CCIINNCCIINNNNAATTII RREEDDSS PPRREESSSS CCLLIIPPPPIINNGGSS OCTOBER 6, 2014 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY: OCTOBER 6, 1995 – THE REDS BEAT THE DODGERS 10-1 TO SWEEP THE NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Robinson: Rose doesn't belong in Hall of Fame C. Trent Rosecrans Frank Robinson was Pete Rose's teammate with the Reds for three seasons, but the two-time Most Valuable Player doesn't want Rose to be his teammate in the Hall of Fame. For the 40th anniversary of Robinson becoming the first African-American hired as a manager in Major League Baseball history, ESPN interviewed Robinson for Sunday's "Outside the Lines." According to a release from the network, Robinson was asked about several topics, including Rose. When asked by Jeremy Schaap what baseball should do with Rose, Robinson answered: "Nothing. Lifetime ban means lifetime. Pete Rose broke a sacred rule in baseball by gambling on baseball and gambling on his own team. And one time I remember hearing him say that he wasn't aware of that rule, rule 21. It's right plastered in the clubhouse of every major league team, minor league team." Robinson also had a similar stance on Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez for their suspected drug use. When asked who is baseball's all-time home run king, Robinson said, "Hank Aaron. I don't think Hank Aaron had any help. He did it naturally. And I really don't think that Barry Bonds did it naturally. I can't sit here and say I have proof. I don't. But I have eyes. I played the game. I know what it takes to hit home runs." Robinson said Rodriguez's legacy is a "disgrace." The interview airs Sunday at 8 a.m. on ESPN2. Reds must decide the pitchers they can afford C. Trent Rosecrans As the Reds stand – and general manager Walt Jocketty has indicated things won't stand as they are – the Reds have their entire starting rotation under contract for the 2015. But it's the 2016 season where things get interesting – now only one of those starters, Homer Bailey, is under contract after next season. As the Reds approach 2015 and beyond, Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake and Alfredo Simon all enter their "walk" year, their last year before being eligible for free agency. Do the Reds hold tight, trade one or more of the starters or try to lock up one or more of them beyond 2015? It's one of the biggest questions facing Jocketty this offseason, even if it's not an unfamiliar one. A year ago, Bailey was in the same spot, but before he went to arbitration, the Reds signed him to a six-year deal, with an option for a seventh, worth $110 million. That deal will be the baseline for the team's negotiations going forward, with the remaining pitchers falling on either side of the Bailey line. One thing that will be tough, though, is a cry of poverty, especially after signing Bailey and Joey Votto. "I really hope we can find a way to keep everybody," Jocketty said recently. "We may not be able to do it. We've been very creative in the past with payroll. We're trying to retain the critical guys and try to add a little bit to it. I don't know what we're going to do yet. That's something we'll work on the next month or two." That'll be difficult, everyone realizes. "As much as I think we'd like to be able to keep every single guy and pay them what they deserve, it's impossible to do it here," Reds manager Bryan Price, the team's former pitching coach, said last week. "It feels like you're trying to pick your favorite guy – as good as these guys are, they're all at different levels. Some of them may be able to command a six, six-plus year top-level salary and maybe are more in what you'd consider the affordable range. It doesn't look good when you're not trying to sign your best players, and you can't sign them all. It's impossible to keep them all. That being said, I'm sure every effort will be made. Sometimes the players have to cooperate too, and that's hard to ask them, to be in the prime of their career and make it workable for both sides." Here's a look at the four Reds starters, who along with Bailey, are pencilled in to the 2015 rotation. Johnny Cueto 2014 Record: 20-9, 2.25 ERA, 34 games started Career Record: 85-57, 3.27, 194 games started 2015 contract status: Reds hold a $10 million option for Cueto Cueto has become the best homegrown Reds pitcher since Mario Soto and could be in the conversation among its best ever. But coming off one of the greatest pitching seasons in team history, the 28-year-old has as much value as he'll ever have on the trade market. After becoming the first Reds 20-game winner in 26 years on Sunday, Cueto was asked if he wanted to sign long-term, and he didn't hesitate. "Yes. I feel good here. I like it here," Cueto said according to Tomas Vera, the Reds assistant athletic trainer who served as his interpreter. "I like the fans. I like the stadium, even though the stadium is small, I like this stadium. I pitch good here. I want to stay here, yes." Cueto signed a four-year, $27-million extension with the $10 million option for 2015 before the 2011 season. That contract bought out all three of his arbitration years, plus the first two of his free agent years. That contract turned out to be a bargain – something that seems unlikely for his next contract. For now, Cueto said on Sunday, he's just concerned about 2015, not 2014. "That's not my decision," Cueto said about contract talks according to Vera. "That's the GM's decision – what he does or what they do. All I have to do is continue working, come back to spring training and do my job and continue doing what I've been doing. And let them make decisions about it." Mat Latos 2014 Record: 5-5, 3.25 ERA, 16 games started Career Record: 60-45, 3.34 ERA, 153 games started 2015 contract: Arbitration eligible, made $7.25 million in the second year of a two-year contract in 2014 The last Reds player to actually see the arbitration process through was Chris Reitsma in 2004, but in 2013 they were in the room when they struck a two-year deal with Latos to avoid arbitration in 2013 and 2014. That left 2015, Latos' third year of arbitration, which is still coming up. That left Latos with the option of free agency after this season, the first year for Latos, who will turn 27 in December. The right-hander started the 2014 season on the disabled list and didn't pitch after Sept. 7 with a bone bruise in his right elbow, limiting him to just 16 starts in 2014. Latos is one of the few players who knows what it's like to be traded – even after being assured he wouldn't be traded. The Reds brought him to Cincinnati in a trade with the Padres in December of 2011. Latos said he's been through that, and doesn't want to go through it again. "I'd like to be here. I've expressed that numerous times. I think of everyone who is on this pitching staff – and not to take a shot at anybody, but of anyone on this pitching staff, I've been the one that's made it known that I'd like to stay here," Latos said. "But, then again, I don't pull the strings around here, so I can't really say whether or not they're taking any of that into consideration or anything at all." Latos and his wife, Dallas, bought a house in Cincinnati and live here during the winter – no small feat for the couple who are from warmed climates. However, Latos said buying the house wasn't symbolic, it was more practical. "We didn't buy a house out here to say we wanted to be here full-term. We bought a house here because it made sense," Latos said. "I had a couple of years that we knew we were going to be here, so why not get a house and get situated and be established and start a family? I'm fine with it. I'm fine if I'm traded. I don't necessarily want it, but if I get traded, it's a business and I understand." Mat and Dallas Latos started a family this year, with their son, Landon Marshall Latos, who was born here in August. Latos said he'd love for his family to stay in Cincinnati, because he's grateful to be a part of the larger Reds family. "The Castellinis here have been great to me and Dallas. I'd say more than great," Latos said recently. "From Day 1, there aren't words to put how generous and how nice and kind they've been to myself and my wife. I can't think of a better way to show appreciation back than to go out and fight for him every fifth day when I can. Like I said, when it comes down to it, if I get traded, I get traded.