The Cincinnati Reds agreed to a new contract with first baseman Joey Votto on Sunday, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

The new three-year deal does not lock up the reigning N.L. MVP similar to the one the Reds struck with right fielder Jay Bruce earlier this offseason to lock up the young slugger for the next seven seasons.

Nor is the deal comparable to the one that the Rockies just inked with Carlos Gonzalez, who finished second in this year’s MVP race and like Votto is considered one of the game’s young stars.

What the $38 million deal does do for the Reds is that it keeps them from having to go to the arbitration table with Votto over the next three seasons.  Under this new agreement Votto would be due to become a free agent after the 2013 season, the same year he would have been without the agreement.

Votto has been reluctant to commit to anything beyond the five-year time frame.  If the Reds are going to keep him they will have to pay top dollar and compete with the big market teams and budgets to retain their superstar.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, joey votto, 2010 mlb offseason