Now that the Cincinnati Reds have signed all of their arbitration-eligible players and are done on the free agent market, we’re in for a lack of real news until pitchers and catchers report in a couple weeks. But there is one major item I’m sure everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear more about. Will the Reds sign Jason Isringhausen again?

There’s not much news since yesterday when I reported Isringhausen would be throwing for the Reds in Arizona. Mark Sheldon did get comments from pitching coach Bryan Price and general manager Walt Jocketty.

“He threw the ball fine, well enough to feel optimistic that with a Spring Training to build his arm strength, he could get back to being productive again,” Price said. “That is if he can stay healthy, which is a top concern for anybody coming off an arm injury.”

Even with that, the Reds didn’t seem ecstatic about signing him.

“We’re not sure if we will pursue it or not,” said Reds general manager Walt Jocketty. “We’ll discuss it in the next few days. We have quite a bit of right-handed pitching.”

We’ll see if they make the decision, but I am doubtful at this point. I’m afraid Izzy may be done.

About half a year since they last signed him, the Cincinnati Reds are letting Jason Isringhausen try out for the team again.

Mark Sheldon had a quote from general manager Walt Jocketty on the tryout.

“He’s contacted me and said he was healthy again and wanted to throw for us,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said on Sunday during a Reds Caravan stop. “He’ll throw for [pitching coach] Bryan Price on Monday in Goodyear and we’ll see how he throws and how healthy he is.”

I have to think that Izzy is getting the chance simply because of Jocketty’s experience with him with the St. Louis Cardinals. There’s not really any other reason to explain this. I mean, the Reds are faced with a very crowded pitching staff, and I doubt that a 38-year-old guy who hasn’t had success in the majors since 2007 is going to be able to break through.

In a move that will no doubt not be officially announced for another week or two, the Cincinnati Reds have signed their last arbitration-eligible player to a contract. Edinson Volquez has signed what is believed to be a $1.6 million, one-year deal.

General manager Walt Jocketty had been attempting to sign Volquez to a multi-year deal, but was unsuccessful.

“We’ll see if they’re up for doing more later,” Jocketty said Sunday from a Reds Caravan stop in Lexington. “We tried to do a multiyear deal. They just wanted to concentrate on the one year now. [Volquez’s agent] had a few cases and wanted to get the arbitration thing out of the way.”

I think that the Reds escaped an unnecessary risk here. Given Volquez’s recent Tommy John surgery, I’m not sure how wise it would be to sign him to a long-term contract. Let him prove he can be healthy for more than a year, first.

The signing means the Reds will not have to tear down Volquez in front of an arbiter, and he won’t have to hear such things as, “You and Johnny Cueto have hairstyles that are too similar.”

Some former Cincinnati Reds made the transaction news today, one of them more thankfully former than the rest.

First off, the replaceable Willy Taveras should give his agent a raise. Taveras signed with the Colorado Rockies today. Sure it’s only for a minor league deal, but Taveras has not been productive in the majors for a long time, despite his young age of 29. This marks Taveras’ fifth organization since being a blocker on the Reds in 2009, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and the Washington Nationals.

Next up, Micah Owings, a player the Reds never figured out exactly what to do with, returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Owings signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks and received an invite to Spring Training. Arizona plans to use him as a pitcher and as a power bat off the bench. I still can’t help but feel that Owings would be better off focusing on hitting. He has so much power.

Lastly, the one and only Todd Coffey sprinted from somewhere to the nation’s capital to sign with the Washington Nationals. Coffey’s deal with the Nationals is the only one of the bunch that’s a major league deal. Coffey will apparently get a chance to compete for the closer’s role. I wish the big guy the best of luck. As goofy as his sprint was, seeing it always brought a smile to my face.

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.