The deadline is midnight for Rich Aurilia to let the Reds know whether he’ll accept their offer of arbitration, and I haven’t heard anything yet. As of earlier this evening, neither had Marc Lancaster.
Here’s hoping that Aurilia declines arbitration. That would mean that the Reds would get a draft pick if and when someone else signs him.
UPDATE: Never mind. Aurilia declined arbitration, as had been widely speculated:
Free agent infielder Rich Aurilia declined the Reds’ offer of arbitration near Monday night’s deadline, but his agent said talks about a new contract would continue with the club.
“The offer and decline of arbitration was pretty much pre-ordained to continue the process,” agent Barry Axelrod said. “We just wanted to give ourselves more time [to negotiate].”
If Cincinnati can’t reach an agreement on a deal before the Jan. 8 deadline, it can’t sign Aurilia again until May 1 — which would effectively end any chance of retaining him.
I hope he goes elsewhere, frankly.
I just can’t imagine that Aurilia thinks coming back to Cincinnati is a good idea. 2005 was mostly frustrating for him, and 2006 will feature the same cast of characters PLUS Tony Womack. Why even think about it?
I think the trade for Womack pretty much means that Aurilia will not be back no matter how much or how long negotiations are said to be ongoing. I’m not a big Aurilia fan, but like Bill, I’d rather have him than Womack.
Womack makes no sense to me.