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.

After not getting enough playing time to trigger his option for next season, the Cincinnati Reds signed free agent Ramon Hernandez to a $3 million, one-year contract.

Hernandez was a solid part of the catching duo that the Reds fielded last year, as he split playing time with Ryan Hanigan to form one of the best catching combos in the game. Combined, they batted .296 and had an on-base percentage of .375.

On re-signing Hernandez for a second straight year, Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty said, “We wanted to provide our young pitching staff with some continuity. We felt all of our pitchers were comfortable pitching to Ramon.”

It’s a signing that makes sense, as the Reds system is low on catchers. This was evidenced by the call-up of Corky Miller for a portion of the 2010 season. It also speaks to the Reds opinion of the other available free agent catchers.

My only concern is about who gets the most playing time. Hanigan is coming along as the better of the two catchers, and 2011 is the time for him to get the bulk of the playing time. By 2012, Devin Mesoraco should be ready for his chance in the bigs.

Tony LaRussa Signs with St. Louis Cardinals.

Did you hear that? It was a huge, collective sigh of relief from fans of all Major League baseball teams outside of St. Louis, Missouri today. Tony LaRussa will not be taking his tired, team-hating antics anywhere else next year. No, LaRussa will remain a Cardinal.

The team announced the deal Monday and said it includes a mutual option for the 2012 season. Financial terms were not disclosed.

You might think it a little odd to bring back a manager who so clearly lost the ability to motivate his team to play good baseball at the end of the 2010 season. But apparently, that failure was all due to bullpen coach Marty Mason. He was fired today just as LaRussa’s rehiring was announced. Because the reason the Cardinals didn’t get first place was because their bullpen sucked. Right. I’m sure the rest of the National League Central will be quaking at the thought of whoever his replacement is.

Still, everyone with the possible exception of Cardinals fans should be very happy that LaRussa and the Cardinals won’t be much of a threat next year.

High off of making the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, the Cincinnati Reds wasted no time in taking care of manager Dusty Baker’s contract situation, awarding Baker with a 2-year extension.

Why 2 years? Apparently, like the majority of players, Baker’s a little superstitious. “I’ve had some of my best success on two-year contracts,” Baker said.

No financial details have leaked yet, but it’s likely he’ll have gotten a bit of a raise. Baker’s first contract was a 3-year deal reportedly worth $10 million. In those 3 years, the Reds improved a bit every year, going 74-88, 78-84, and finally 91-71 this year.

Despite the great improvement this year, Baker’s record with Cincinnati sits at just .500, 243-243. In his four years with the Chicago Cubs, he went 322-326, but then that team worsened every year as he seemed to lose control of the clubhouse and the respect of the players. Clearly, that’s not happening for the Reds. Not with quotes like this from Nick Masset.

“That’s awesome. I’m really excited for him,” said Masset, who Baker stuck with when he struggled early in the season. “He’s been such a huge asset for the team. He’s really someone we look up to and can confide in daily. He’s such a wonderful person to have around. He’s very family-oriented. He would do anything for us and we’d do the same for him. It definitely makes it a good atmosphere to be in when he’s around.”

So now that the question of Dusty Baker’s future is out of the way, let’s get to the playoffs.

When the Reds traded for utility man Willie Bloomquist earlier this week, they had to clear out a spot on the 40-man roster. Instead of moving Jim Edmonds to the 60-day disabled list, the Reds designated Enerio Del Rosario for assignment.

Today, Rosario’s fate was made known. The Reds traded him to the Houston Astros for “cash considerations.” I’m not exactly sure what that means. I guess the Astros will consider giving the Reds cash.

Rosario seemed serviceable as a reliever, although he had a problem of allowing most of his inherited runners to score. With the Reds pitching glut–how weird is that to say–he’s unlikely to be missed. And since he’s only 24, he could easily figure things out and become a solid contributor for Houston.