Votto 10yrs/225M

[Moonlight J]

NL only people rejoice - you've retained one

[Hammer]

Now I can go buy my Votto jersey......

[Don Quixote]

Bummer. Votto would have looked real nice like in Dodger blue next year.

Except that his current contract wouldn't have expired until after 2013.

[joncarlos]

Except that his current contract wouldn't have expired until after 2013.

Yeah but there was speculation that if the Reds didn't think they could sign him, they might not have wanted to pay him $17mil next year.

Amazing deal for Votto... is this the start of teams realizing that they can't spend on the draft or Latin America anymore, so they'd better spend it somewhere?

[phin]

i love this deal, because my favorite team is in the same division as cincy. the reds won't be able to re-sign phillips next year or be able to dole out big contracts to anyone for some time. unless they have a money tree i don't know about. basically they lock themselves out of being able to lock up big young talent long term. the reds will be crippled the last 3-4 years of this contract. here are my thoughts via twitter yesterday: as a #brewers fan i love seeing the reds tie up all that $ in #Votto. wish StL had done the same w Albert. have fun with that payroll cincy.

[Sharky]

Yeah but there was speculation that if the Reds didn't think they could sign him, they might not have wanted to pay him $17mil next year.

Amazing deal for Votto... is this the start of teams realizing that they can't spend on the draft or Latin America anymore, so they'd better spend it somewhere?

Doubt it. I think it's about risk/reward (1B deemed "safer" bets) and also TV revenue.

[Sharky]

NL only people rejoice - you've retained one

Agreed, Jason. But the reality is still pretty grim: Top 10 AL payrolls averaged $117m; Top 10 NL payrolls averaged $97m. 20% shortfall. AND the DH/no-DH disparity only exacerbates the situation. Would Detroit have rolled the dice on Prince Fielder without the ability to shunt him to DH?

Competitive balance is completely off.

[DMT]

Agreed, Jason. But the reality is still pretty grim: Top 10 AL payrolls averaged $117m; Top 10 NL payrolls averaged $97m. 20% shortfall. AND the DH/no-DH disparity only exacerbates the situation. Would Detroit have rolled the dice on Prince Fielder without the ability to shunt him to DH?

Competitive balance is completely off.

They talked about this awhile back in SI and it's completely accurate, no reason not to add a DH in the NL next year.

[Sharky]

They talked about this awhile back in SI and it's completely accurate, no reason not to add a DH in the NL next year.

Other than changing the character of the game.... Wish they could dump the DH in both leagues. Teams in the AL would never allow it though.

[jackmadden]

With a deal like this, do you think the Reds are banking on the NL getting the DH?

[Erik]

Teams in the AL would never allow it though.

Nor would the players' union.

[Erik]

With a deal like this, do you think the Reds are banking on the NL getting the DH?

I asked that of the Phils when they gave Howard his deal.

[Erik]

the reds will be crippled the last 3-4 years of this contract.

We have no way of knowing that. With a few exceptions, payrolls of today look nothing like they did 10 years ago. Payrolls 10 years from now may look nothing like they do today, especially with all these crazy TV deals being signed.

[chancellor]

i love this deal, because my favorite team is in the same division as cincy. the reds won't be able to re-sign phillips next year or be able to dole out big contracts to anyone for some time. unless they have a money tree i don't know about. basically they lock themselves out of being able to lock up big young talent long term. the reds will be crippled the last 3-4 years of this contract. here are my thoughts via twitter yesterday: as a #brewers fan i love seeing the reds tie up all that $ in #Votto. wish StL had done the same w Albert. have fun with that payroll cincy.

It's always good to get another Brewer fan on here...

Unfortunately, I don't think it'll hurt them much. Shoot, Milwaukee's in a smaller market, and we were at $90 mil last year and will be around $85 mil this year. That tells me that with smart management, the Reds could handle a $100 mil/year payroll in 2012 dollars.

[phin]

i would love to see the DH abolished from the game, but the player's association would never let it happen. it's much more likely that the DH will be applied to both leagues at some point; which is awful.