I do not know enough about the Reds finances to form an opinion about the dollars involved in the recent wave of extensions... But what I do know is that they have created a golden age to be a Reds fan. Will they win a championship? I hope so... But even without one, we have been given a rare gift in the new age of free agency baseball... We have stability.
Think about it... The worst part of modern baseball is too root for a kid and then see him walk away to another franchise... It caused many of us to hope our kids would do well... But not so well that we could no longer afford them. That sucked.
Now, just think about what we have for at least the next three seasons...
Five of the eight positions players are carved in stone (C, 1B, 2B, SS, RF), and by no later than next season we will have four fifths of a rotation (Cueto, Latos, Leake, Chapman) locked in not to mention a closer (Marshall). Add in that we have some solid pre-arb players that would make anyone's 25 man roster in Stubbs, Heisey, Lecure and Ondrusek and we have 14 of the 25 man roster that are locked in for the next three years barring horrific injury or trade. Ten of those 14 are legitimate potential all-stars right now.
Now you can go out and get your kid a Reds jersey with just about any players name on the back of it and not be worried that he won't be able to wear it next year since that guy is history.
We have stability and a competitive team for a small market in the age of free agency. I have been waiting for this since Pete donned a Phillies cap.
For that I say Thank You to the Reds management and ownership.
Brisco