Joey Votto is again.
The longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman confirmed experiences on Friday that he has signed a minor league contract with a spring coaching invite as a non-roster participant with the Toronto Blue Jays. It is the primary time the six-time All-Star and 2010 Nationwide League MVP could have an opportunity to play an expert baseball sport in a non-Reds uniform, however it nonetheless marks a homecoming for Votto, who’s a Toronto native.
The 40-year-old Votto just lately confirmed to FOX Sports activities’ Ben Verlander in an interview on “Flippin’ Bats” that he was not but able to retire.
“In my head, the subsequent time I play, I will be so excited and grateful to have the ability to get again on a major-league subject, get again on a baseball subject and compete,” Votto stated. “That is actually all the place my head is at.”
Votto’s numbers have dipped, and he is missed ample time over the previous two seasons, and Votto attributes each to a rotator cuff surgical procedure he had on his left shoulder in 2022.
“I need the sport to let me know the place I slot in,” Votto stated. “And I say that as sincerely as might be. I do not need to play unhealthy anymore. These surgical procedures and recoveries take a very long time, a very long time. … I’ve devoted my total 2023 to coming again. I did not play properly [last summer], however I used to be not wholesome. Let me rephrase that: I used to be wholesome sufficient to get on the sphere and compete, however I used to be not at my finest self.
“I have been so fortunate to have gotten thus far, however I want the sport to inform me I am executed. I want a wholesome model of me to compete, fail, adios, kind of factor.”Â
Votto’s 2,135 profession hits rank fifth all-time in Reds franchise historical past and second amongst all Canadian-born gamers in MLB historical past — simply 25 behind Corridor of Famer Larry Walker. Votto and Walker are the one two Canada natives with greater than 2,000 profession MLB hits.
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