Bill Bray is the latest arbitration-eligible Red to sign a contract with a team without the dreaded hearings. Bray signed a one-year contract for $645,000.

Bray may be best known for how he came to the Reds, as a piece of the infamous Trade that general manager Wayne Krivsky pulled in 2006. All the other players received have long since departed, leaving Bray with the dubious distinction as the last man standing.

Bray joins Jay Bruce (story), Jared Burton (story), and Joey Votto (story) as arbitration-eligible players the Cincinnati Reds have signed this off-season. That leaves just two players for the Reds to sign: Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez.

Numbers were to be exchanged today, so it’s likely we’ll be hearing how far apart the players and the teams are soon.

Joey Votto apparently is healthy and was able to pass his physical today, so the Cincinnati Reds made official their 3-year, $38 million deal with him.

Unlike the Edgar Renteria signing, Votto’s managed to be completed just one day after leaking onto the internets. That’s 3 days faster!

The deal covers all of Votto’s arbitration years, but surprisingly does not include any free agent years. Typically, at least one free agent year is included in deals like this. The Jay Bruce deal includes multiple free agent years. Votto would have been with the Reds anyway during that time, but signing a deal allows him to escape the arbitration years and make much closer to market-value each year, even if he has an off one. But what’s in it for the Reds? The only thing I’ve seen mentioned is the certainty of knowing how much Votto will actually cost. You know, to make the accountant’s math easier. As Mark Sheldon writes, “Cincinnati is getting the benefit of cost certainty for a key player whose price tag could really escalate if he backs up his MVP season with another spectacular year in ’11.”

The Reds will save some money over the course of the deal, assuming Votto continues his MVP-caliber ways. The details of how the $38 million is divided among the three years is yet to be divulged.

The MLB.com headline is “Reds reward MVP Votto with three-year deal.” Apparently the folks at MLB forgot that, though Votto sometimes plays like a seasoned veteran, due to the free agency rules, Votto was going to be in Cincinnati for the next three years regardless.

The only question left was how much he was going to make for those years, and that question has been answered:

The Reds on Sunday agreed to terms on a three-year, $38 million contract with first baseman and National League Most Valuable Player Joey Votto, baseball sources told MLB.com.

There is surely more analysis to come, such as whether the Reds or Votto got a bargain (the Red Hot Household is split on the issue) and whether the length of the deal is adequate (everyone but Votto probably would have liked another year).

What with the Zeldink jumping in to help with the posting while I complete my MBA (which will be done before the season is, btw) and the general lack of stuff to talk about lately, I find that’s I’m quite rusty when it comes to writing original content. So, this morning, I’m recording the conglomeration of baseball-related musings that have wandered through my mind in the last 24 hours, to shake off some of the dust, if for no other reason.

So here goes. I wonder when the Reds will have a team captain again. When I began following the team in 2000, Barry Larkin was in full effect, but I didn’t have any basis for comparison to recognize what made him exceptional. For all I knew, all teams had captains all the time. Hell, maybe more than one at a time. What did I know?

It probably won’t be too soon, though. John Fay reported (and this is probably what got me thinking of the topic in the first place) that Bronson Arroyo is the most tenured guy on the team, followed closely by Brandon Phillips. Both of whom certainly do their part, but still don’t exactly fit that leader-y mold. And when your most tenured player has only been around since 2006, that’s not exactly legacy, you know?

But that’s OK. This has been a period of change for the team, and it’s been a much needed one. It’s only been since last year that an objective observer would call the team “good.”

Of course, that’s largely due to one dude, who may in fact be the most likely captain candidate. Joey Votto has a lot of the qualities, but he isn’t ready yet. It’s still unclear whether he’s going to take the Star path and develop himself to his greatest potential or the Leader path and expand his focus to the people around him. Plus, there’s the whole issue of him not being willing to commit to the team for the long-haul. No one wants a captain who bails in his first free agent year.

One thing I find surprising (and a little scary, for reasons that will become apparent in a moment) about Votto is that he’s not particularly young for his breakout performance. Maybe that’s because the big league team ignored his obvious talent and didn’t bring him up early enough, but it seems to me that it’s because his accomplishments are due not to phenomenal inborn talent, but to mega-intense focus and determination.

That kind of force of will applied to the leadership of the team could be something stunning to see, if he goes that way. It seems more likely at this point that that force of will will be turned back in on himself, forging his mettle in the fires of resoluteness and skirting the border of narcissism.

But surely I’m getting a little melodramatic for a Saturday morning. This kind of conversation is more suited for the wee hours of the night, debating the nature of the universe over glasses of Red wine. Maybe that’s what I’ll do tonight.

Though the parade of announcers that marches through and between the Reds’ radio and television booths has enough people to throw candy to each individual child of parade-going age in the greater Cincinnati area, the quality of announcing is actually pretty darn good. And today it’s made even better by those eleven little words every girl wants to hear: Paul Keels will not be returning to the Reds broadcast booth.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – While FOX Sports Ohio prepares for what will surely be another thrilling season of Cincinnati Reds baseball, the network is excited to announce its 2011 Reds broadcast team.

Thom Brennaman will return for his fifth season to serve as the main play by play voice for the majority of FOX Sports Ohio Reds telecasts.

Chris Welsh, entering his 19th season with FOX Sports Ohio, will once again be the lead color analyst for the network’s Reds telecasts. Also returning to the booth throughout the season will be color analyst Jeff Brantley (fifth season.)

FOX Sports Ohio is excited to welcome former Red Sean Casey to the broadcast team. The former Reds first baseman (1998-2005) joined the MLB Network as color commentator upon his retirement in 2009. Fans can look forward to Casey calling approximately 15 Reds games this season.

Following his first full season as play by play announcer on Reds Radio, Jim Kelch will be taking on an expanded play by play role this season for FOX Sports Ohio. Before joining the Reds Radio team in 2010, Kelch had been the play by play voice for Class AAA Louisville baseball since 1989. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, he filled in on FOX Sports Ohio Reds telecasts. While taking on this greater TV role, he will maintain his responsibilities on radio.

Paul Keels will not be returning to the Reds broadcast booth this season due to his commitment to Ohio State athletics. FOX Sports Ohio wishes Paul all the best as he tends to his responsibilities as the main play by play voice for Ohio State basketball and football.

George Grande continues to enjoy his retirement. However, when the need arises, he has volunteered to return to the broadcast booth, and fans can expect to hear him on a select number of games.

Jim Day and Jeff Piecoro will both continue in their roles as co-hosts of Reds Live pre- and postgame shows.