Joey Votto is in settlement with the Blue Jays on a minor league cope with an invitation to main league camp, pending a bodily. The MVP Sports activities Group consumer would reportedly lock in a $2MM base wage if he makes the MLB roster with one other $2MM accessible through incentives.
It’s a pairing that followers in Toronto have been dreaming about for a very long time, as Votto grew up within the metropolis of Etobicoke, which was amalgamated into town of Toronto in 1998. For a lot of the previous 20 years, Votto has been mashing for the Reds and turning into a fan favourite along with his distinctive character whereas Blue Jays followers appeared south of the border with envy, hoping that the native legend would sometime return dwelling.
However again in 2012, Votto signed a 10-year extension with the Reds that ran by way of 2023. That pact solely simply expired a couple of months in the past with Cincy turning down a 2024 membership possibility and the Reds didn’t actually have a lot capacity to maintain him round. They’ve lately graduated a giant pile of place participant prospects and got here into the winter with Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson and Spencer Steer as first base choices, then they added to that group by signing Jeimer Candelario.
That pushed Votto to pursue alternatives exterior Cincinnati for the primary time in his profession. The Blue Jays have been related to Votto pretty early on, each as a result of his hometown ties and the roster match. The Jays got here into the winter with only a few left-handed bats on the roster and likewise an open designated hitter spot due to the free agent departure of Brandon Belt. Votto additionally drew some reported curiosity from the Angels however now the long-awaited Votto-Blue Jays pairing has lastly come to fruition.
Nevertheless, the Votto that’s now heading to Jays’ camp isn’t fairly the identical one which gained an MVP award and earned six All-Star nods within the earlier decade. He’s been battling a big shoulder damage of late, present process surgical procedure in 2022. Over the previous two years, he’s performed simply 156 video games and hit .204/317/.394 in that point for a wRC+ of 95. His 11.5% stroll price in that point was nonetheless a couple of ticks above common however beneath Votto’s profession price of 15.6%. He was additionally struck out in 25.7% of his plate appearances over these two seasons, effectively above his profession clip of 18.8%.
With Votto now past his fortieth birthday and coming off a few injury-marred seasons, it’s truthful to surprise what he has left within the tank at this level, however it’s a enjoyable and logical pairing for the 2 sides nonetheless. Votto will get an opportunity to play for his hometown crew whereas the Jays may discover lightning in a bottle if Votto is ready to put the shoulder points behind him and get again to his outdated self. He has 356 dwelling runs in his profession and has slashed .294/.409/.511 general for a wRC+ of 145.
Votto gained’t have to get again all the way in which to MVP type to be a helpful contributor for the Blue Jays, however the roster match could also be a bit tight. The Jays have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as their on a regular basis first baseman and so they signed Justin Turner to be within the designated hitter slot most days. Turner can nonetheless play a little bit of third base however he’s now 39 years outdated and hasn’t been an on a regular basis fielder since 2021.
It’s attainable Votto may carve out a part-time function whereby he can function the DH every time Turner is within the discipline or maybe give Guerrero the occasional breather by enjoying first base, as Belt did final yr. He may have some competitors from Daniel Vogelbach, who can be lefty that the Jays signed to a minor league deal. Vogelbach is sort of strictly a DH, as he didn’t play the sphere in any respect in 2023 and logged simply 5 innings at first base in 2022. However he has been having an honest spring to this point, having hit two dwelling runs and drawn three walks in 15 plate appearances, resulting in a wonky slash line of .250/.400/.833.
Vogelbach is 31 years outdated and to this point youthful than Votto however Votto’s longer observe report and skill to play a little bit of first base may give him an edge. His defensive metrics have been subpar previously two years however has racked up 54 Defensive Runs Saved in his profession general. Just like his offense, maybe some higher well being as he will get farther from his shoulder surgical procedure may assist him. The membership doubtless can’t match each on the roster as they’ll want at the least one bench spot for a catcher after which two extra for multi-positional guys like Davis Schneider, Santiago Espinal or Ernie Clement. However having one part-time lefty in combine is sensible as the one lefties at present slated for normal motion within the Toronto lineup are glove-first outfielders Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier in addition to utility participant Cavan Biggio.
Votto is an XX(B) free agent, which is any participant with at the least six years of service time that completed the earlier season on a significant league roster or injured record. Underneath the present collective bargaining settlement between MLB and the MLBPA, such gamers have uniform opt-out dates in any minor league deal signed greater than 10 days previous to Opening Day. These dates are 5 days earlier than Opening Day, Might 1 and June 1.
This yr’s Opening Day is March 28, that means Votto may have an opportunity to return to free company if the Jays don’t add him to the roster by March 23, which is in simply over two weeks. Vogelbach doesn’t have six years of service time and gained’t have assured opt-outs, although it’s unknown if he had any added into the language of his contract.
Votto tells C. Trent Rosecrans and Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic that whereas he’ll report back to Jays camp on Saturday, he expects to open the season at Triple-A Buffalo. That implies he’s not planning to train the primary of the opt-out dates supplied by the CBA.
Vogelbach additionally has a base wage of $2MM if he makes the membership so the monetary aspect of the choice will probably be a wash. The Jays are set to be a second-time payor of the aggressive stability tax this yr, which suggests they’ll face a 30% tax on that $2MM whether or not it comes from Votto or Vogelbach, however that may add simply $600K to their tax invoice.
The following few weeks will give Votto an opportunity to show his well being and present talents to the membership earlier than selections should be made. In the meanwhile, it’s an thrilling pairing for Blue Jay followers that they’ve lengthy waited for.
ESPN’s Buster Olney first reported the Jays and Votto had agreed to a minor league cope with a giant league Spring Coaching invite. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported the monetary phrases.