SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
#reds gm walt jocketty said he will NOT trade joey votto this winter. Said instead will try to sign within the next year
SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
#reds gm walt jocketty said he will NOT trade joey votto this winter. Said instead will try to sign within the next year
That would be a great signal - if they can get it done - that the team is willing to develop and then keep true top players.
They can try it all they want. I just don't think they have the cash to make it happen, nor do I think Votto really wants to sign a deal before testing the market. But I get why they have to say that.
Joey knows that baseball is not just a game but also a business.
I believe he will test the market and sign with the highest bidder.
It's silly to believe Votto would give Cincinnati or Toronto a home town discount, He lives in Florida.
Joey knows that going on the open market is his best chance to strike it rich.
.
Last edited by Ron Madden; 11-16-2011 at 05:33 AM.
There will be NO END to Votto rumors until he signs (if) a new contract.
Agree with the 2 above, nothing to see here folks.
Within the next year?
That doesn't imply any urgency. It's practically a throwaway statement. To me, it implies a half-hearted effort to sign, followed by a shrug as they let him walk. To Votto, this milquetoast statement might just be worse than saying nothing.
/r/reds
What urgency is necessarily there? None really. Votto is signed for the next two seasons, at which point he is eligible for free agency. The only clear statement he has made is that when he signed this contract, he was not ready to tie himself down for the long term; noting he had no idea what he would want to be doing in three years. I'm being hyperbolic here, but there's practically been panic in the streets here on RZ ever since viz Votto's future.
Certainly it's easy to take Jocketty's statement as a throwaway line. But noting that he will not be trading Votto is a clear statement. As for a timetable, why is "within the next year" wrong? Votto seems to be in no rush; the Reds are certainly not pressed to do so. Some players have suggested in their careers that not addressing it is an insult, shows bad faith, etc. Votto, at times, is fairly inscrutable.
Others have suggested that Votto won't give a "home town discount," but what exactly does that mean in real world terms? It's not unheard of (albeit rare) that a player decides that an offer is more than enough for himself, particularly for a given contract period. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Kemp's suggested contract is a possible barometer for Votto. Given what little window we're given into Votto's thinking, it wouldn't shock me to see him decide this is where he wants to be at that $140M or $150M is more than enough for him to make.
(An aside, I'm all for players making what they can - they are the whole show afterall - but it's still mindblowing to write such numbers. Crazy world we live in)
I think Jocketty's being square with folks. He makes clear that unsettling talk about trading the team's star is off the table. He mentions a timetable that's more than adequate for showing "good faith" and "respect" and it's not unbelievable that we may well succeed at an extension. And it's also possible it will all be for naught. But there's absolutely no rush. If come next off-season, Votto is resolute in not signing long term, then he can be dealt. Many here have said the same all along.
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
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You might have some reduction in value in that it could cut back on your pool of trade partners, i.e. clubs that can't or won't extend him. But I don't think that's a huge factor.
I don't subscribe to the belief that Votto is "hell bent on testing the free agenty market." He may, in fact, have every intent on doing that, but the only statement he's publicly made is that he couldn't say what he will want for his future come the end of the current contract and that was said a year ago. He's also been very frank that he understands that baseball is first, and foremost, a business. That might be construed as being "hell bent" and it could well mean that, but I don't believe it's a given. Votto has struck me as remarkably mature for his age. [NB: I understand you used word "if" to qualify your statement. Just wanted to acknowledge that]
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things.
The Baseball Bookstore
http://tsc-sales.com/
http://tscsales.blogspot.com/
http://silverscreenbooks.com/
I don't think the Reds will ever trade Votto.
But let's say they do.
The closer Votto is to being a free agent, the more suitors there are available to trade him to as well, as there is less time/money commitment involved.
Look at Holliday .. He was traded twice as his contract was about to end.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
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