Joey Votto Free Agency: Blue Jays & Brewers emerge as potential landing spots for 6x All-Star.
The Reds parted ways with six-time All-Star and Cincinnati icon Joey Votto this offseason after Votto spent 17 major league seasons with the team. But today, the Reds are depending on modern technologies and their farm system to restore a club that hasn’t seen any silverware since last winning it all in the 1990 MLB season.
At 40 years old, it would appear tough for the veteran to locate a new ballclub to play with. Still, MLB expert Bob Nightengale reported that the Toronto Blue Jays and the Milwaukee Brewers are two teams surfacing as probable landing destinations for Votto.
“Six-time All-Star first baseman Joey Votto, who was turned loose by the Cincinnati Reds, has three teams who want to sign him to a one-year deal for 2024. The Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers would each look to be solid fits. Votto is seeking regular playing time,” Bob Nightengale remarked (via USA Today).
Votto has declared that he plans to play in 2024 regardless of whether he wears a Reds shirt, and as a result, he has initiated his debut venture into free agency in his 17-year big league career.
Votto, who could ultimately be elected into the Hall of Fame, slashed an astounding .315/.436/.545 throughout nine seasons from 2009 to 2017, enough for a wRC+ of 162.
At that height, he played for the Reds in five All-Star games, won the 2010 National League MVP award, proceeded to the finals in 2015 and 2017, and was nominated for the award every season until 2014, when injuries limited him to only 62 games.
Votto claimed in a recent interview with C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic that he isn’t worried about earning a spot with a major league team this winter, noting that “this is a good place to be” as long as he keeps healthy, despite the disappointing conclusion to his 2023 season.
Joey Votto produced an unbelievable comeback season at age 37 in 2021
Joey Votto made a stunning recovery in the 2021 MLB season, hitting .266/.375/.563 (140 wRC+) and blasting 36 home runs in just 129 games. However, the veteran has suffered with ailments ever since.
Due to a shoulder injury, he has only appeared in 156 games in the last two seasons. His record when healthy to play has likewise dipped to .204/.317/.394, with a wRC+ of 95, somewhat below the league average.
As confident as Joey Votto looks in his search of a new ballclub, it remains to be seen what his final destination for the upcoming season will be.
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