question marks that need to be addressed on the pitching side of the game....

So while we all know Joey is going to get big money and he deserves it, but I just dont see that many teams that are going to be screaming to get him...at least not right now...anything can happen in 2 years.....Tex or Adrian could get hurt and then Joey would be a shoe in for one of those teams.....Do you guys think this gives us any leverage in keeping Votto with us? Are there any teams that i missed that could or would take Joey considering money and depth chart?

[brm7675]

Never count out the Yankees...

[Vottomatic]

You left out the Blue Jays. Joey's home country, and I think hometown.

Adam Lind currently plays 1B. But he came up and played LF for several years before moving to 1B. The Blue Jays have Bautista, Travis Snider, and Colby Rasmus for the outfield. Snider has been chronically injured for the couple of seasons he's come up, and not put up very good numbers. Rasmus struggled mightily after coming to the Jays, batting less than .200 in 30-some games.

Blue Jays could acquire Votto, and move Lind back to LF to strengthen their outfield.

[brm7675]

Problem with the Blue Jays are the taxes. Players don't like playing there because they get hammered on their contracts via the country taxes. Now not saying that won't keep him from going there, but also there is ALOT of presure playing in front of the home crowd. I would say they might be a second group of teams with a shot. If the Cards would say lose Albert, which I doubt, how bad would it be to see Joey in a Cards uniform?

[mroby85]

Problem with the Blue Jays are the taxes. Players don't like playing there because they get hammered on their contracts via the country taxes. Now not saying that won't keep him from going there, but also there is ALOT of presure playing in front of the home crowd. I would say they might be a second group of teams with a shot. If the Cards would say lose Albert, which I doubt, how bad would it be to see Joey in a Cards uniform?

If he leaves, I would love if he went there. It would be nice to be a fan of a team that does things the right way with a knowledgeable fan base. They always say there is a thin line between love and hate lol.

[Nathan]

Uhh.. You listed all of 12 teams. That's like barely 40% which is why you have such few suitors for the Votto market. If you are going to give a rundown, list all the potential teams that may have an interest and then state why they are (or aren't) really in the market for a 1B.

[lidspinner]

Nathan. Most other teams can not or will not afford Joey. I am not gonna list the Pirates when I know there is simply no chance he goes there. I could list the Athletics if you want, but I'm assuming most knowledgeable baseball fans know that the A's are out of the votto sweepstakes before Votto even is available. I only listed teams that make sense. Toronto is one team I left out. If you have other teams Nathan, please by all means list them and let's discuss.

[Tuff Nut]

Well, if your looking for a 'money' team, that could fork over the cash, ala the Yankees or Red Sox......you made one huge ommision........the Chicago Cubs. They have the cash, and if, as you are impling, Albert and Prince are gone, then there is your 'money' team.

[Redsfansince72]

per mlbtraderumors:

Rival executives are getting signals that the Reds won't shop Joey Votto, but the club is fully prepared to listen to offers this winter, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.

[texasdave]

per mlbtraderumors:
Rival executives are getting signals that the Reds won't shop Joey Votto, but the club is fully prepared to listen to offers this winter, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.

No matter where you go in life people love to play their little word games. There is absolutely no difference between shopping someone and letting people know that someone is available. LOL.

I suppose they want to be able to look Votto in the eye, lie to him and say they never tried to trade him.

I think Joey is way too intelligent for that. That type of thinking stopped working in junior high.

Reds mismanagement. The fun never ends with this crew.

[The DARK]

The Giants are a pretty likely suitor. They've been hurting on offense for a few years now and Joey would be a huge upgrade for next few seasons. With all of their pitching prospects and rotation options, they have the flexibility to go for it and pay heavily if they want.

Still, I foresee a team having to massively overpay to get Joey. He's proven himself to be one of the best players in all of baseball, and Jocketty isn't one to let undervalue a guy like him. When you factor in the fact that having Pujols and Fielder on the market makes Votto likely to recieve a lower offer and the salary leaders are pretty well set... I don't see Votto going anywhere anytime soon.

And why let him go? No matter how good Alonso is, no one in this organization is good enough to force Joey out. Not even close. Besides, our offense isn't nearly good enough to function effectively without him.

[Redsfansince72]

this was just also posted on mlbtraderumors

Earlier today we heard that the Reds are expected to listen to offers for Joey Votto, and Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post thinks the Marlins may kick the tires (Twitter link). The Fish are expected to make a splash before moving into their new stadium, and Votto would certainly qualify.

[krm1580]

The Marlins system is surprisingly weak so unless they are putting Stanton in a deal I can't see how they would have enough to get the job done.

Thinking creatively, a team I think would have the money to lock Joey Votto up long term, has a need at first and has some really good trading chips would be the Nationals. Realistically they are not offering up Harper or Strausburg, but they could make a pretty good offer with Rendon and Purke to start.

[FireDusty]

In 1972 some Reds fans said that Bob Howsam was an absolute idiot for trading away Lee May & Tommy Helms for some short little guy from Houston ,no-name starting pitcher, and a no name minor leaguer.

The short guys name? Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. The no-name starter? 2 time 19 game winner and world series bad ass Jack Billingham. The no name minor leaguer? Cesar Geronimo.

Trading May opened up first base for a guy that could hit, but hadn't been able to play good enough defense elsewhere. That guys name? Hall of Famer Tony Perez. Don't we have a guy that can rake and needs a position?

We have no chance to sign Joey Votto. None.

His value is as high as it will ever be right now.

[Kingspoint]

Yankees are old. They will make an attempt.

Baltimore could make a great splash.

Toronto would be the natural fit.