This past weekend, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America held their annual gala to honor the best baseball players of the previous season. Joey Votto and Reds fan BubbaFan were there.

I’d never heard of this awards celebration, but then, that might be because the Reds have been out of the realm of “good” for so long, let alone this strange, uncharted territory of “great” that they seem to be flirting with. Votto was introduced to the black-tie optional crowd by Barry Larkin. Votto then stepped up to the podium.

“I’d especially like to thank [writer] Joe Strauss from St. Louis, who didn’t vote for me,” Votto quipped. “Guess who he voted for? As if Albert [Pujols] didn’t have enough MVP Awards already.”

Ah, Joey. How awesome you are.

BubbaFan was able to capture a few photos of Votto in his tuxedo. As someone who recently purchased his first tuxedo, Votto’s is nice-looking. I love that he’s wearing a bow-tie. It’s a touch big, though, and makes him look a bit like a boy at a wedding. Check out the rest of the photos over at RedReporter.

The Cincinnati Reds have avoided arbitration with right-hander Johnny Cueto by signing him to a four-year, $27 million contract. This deal will take care of Cueto’s contract situation for all of his arbitration years plus one year of free agency.

It’s the deal that we wanted for Joey Votto, though I’m pretty darn happy to have it for Cueto as well.

Maybe the most surprising part of all is that it is announced on Reds.com the same day that it appeared in other news media:

Cueto and the Reds have reached agreement on a four-year, $27 million contract extension, according to a report on ESPNDeportes.com on Thursday night. The Reds did not immediately confirm the report, which said the agreement is pending a physical examination.

It’s an exciting time for the team. They’ve been growing these players for ever-so-long, and now we’re getting to enjoy the fruits of their labor as all these pieces come together at the same time. Could be a helluva year.

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).