‘Frustrating’ Hos choice sent Voit to losing team
CHICAGO
A bit like jumping on a fastball that catches too much of the plate, former Padres designated hitter Luke Voit was ready.
Voit offered up thoughts before being asked about Eric Hosmer’s no-trade clause with the Nationals upending his world, shipping him to the team with the worst record in the National League.
“If I was in Hosmer’s situation, I probably would have done the same thing,” Voit said Tuesday, perched on the dugout railing before a game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. “It’s frustrating, but guys want to go to a team that’s winning and obviously have a chance to win a World Series.”
When the former first baseman for the Padres flashed a stop sign as part of the blockbuster deal that sent generational talent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego, the dominoes tumbled quickly.
Just 15 minutes before the first game of a doubleheader on tradedeadline day, a game in which Voit already was inked into the lineup, he learned the suitcase-packing spot now belonged to him. There was an initial clue. Voit said bench coach Ryan Christenson came to him and said he had been moved to DH after first being slotted to play first base.
“I was like, huh, that’s interesting,” he said. “Then I heard (manager) Bob (Melvin) was looking for me. I popped in and he said, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you.’ He felt terrible for me, because he knows I’m a winner and I’m a great clubhouse guy. I was there to be in the middle part of that lineup.
“When I got traded in spring training, I thought I’d be there for rest of my contract.”
The business of baseball knocks on every player’s clubhouse door, but rarely does the decision of a teammate a few lockers away reshape things so dramatically for another.
Then again, the Padres’ handling of things remains confusing. Why did they try to include Hosmer in the deal, knowing he had the contractural right to veto things?
Nevertheless, Voit’s universe soon quaked.
“That’s the weird part,” he said. “It was so close to the game. Probably 10 or 15 guys came in and hugged me, but half ... didn’t even know until the game started because they were on the field getting ready to play.”
The next thought shifted to wife, Tori, and 14-monthold daughter, Kennedy.
“I’m like, I’m getting out of here. I want to be with my wife and baby,” said Voit, 31. “That’s the hardest part, picking up your family and going to a place I’ve never really been to, other than staying there visiting.
“My wife had started to become friends with other wives and girlfriends on the team. Coronado is one of the best places to live. Then you pick everything up and move. That was the hardest part.”
Another sizable adjustment came on the field.
Voit has played solely on winning teams since he was a sophomore in college at Missouri State. He made the playoffs each season in the minors. The Cardinals always knocked on the postseason door. The Yankees are perennial playoff anchors.
This season, the Padres still control their own destiny.
“Just frustrating, because I didn’t think I was going to be that guy,” Voit said of landing with a team at rock bottom. “I knew (the Nationals) wanted a bunch of younger prospects. Outside of (pitcher) MacKenzie (Gore) and (shortstop) CJ (Abrams), all those other guys were (low minor league) players. Figured they were going in a younger direction.
“To bring me here is kind of a little different.”
San Diego felt cozy, in more ways than one.
“That was the cool thing,” Voit said. “I didn’t know what New York was going to do with me, but I got to come to a team that obviously was ready to win with a bunch of studs on the team. I played on teams where you expected to come to the park and win every day with a lot of veteran guys in the clubhouse.
“But I’m enjoying myself. I’m having fun. I want to be the best teammate I can be. I’ve still got a job in the big leagues, so I can’t complain.”
The old role as a big bat in the middle of an established lineup has been reshaped to mentoring a young clubhouse. He’s beginning to settle in, playing cards and snagging the last spot in a fantasy football league.
There’s no word on whether fantasy lightning rod Tommy Pham approves, but Voit’s sense of humor made the trip to a new club.
“It’s nice not to hit at Petco anymore,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s a freaking graveyard. It’ll be nice to great to go east and get in some good stadiums to hit.”
Comfort has coming early with the Nationals. Voit entered Tuesday hitting .412 with seven hits in 17 at-bats, with two homers.
“The last month, I’ve been changing some stuff mechanically,” he said. “I’ve felt like myself again.”
Though Voit understands Hosmer’s decision, it hardly makes it sting less. When asked whether the two have communicated since last Tuesday’s tradedeadline blur, he paused.
That dye has been painfully cast.
“Nope,” Voit said. “It is what it is. I can’t do anything about it.”
Like hitting fastballs for a living, it’s on to the next.