Reds Might Shop Joey Votto and Other Bullets

As usual, there will be plenty of Theo Epstein-related content later this morning, but, to break up the string of purple shirt-related rumors, how about some non-GM bullets?

  • MLBTradeRumors reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings from which Type A/B free agency status is determined, and have concluded that both Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena will be Type B free agents – the latter just squeaking in, and the former falling just short of Type A (which is a bummer). What that means is that, if the Cubs offer the two arbitration and they decline, opting instead to sign elsewhere, the Cubs will get a draft pick as compensation, which pick would fall in the supplemental first round (between first and second rounds). Ramirez has said he won’t come back to the Cubs on his $16 million option, so he won’t accept arbitration, either. Thus, the Cubs can offer him arbitration with no risk. Pena is a sightly different story, as he’s said he wants to return to the Cubs, and might not have the option of a multiyear deal elsewhere. If the Cubs don’t want to risk Pena accepting arbitration (and getting $10 or $11 million next year), they might have to forego compensation. On the other hand, the Cubs might want Pena to return next year anyway.
  • Speaking of first base next year, according to multiple sources, the Reds are willing to listen to offers on Joey Votto, presumably because of his increasing salary and the prense of Yonder Alonso. Votto, 28, is scheduled to make $9.5 million in 2012 and $17 million in 2013 (and we thought Jim Hendry was all about backloading contracts – yowsa), and is one of the premier first baseman in baseball. Obviously the Cubs would be interested, but (1) I question whether the Cubs have sufficient high-level prospects to land a guy like Votto right now, and (2) I question whether the Reds would even consider dealing Votto within the NL Central.
  • Zack Greinke says Chris Carpenter is “phony,” and says a lot of players on the Brewers don’t like him. In related news, Zack Greine recently purchased a target-shaped tattoo for his back. Just above the butterfly.
  • Josh Vitters had another big game this weekend in the AFL, and his OPS is over 1.000. But, while it’s nice to see him hitting well, we’ll have to keep in mind that offense is always elevated in Arizona, and the sample sizes are extremely small. Andrew Cashner made his debut on Saturday, and threw a scoreless inning … in relief.
  • Former Cub Doug Glanville with a nice read on what it’s like to be eliminated from the playoffs.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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