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Bye, bye, Barry? Cincy wants Larkin, but not at his price
DETROIT (AP) -- Barry Larkin, an 11-time All-Star shortstop, says the Cincinnati Reds have told him they no longer want to sign him to another contract. That raises the possibility Larkin could be traded within days. Otherwise, he will become a free agent after the season. The Reds said, however, that they want to keep Larkin, but cannot afford him at the $27.9 million he wants for the next three years. "We would like for him to become one of the few players of his stature to play his entire career with one team," John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer, said Wednesday. "However, Barry and his agent have demanded a three-year contract worth $27.9 million, and they will not negotiate from that figure. At a meeting in Detroit on Monday, I personally told Barry that the organization will not sign him to a three-year contract worth $27.9 million. "I did not tell Barry that we were not interested in keeping him in Cincinnati. I simply informed him that we were not able to sign him for the amount of money he has demanded," Allen said. The Reds have reportedly offered Larkin a multiyear deal worth $6 million annually. Allen did not reveal the offer. Larkin said of his conversation with Allen: "He just told me I would either be traded or become a free agent."
Larkin, 36, has played all of his 14 years in the major leagues in Cincinnati, his hometown. He has said he would like to finish his career with the Reds. "It's an emotional thing," he said. "But I'm a professional. You have to play the game, man. I just have to do my job and play as hard as I can to represent myself and do what I do." He and his agent, Eric Goldschmidt, had been stuck for weeks in their negotiations with the Reds. Larkin is at the end of a contract that pays him $5.3 million this season. He signed that contract after his 1995 most valuable player season, at lower salaries than he could have received on the free agent market. Larkin's veteran status would allow him to veto a trade, if one is proposed. Teammates said they can't imagine the Reds without Larkin, the captain who played for Cincinnati's 1990 World Series championship club. Dmitri Young said the Reds should find the money to re-sign Larkin. "He's Mr. Cincinnati. That takes away from the purity of a guy staying with one team his whole career," Young said. "I don't know if you could ever imagine Barry Larkin out of a Reds uniform," reliever Danny Graves said. "It's going to feel weird not to have him in the clubhouse and on the field with us. The Reds on Tuesday let go of another member of their 1990 championship team, sending backup first baseman Hal Morris to the Detroit Tigers for cash. Last week, the Reds gave up trying to re-sign pitcher Denny Neagle, who becomes a free agent after the season. He was traded to the New York Yankees for four minor leaguers.
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