Wednesday, December 08, 1999
It's official: Vaughn is gone
Reds offer arbitration to Guzman
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Left fielder Greg Vaughn's all-but-official status as a former Red became definite Tuesday when the team declined to offer him salary arbitration.
The Reds did offer arbitration to Vaughn's fellow free agent, right-hander Juan Guzman, positioning themselves to receive two extra early-round selections in next June's amateur draft.
Cincinnati General Manager Jim Bowden said the draft-choice compensation rules forced the team to extend arbitration to just one player. If another team signs Guzman, the Reds will receive a first- or second-round selection (depending on the 1999 finish of the signing club) and an additional choice between the first two rounds.
Offering Vaughn arbitration could have given Cincinnati as many as five first-round draft picks next year, obliging them to pay close to $10 million in signing bonuses, a staggering figure.
The Reds don't intend to re-sign Vaughn, who is believed to want a multiyear contract worth between $8 million-$10 million annually. By refusing Vaughn arbitration, they severed their last practical ties with him, since they can't negotiate with him until April 30.
Bowden said he was “confident” that Vaughn would have been awarded a one-year contract worth $10 million or more had he received and accepted an arbitration offer.
“We would not be able to pay or (trade) his contract at that figure,” Bowden said. “There was too much risk involved.”
The Reds faced less risk with Guzman. “We feel he would get less money in arbitration than on the open market,” Bowden said. “We also felt confident that if he were to accept arbitration and agree to a one-year contract, he would be a very tradeable product.”
Guzman's agent, Tony Attanasio, doubted that his client will accept arbitration: “I could never preclude anything, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Juan.”
The Reds also declined to offer arbitration to pitchers Steve Avery and Mark Wohlers, making them ex-Reds.
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