Joey Votto to Join Hometown Blue Jays
Toronto, CA (PSF) — Joey Votto will be joining his hometown team for his 18th MLB season.
On Friday, ESPN’s Buster Olney broke the news of Votto’s agreement with the Blue Jays, a minor-league deal with an invite to major league camp.
Votto, 40, will compete for a spot on the Blue Jays’ roster, likely for reps at the DH spot. With Justin Turner having joined the Blue Jays this year as well, and full-time DH Daniel Vogelbach raking this spring, the fit is slightly unclear. However, the Blue Jays need a power left-handed bat in a heavy right-handed hitting lineup, and Votto should be able to provide that if he performs well enough to make the team.
Votto has accumulated many accolades in his storied career with the Cincinnati Reds. He is a 6-time All-Star, a 1-time Gold Glover, and was the 2010 National League MVP. He is one of the Reds’ best players in franchise history, and was treated as such.
Although Votto struggled the past two seasons, he attributed a large portion of that to his subpar bat. As recently as 2021, he posted 36 home runs on a .266/.375/.563 slash line with a 139 OPS+ (100 = league average).
For his career, he owns a .294/.409/.511 slash line with 356 home runs and 1,144 runs batted in over 8,746 plate appearances. He has a career 144 OPS+ (44% better than the league average), and has accumulated 64.4 wins above replacement in his career.
What hasn’t come as easily for Votto has been the playoff success. He has only made the playoffs 4 times and holds a .244/.319/.244 slash line without a home run. With the Blue Jays, he’ll look to compete to make a Blue Jays roster that is primed to contend for at the minimum, an American League Wild Card Spot this year. If Votto bounces back and can provide good value at the DH spot, it will immensely help the Blue Jays’ offense.
Votto making the team and becoming a positive contributor for his hometown Blue Jays would be a storybook chapter in Votto’s fantastic MLB career.
