Yesterday, towards the end of the day, the Cincinnati Reds made their only move of the 2010 Winter Meetings. They re-signed Miguel Cairo to a 2-year deal.

The contract is 2 years for $2 million, so an average of a million dollars each year. The length of the contract is…odd. Cairo will be 37 next year, and 38 when he finishes the deal. I know he’s signed only as a backup infielder, but color me skeptical about the production he’s likely to put up by the end of things.

Cairo was a great bench guy last season, filling in admirably when Joey Votto was injured. But in many ways, it was a career year. He had an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .763. The only time in his career that he’s performed better as a hitter was way back in 2001 at age 27 when he put up a .782 mark. His not-out percantage (NOP) of 35.3% was the second-best of his career, too. Both were well above his career averages of .678 OPS and a a NOP of 31.7%. What I’m saying is that Cairo will play more like he has during his career, possibly a little worse, and expecting him to contribute offensively as he did in 2010 is not rational.

A one year deal would have been fine. Signing him to 2 years seems to me to be more of a risk than it’s worth, especially with the younger, cheaper players available in the farm system.

Lost in our posts about RedsFest was the fact that the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a contract extension with Bronson Arroyo.

The deal is for 3 years and $35 million, keeping Arroyo under contract through 2013. Earlier in the off-season, the Reds had picked up Arroyo’s $13 million option for 2011. This contract replaces that and adds on two more years. Also, John Fay has reported that a portion of the extension includes deferred money that will keep paying Arroyo until 2021.

Presumably, between the deferred money and the contract reworking, the Reds have shaved several million dollars off of payroll for next season. With the raises their arbitration-eligible players are set to receive, this will allow the club to meet their $80 million payroll target.

As for the extension, I was initially very skeptical about it. Of course, at first I misunderstood it’s details, assuming that a 3-year extension meant Arroyo had added 3 years to his the end of his current option. Finding out that it simply overwrites and replaces 2011 makes it better. A 3-year deal is always less risky than a 4-year deal, even with Arroyo’s spotless injury history.

Arroyo will be 34 starting next season, which means he’ll be 36 when this contract is up. Even with the Reds surplus of young pitching, I think this deal makes sense. All of the other starters are young and inexperienced. Given Arroyo’s track-record, I think it’s a reasonable expectation for him to maintain what he’s done next year, before dropping off a bit for the next couple years. By then, the young starters should be established and able to take on the veteran leadership for the next crop of pitchers.

Also, it does cement the Reds position of having what every major league baseball team desires and what I don’t believe the Cincinnati organization has ever had: a surplus of good, young starting pitching.

Here are my photos from RedsFest. It was a fun year, and the first time we’ve made it out for both days. I do hope they figure out ways to optimize lines next year, though. Either that or move to a bigger location, if Cincinnati even has one. Another year of success by the Reds, and the Duke Convention Center will be completely bursting at the seams. Saturday already seemed to present some safety issues.

Janish signing autographs.

Hanigan signing autographs.

The Reds Dream Room seems to be missing a certain MVP.

Votto signing for the kiddies.

Votto handing a kid his autographed item.

Ondrusek signs a jersey.

Maloney does his signing under the table.

Chris Welsh presenting Votto with the Ernie Lombardi award.

Brantley, Bruce, Hanigan, Volquez, Votto, and Welsh on the main stage. I thought I had a great shot until I got home and realized the odd face Joey was making. Kudos to everyone for arranging themselves in alphabetical order, though.

The Cincinnati Reds yesterday tendered contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players. That means Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Bill Bray, and Jared Burton will all be Reds again next year.

Somehow, I doubt anyone was worried Votto wouldn’t be back.

Actually, Bill Bray and Jared Burton were the only 2 of those 6 that I could see the Reds passing on. But retaining control over 2 players under 30 years old who have both been very successful relievers so recently is a good idea. Replacing them would cost too much, especially since predicting how good a middle reliever will be from year to year is such a crapshoot.

In addition to the contracts, the Reds are moving forward with long-term contracts for Bruce and Votto. Hopefully, the Colorado Rockies’ extension of Troy Tulowitzki for 7 years at $134 million won’t price either of them out of the Reds’ payroll. I’d love to have both spend the bulk of their careers as Reds.

The writers got it right! With 31 of 32 first-place votes, Joey Votto was awarded the Most Valuable Player award. Oh, and whoever didn’t vote for Votto might want to look out.

Votto led the Cincinnati Reds to their first division title and first playoff appearance since 1995. Coincidentally, the last time a Red won the MVP award was in 1995, when Barry Larkin did the heavy lifting for Cincinnati.

Lots of fans, myself included, had some apprehension that Votto might be snubbed, as he had been for the All Star vote. Thankfully, he wasn’t. Because there was no way for fans to vote him in later.

Enjoy this one Joey. And I’d love to see you and Jay Bruce battling each other for the award next year.