Votto for Bautista? Think Before You Laugh

I think it's safe to say Cincinnati Enquirer Reds beat writer John Fay stirred up Red Leg Nation with this post Monday.  As faithful reader to this blog, The Dean, put it about Fay, "he lost cool points with the organization."  As the Reds currently are no threat to make the playoffs, let's delve into this Joey Votto for Jose Bautista rumor.  Before any of you laugh it off, think about it, this deal makes sense for both teams.

As Fay points out, the Reds would get a true clean-up hitter (.324 BA, 31 HR, 71 RBI this year after the All-Star hit .260, 54 HR, 124 RBI in 2010) who is under contract through 2016 at $14 million per year.  One who can play the outfield and 3rd base (in case Scott Rolen needs a day off or becomes ineffective).  It also allows the Reds to insert Yonder Alonso at his natural position, 1st base.  Alonso's numbers in the minors don't mirror Votto's, but they're close and everyone in the organization believes Alonso can hit.  Meanwhile Votto is only under contract through 2013 and could command high dollars that the Reds can't match on the open market.  Sending the reigning NL MVP to his hometown of Toronto gives the Blue Jays a home grown face of the franchise they can build around with they're young core and one the team can promote to sell tickets.

Now, of course, the PR hit the Reds would take for making this deal would be SEVERE!  Votto is the best player on the team and currently ranks 4th all-time in batting average (.315), 2nd in on-base percentage (.406), 2nd in slugging (.549), and 1st in on-base plus slugging OPS (.955).  Plus he was just named NL Player of the Week (.385 AVG, 4 HR, 9 RBI).  In short, Votto is trending toward being a future member of the Reds Hall of Fame if he stays with the team long-term.

Speaking of the hall, you can vote for the Reds class of 2012 here.  Voting runs through August 31st.  To me, if you look at the numbers, the only true deserving candidates are Sean Casey, Danny Graves and John Franco.  Casey ranks in the top 20 all-time in most offensive categories, not to mention he's still one of the most popular Reds in recent history.  Graves spent 9 years with the team and is the franchise's all-time leader in saves with 182.  Franco is 2nd with 138, plus his ERA ranks 6th at 2.49.   Happy voting!