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.