Reds’ Votto out with fractured thumb
The Cincinnati Reds placed first baseman Joey Votto on the 10-day injured list Friday with a fractured left thumb.
The 2010 National League MVP and six-time All-Star was hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox and his designation is retroactive to Thursday.
Votto, 37, is batting .226 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 29 games this season.
Since debuting with the Reds in 2007, he has hit .303 with 300 home runs and 983 RBIs in 1,800 career games.
In a corresponding move, Cincinnati reinstated outfielder Shogo Akiyama from the 10-day injured list. He began the season on the IL with a left hamstring injury sustained during spring training.
Akiyama, 33, batted .245 with nine RBIs and seven stolen bases in 54 games with the Reds in his first season in the majors in 2020.
TWINS’ BUXTON HITS IL >> Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton was placed on the 10day injured list with a right hip strain.
Buxton was off to a hot start for the struggling Twins, hitting .370 with nine home runs, 17 RBIs and five stolen bases through 24 games.
The Twins selected the contract of outfielder Trevor Larnach in a corresponding move.
Larnach, looking to make his major league debut, played in three games for Triple-A St. Paul, going 3-for-13 (.231) with four RBIs, including home runs in each of his past two games against Omaha. PUJOLS’ NEXT TEAM ODDS: ST. LOUIS SWAN SONG? >> Albert Pujols wants to keep playing, but is there a fit for the future Hall of Famer once he clears waivers from the Los Angeles Angels?
Pujols needs 33 home runs to become only the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 700 for a career. But he struggled at the plate in 24 games for the Angels this season, batting just .198 and slugging .372 with five homers and 12 RBIs.
Pujols enjoyed the 10 best seasons of his career in St. Louis, and SportsBetting.ag is offering the Cardinals as the +150 favorite to sign Pujols as a free agent.
The Chicago White Sox, with former Pujols manager Tony La Russa, have the thirdshortest odds to sign Pujols at +400. That is just behind the Toronto Blue Jays (+350). INDIANS’ PEREZ HAS FINGER SURGERY >> Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez will miss approximately two months after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured right ring finger.
The Indians said Perez will be sidelined from 8 to 10 weeks. The team said he had three pins inserted into the hand.
Perez, who was placed on the injured list on Wednesday, sustained the injury in midApril when he was crossed up by reliever James Karinchak and attempted to catch the pitch with his bare hand.
He attempted to play through the injury in ensuing weeks but it became apparent the hand was bothering the two-time Gold Glover when he began lobbing the before-inning throw to second base instead of firing it.
Perez, 32, was batting just .131 with three homers and nine RBIs in 19 games.
Manager Terry Francona said Chris Hedges and Rene Rivera will split the catching duties while Perez is sidelined. ANGELS TRADE FOR CATCHING HELP >> The Los Angeles Angels acquired catcher Drew Butera from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations, bringing some veteran depth to the team’s injured catching corps.
Kurt Suzuki is the team’s starting catcher entering the weekend, with regular No. 1 Max Stassi just placed on the seven-day injured list.
Butera, 37, played 10 games with the Angels in 2015 following a trade with the Dodgers.
Butera, a fifth-round pick of the New York Mets in 2005, has caught two nohitters - Francisco Liriano’s in 2011 and Josh Beckett’s in 2014 — and was behind the plate for the final out of the Royals’ 2015 World Series title.
Butera has not appeared in a game this season. He slashed .154/.190/.205 in 43 plate appearances with the Colorado Rockies in 2020.
TIGERS’ RAMOS SIDELINED >> The Detroit Tigers placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 10-day injured list.
Ramos, a two-time All-Star, departed Thursday’s game against the Boston Red Sox with a lumbar strain in his lower back.
Detroit recalled catcher Jake Rogers from Triple-A Toledo.
Ramos, 33, is batting .227 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 29 games in his first season with the Tigers.