NEWSLETTER
Found a home and is going back home.
If it wasn’t going to be a return to the Cincinnati Reds, who did everything but send out a skywriter saying it wouldn’t happen, it only makes sense that Joey Votto would land with his hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Although the Reds are the only organization he’s ever known, Votto is originally from Toronto. So this is a pretty cool moment:
Votto, 40, was still raking for the Reds in 2021, but the last two years have been marred by shoulder troubles, and he hit just .204/.317/.394/95 wRC+ across 156 games.
But he is, to me, one of the most interesting and entertaining players in professional baseball, and I just wanted the opportunity to see him do his thing one more year. Be fun. Be funny. Maybe hit a few baseballs along the way.
The Blue Jays do have a crowded positional group, but you could at least make an argument that Votto is a fit as a lefty bat to work in periodically off the bench at first base and DH. I wouldn’t say he’s a lock to make the Opening Day roster, but I’m sure the hometown thing gives him a slight edge if everything else is equal.
Earlier today, we noted that Votto has been saying he’s finally completely healthy after trying to sort out some shoulder issues. And he admits he might be toast anyway. But he just wanted the chance to see if he could still do it, and maybe even be pretty good again once he was past the shoulder issue. I hope the Blue Jays really give him that shot.
For his part, here’s what Votto had to say:
That is a reference to how desperate he’d gotten earlier in the offseason, jokingly threatening in a video that he wouldn’t put away shopping carts into the corral until he signed. I like that guy so much.
