Arguably the biggest off-season splash in the history of the Cincinnati Reds organization came when they acquired CF Ken Griffey Jr. in a trade with Seattle shortly before the start of the 2000 season. But that won't be the case for much longer. 1B Joey Votto has told reporters that he is close to signing a ten-year, $225 million extension with the team.
If true and the numbers are correct, this would be the fourth largest deal in MLB history, not adjusted for inflation. And the 28-year-old Votto will be the third first baseman to sign a $200-million contract in the past four months, joining 1B Albert Pujols of the Angels and 1B Prince Fielder of Detroit. Before this off-season, the only player to ever crack the $200 million mark was IF Alex Rodriguez, who did so twice, once as a shortstop with Texas in 2001 and a second time as a third baseman with the Yankees in 2007.
Just for reference, Votto was already set to make $9.5 million this season and $17 million in 2013. Also, by opting to build around Votto, this probably means that 2B Brandon Phillips will not be retained by Cincinnati when he becomes a free agent at the end of this season. The 30-year-old Phillips will more likely get a three-year contract in the off-season, most likely somewhere outside of Cincinnati.
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