Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for this:
Adam Dunn and Reds CEO Bob Castellini had lunch Wednesday at Castellini's downtown office.No, Dunn's option for next year was not discussed. And there was no talk of an extension.
"It was nothing," Dunn said. "It was lunch. I've been wanting to talk to him. Really, it was a harmless lunch."
Whether the Reds pick up Dunn's $13 million contract option is one of the biggest questions of the offseason. But Dunn said that was not what the lunch was about.
Dunn is almost certainly lying out of his teeth here, which is fine. You certainly can't expect him to talk about his contract until something is finalized.
It's great that Castellini is accessible to the players. It's really difficult to picture Old Man Lindner sitting down with a Reds player.
It's starting to feel like a foregone conclusion that the Reds will pick up Adam Dunn's option, which I'm thankful for, but I think it's important to remember that the Reds really should be talking extension with Dunn now, while there's still plenty of time. Getting him locked up through his age 32 (or so) season for anywhere from $11-$14 million per year would be a great deal. I love thinking about a Dunn/Bruce/Hamilton outfield in a couple of years, so hopefully we'll actually get to see it happen.