The newest Toronto Blue Jay, Joey Votto, reports to spring camp Saturday and he believes his surgically repaired shoulder is healthy enough for him to contribute to his hometown team.
“I feel excellent. I am pain-free. It is a joy,” Votto said to The Athletic in a text message Friday afternoon. “I think I can still bang.”
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Votto, 40, agreed to a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Friday. He said he will report to camp Saturday. Votto said he expects to start the season in the minor leagues and earn his way onto the big-league roster.
“I am grateful that I am in tryout mode right now,” Votto wrote. “This reminds me of when I was 18, flying down to Sarasota, Florida, to showcase and develop my skills as a new Cincinnati Red.”
The Reds drafted Votto out of Toronto’s Richview Collegiate Institute in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft. Votto debuted in 2007, won the National League Most Valuable Player in 2010 and amassed a Hall of Fame resume over parts of 17 seasons with the Reds. In November, the team declined a $20 million option on Votto’s 10-year, $225 million contract signed in 2012. He has never played for another team.
Votto said “it appears” that there were major-league deals available to him, but he agreed to the deal with the Blue Jays on Friday. He said it was only “a few days ago” that he felt the deal could happen with the Blue Jays.
Votto grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, going to games at Rogers Centre, then called the SkyDome. His dream as a kid was to play in the same uniform as Joe Carter, Roberto Alomar, and his father’s favorite player, Tony Fernández.
While making the Blue Jays could be a fulfillment of that dream, it wasn’t his first choice. He said he wanted to return to the Reds.
“Early in the offseason, I wanted to sign a similar non-roster deal with the Reds to finish my career in one uniform,” Votto wrote. “I recognize that is an odd objective, but I meant what I said about retiring if I am no longer a competitive player.”
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Votto was limited to 156 games over the past two seasons, dealing with a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery in August of 2022. He began last season in the minor leagues but paused his rehab stint before making a return. Votto returned in June, hitting a home run in his first game. He had a two-homer game later that same week. He returned to action in August, again hitting a homer in his first game back, but it would be his last of the season. Over the past two seasons, he hit just .204/.317/.395 with 25 home runs and 79 RBIs over 618 plate appearances.
Ejected after the first at-bat of what would be his final game for the Reds, Votto had said he wanted to continue to play if he felt he could be a productive player. But he also saw that playing time could be difficult with a young Reds team that surpassed all expectations in 2023, finishing with an 82-80 record.
Rookie first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit 13 homers in 63 games with the big-league team last year. The emergence of Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain in the middle of the team’s infield meant Jonathan India would likely be pushed off second base, with first base being the most likely option for the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year. Cincinnati also had Spencer Steer, who filled in at first before Votto’s return. In December, the team signed Jeimer Candelario, who plays both corner infield spots, for three years and $45 million, all but signaling the end of a place for Votto to fit in. That door opened slightly just hours after Votto’s agreement became public when rookie third baseman Noelvi Marte was suspended 80 games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Still, the writing was on the wall that the Reds had no place for a franchise icon.
“The Reds team is STACKED and there didn’t appear to be playing time for me so we had to pivot,” Votto wrote.
With the Blue Jays, Votto will compete alongside fellow non-roster invitee Daniel Vogelbach and prospect Spencer Horwitz for a left-handed bench role, though it’s difficult to imagine the Blue Jays bringing in Votto — a Canadian baseball icon — if they didn’t think they had a spot for him.
If Votto was to make the team, however, it would likely be in a limited role — at least to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Toronto’s everyday first baseman and the Blue Jays signed Justin Turner to a one-year, $13 million deal to be their primary designated hitter.
It’s difficult to gauge how many at-bats Votto would receive, though one way is using him as a pinch hitter against right-handers. He could also play occasional first base if Guerrero needs a day off, and Votto can DH, too. Of course, Blue Jays manager John Schneider often points out when speaking about playing time that performance matters, so it’s possible Votto could earn a bigger role if his bat warrants it.
Joey Votto ranks 2nd among Canadian-born @MLB players with 2,135 hits.
He’s only 25 hits behind Hall of Famer Larry Walker.
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He could break the record in a @BlueJays uniform.
👀@MLBNetwork @CDNBaseballHOF
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 8, 2024
Beyond what he can bring to the field, Votto brings intangible benefits to the clubhouse. Lauded for the way he helped steer young players during his final years in Cincinnati, Votto could be a valuable veteran voice for a Blue Jays team aiming to take the next step competitively this season after back-to-back playoff disappointments in 2022 and 2023.
“I have no expectations,” Votto wrote. “I want to be a useful member of the roster that can bring a championship back to Toronto.”
While news of Votto’s signing was still unofficial, Schneider spoke to reporters in Dunedin about Votto’s “tremendous career.”
“He has accolades that go on and on between his plate discipline, power and overall reputation as a competitor. That’s what he’s brought to teams he has played on,” Schneider told reporters including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson.
Not only did Votto say he expects to start the season in the minor leagues — the Blue Jays’ Triple-A team in Buffalo, N.Y., opens the season at home on March 29 — he said he wasn’t disappointed that he only signed a minor-league contract.
“The opposite — I need the time to prepare and resharpen my game,” Votto wrote. “A goal of mine is to be fully prepared the second I return to major league competition. The major league level is about execution.”
(Top photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
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