Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds Agree to 10-Year/$225 Million Extension

Joey Votto saw all the fun Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols were having this offseason and decided to get in on the action.  Yesterday the Cincinnati Reds announced a 10-year/$225 million extension with Votto, locking up the former MVP through the 2023 season.  Votto’s new deal is on top of the three-year/$38 million extension he signed last offseason.

Votto becomes the fourth player to ink a $200 million contract, joining the aforementioned Fielder and Pujols as well as Alex Rodriguez, who actually signed two such contracts.  However, Votto is a bit different from the others as he was not a free agent when he reached his agreement with the Reds.  This makes his contract the largest signed by a non-free agent in baseball history.

It’s hard to argue any one baseball player warrants a $200 million-plus contract, but it’s also hard to argue that Votto doesn’t deserve to be paid as one of the game’s best.

After having his cup of coffee with the Reds in 2007, Votto’s official rookie campaign took place in ’08.  He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting after posting an OPS of .874 over his 526 at-bats.  Votto has now posted OPS’s north of .945 in each of his past three seasons, including his MVP-winning season of 2010 in which he hit at a clip of .324/.424/.600.

Over his five seasons with the Reds, Votto has maintained a line of .313/.405/.550.  The first baseman has averaged over 28 home runs, 36 doubles and 96 RBI’s per season since 2008.

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