Reds Should Heed Ablert Pujols Situation as They Prepare for Future Talks with Joey Votto

While the St. Louis Cardinals and their legendary slugger, first baseman Albert Pujols, have spent the winter wrangling over a possible contract extension, the Cincinnati Reds have somewhat quietly spent the cold months locking up their young players to long-term deals. However, the centerpiece of their 2010 division-winning team is indisputably first baseman Joey Votto, and while he got his own three-year extension in January, it was really just window dressing. Votto's new deal only bought out his remaining arbitration years and did little to address his long-term future with the team. As the Pujols situation comes to a head, it's likely the Reds can learn something from their cross-division rivals as Cincinnati gears up for the looming negotiations with Votto.

On the surface, it seemed a sure bet that Pujols and the Cardinals would quickly come to terms on a pact that would let the slugger finish his career in St. Louis, at least early on in the talks. It's become apparent, though, that Pujols wants to land the most lucrative contract in the history of the game, probably in the neighborhood of $300 million over ten years, which is a lot of scratch and a lot of years for someone who is 31 years old, legend or not. The Cards don't really want to commit to that kind of time period at that level of compensation, but they don't want to see their franchise face walk away, either. With Pujols on the cusp of joining some big number clubs (500 homers, for example), the team will take a big PR hit if they lose him now. In retrospect, it seems that they may have been better off to trade him a couple of seasons ago if they thought that an extension would be an issue.

Which is nearly exactly the situation the Reds are in now. It's long been thought that Cincy couldn't re-sign Votto long-term, and his MVP award last year doesn't really seem to make that any more likely now. Votto may not command quite as much as Pujols is asking for, as Votto only has 90 career dingers at this point, and he's not going to get to 400+ (like Albert) in the next three years. Votto will be a year younger, at 30, than Pujols is now, but that's if you believe that Pujols was actually born in 1980, and there are plenty of folks around baseball who don't. All in all, though, Votto is going to be in line for a huge payday, and, even with the looser purse strings on the Riverfront, it's hard to see the Reds ponying up. And they probably shouldn't drop large coin on a really long-term deal, because their market is small enough that they need to maintain financial flexibility, regardless of how good things look at any particular moment in time.

If the Reds feel that, in the end, there is a better than even chance that they can't or won't meet Votto's eventual demands, then they should trade him as early as possible (meaning as soon as they're out of contention and can find a good deal). If, however, the Pujols talks play out more in favor of the team than the player or if Votto backslides somewhat, then maybe there is a chance that he can stay in Cincinnati over the long haul. Whatever the case, Reds management should be looking at all of the available information so that they're not in the same impossible predicament that the Cardinals face now when Votto's up in 2013.