Slugger Votto finds his way home
Joey Votto is back. And shopping carts are safe, for now.
The veteran first baseman from Etobicoke, a former National League MVP, agreed to a nonroster invite with the Blue Jays. ESPN’s Buster Olney was the first to report the news that hasn’t been officially announced by the team.
“I am excited about the opportunity to work my way back to the Major Leagues,” Votto said on X. “It’s even sweeter to attempt this while wearing the uniform of my hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays.”
Multiple reports say the minorleague deal has a base salary of $2 million (U.S.) in the majors, with an additional $2 million in incentives.
After Votto spent 17 seasons in Cincinnati, which included six allstar appearances, the Reds declined his $20-million option for 2024, making the 40-year-old a free agent.
Votto remained unsigned weeks into spring training and had been campaigning on his social media channels for a team to give him a chance while he continued his offseason workouts near his Toronto home.
“If someone doesn’t sign me, I’m not gonna put my shopping carts away,” Votto said in a video posted to Instagram before slowly pushing his shopping cart into a parking lot.
Votto posted a photo of himself Wednesday looking dejected while sitting on a park bench with a sandwich, coffee and baseball bat, recreating a viral photo of Keanu Reeves looking sad in 2010. The caption read: “Missing ball.”
Blue Jays great José Bautista commented “Hometown team?” while former Toronto reliever Jason Grilli said “Would love to see you in a Jays uniform.”
Based on the Jays’ needs, Votto will likely compete for a bench spot with fellow left-handed hitter Daniel Vogelbach, who is also in camp on a minor-league deal and has homered twice this spring.
“Obviously, (Votto has) had a tremendous career and has accolades that could go on and on,” Jays manager John Schneider said Friday. “His plate discipline and power, his overall reputation as a competitor and what he has brought to teams that he’s played on.”
With 2,135 career hits, Votto is just 25 behind Larry Walker for the most by a Canadian-born player in MLB history.
Although Votto stayed remarkably healthy throughout most of his career, he has struggled to stay in the lineup in recent years. He played 65 games for the Reds last season, but still managed to hit 14 home runs and record a .747 onbase-plus-slugging percentage.
In his MVP season in 2010, Votto hit 37 home runs and had a majorleague best .424 on-base percentage. He won the Lou Marsh Award, now named the Northern Star Award, as Canada’s top athlete that year and again in 2017, when he finished second in NL MVP voting.
Jays 2, Yankees 1
Nathan Lukes’s two-run triple was all the offence the Blue Jays needed to beat the New York Yankees, 2-1, in a spring game in Dunedin, Fla.
The Jays were held without a hit for four innings by ex-Toronto starter Marcus Stroman and had three hits on the day, but two came in a decisive sixth inning.
Bo Bichette doubled with one on and Lukes tripled to score Alan Roden and Josh Kasevich, who replaced Bichette as a pinch-runner.
Chris Bassitt stuck out four over 41/3 innings while allowing four hits, including an RBI double by DJ LeMahieu in the third inning. Yimi Garcia, who struck out two in a scoreless sixth, was credited with the win. Mason Fluharty struck out the side in the ninth for the save.