REDS’ VOTTO BACK FROM COVID LIST
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto returned to camp Sunday after sitting out with COVID-19, but when he might be able to play again is still uncertain.
The 37-year-old Votto left camp after a positive test on March 10 and has been isolated since. After being cleared by Major League Baseball, he was back at the Reds’ spring training complex in Goodyear, Ariz., but will stay on the injured list until he’s in game shape again.
“I feel good,” the six-time All-Star said. “I’m glad to be back, and I’m looking forward to putting the uniform on and joining the team. I miss playing ball, I miss being part of the group.”
Votto, who declined to talk about his experience with the virus, couldn’t say how long it will take him to be ready to play or whether he’ll be in the lineup when the Reds open the season April 1 against the Cardinals.
Before the positive test he played in four spring training games, going 4-for-9 at the plate. Last season he hit .226 in 54 games, with 11 home runs and 22 RBIs.
“I’m looking forward to feeling sharp with the bat, of course, feeling like I’m dangerous, as I mentioned before, and making sure I’m healthy and strong and able to play as often as possible,” he said.
“That’s the goal, and I felt like I was trending in that direction, so I have to get there and beyond.”
Cincinnati is counting on Votto to continue the resurgence of success at the plate he showed at the end of last season.
“He’s really had a good camp up until missing time,” General Manager Nick Krall said.
“So we’re excited to have him back, and it just adds another offensive threat to our lineup.”
Royals’ Perez gets paid
Salvador Perez still remembers growing up in the coastal Venezuelan city of Valencia, where as a youngster he would take batting practice against his mother with a broomstick and later play organized ball with the likes of Jose Altuve.
He never thought a day like Sunday could be possible.
That’s when the Royals gave the six-time All-Star catcher a four-year, $82 million deal — the richest in club history — that will begin after his current contract in 2022. The deal ties Perez to the only organization for which he’s played until at least 2025, though a club option worth $13.5 million could keep him around for that season, too.
“It’s hard to believe where I’m coming from, where I grew up, to see the situation I have right now, it makes me feel super happy,” Perez said from the Royals’ spring training home in Surprise, Ariz. “My mother is going to be happy. I know my grandma is going to be happy. I know they’re excited for me to be here for four more years, maybe five.”
Perez is due a base salary of $13 million as he completes his current contract. He will make $18 million next season, $20 million in 2023 and 2024, and $22 million in 2025 with a $2 million buyout for 2026.
Notable
Diamondbacks relief pitcher Tyler Clippard has a sprained right shoulder and won’t throw for at least the next six weeks. Clippard said the injury was diagnosed as a “capsule sprain” and his shoulder will be reevaluated at the end of six weeks of rest. The righthander signed a $2.25 million, one-year deal with the team in February.
• The Pirates are taking a flier on knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright. Pittsburgh signed Wright, 36, on Sunday and invited him to bigleague camp. The righthander last pitched in the majors in 2019, when he was limited to six appearances with Boston after serving an 80-game suspension following a positive test for human growth hormone.
• Oscar Mercado won’t start the season in Cleveland’s outfield — or even with the Indians. Struggling in exhibition play, Mercado was optioned to the team’s depth camp, continuing his slide after a promising rookie season.
• No surprise here: Max Scherzer will have the ball in his hands when he begins the final season of his sevenyear, $210 million contract with the Nationals. Scherzer will make his Nationalsrecord sixth opening-day start April 1, facing the Mets in Washington.