Joseph Daniel Votto

"lightning"

I can’t explain it - but he def feels like the type of hitter to kick it into a higher gear if he knows for sure the season is his last.

The Jays are going to need a new DH. It could be a nice fit.

pic.twitter.com/b6by6rXPKP

— Joey Votto (@JoeyVotto) November 5, 2023

What a fun mission. 😂

Joey Votto was on a scavenger hunt for mascots during #NHLAllStar. pic.twitter.com/Oq8XM8UtbC

— NHL (@NHL) February 3, 2024

Is this the end?

2 seasons below replacement off/def not helped by Mendoza line BA. Veteran presence not worth the team option apparently.

Feels bad man.

I hate seeing his posts about this

Idk how it worked in the past but the roster spots are precious and he’s obviously well past the options stage of his career where you could stash him in triple A and at least play him there. Supposedly he’s had offers but who knows. I don’t think the Reds even did a farewell for him so it’s not like some Brandon Crawford thing where there was the last home series dedicated to him.

He clearly still wants to play. I don’t actually know anything about him off the field but I saw that he deleted all the photos off his Instagram except three from this year, which seems…bad.

It kind of feels that the Reds just cut him loose and that was it? Yeah it’s a hard sport but if he’s a Hall of Famer, he’s going in in a Reds cap - maybe they could have tried a little harder to offer a mentoring gig? But then again, assuming he still wants to play, that may have happened & he turned it down.

Feel like the Red Sox would have taken a flier on him if he was right handed - he still managed 14 home runs last season and he would be the perfect mentor for Casas. Blue Jays have Vladdy. I can’t think of any other teams besides those three that would make sense for him.

Jays are missing an opportunity, in my opinion. Even with Turner taking care of part of what they would have gotten from him--and I know roster spots are finite--I'd still like to have him.

Whose roster spot does he take though? 13/26 are pitchers, 9 are starters, 4 are bench guys.

it is unfortunate but the only place that made sense was toronto, and as a team with playoff ambitions, they're much better off with turner (who apparently is a much-beloved veteran presence who helps younger players a great deal)

joey won't sell tickets anywhere else and he's not worth the roster spot anymore ;_;

I totally understand the rational, hard-headed argument against him, and I usually lean in that direction myself. This team is just so desparately in need of all that character stuff (and I think a starting pitcher, like Gausman, can only provide so much of that). Hopefully Turner covers enough of that.

And the Jays do need a lhh

With 13-man pitching staffs, teams don't have room for veteran pinch-hitter/occasional DH's anymore. With four bench guys, there's almost no flexibility in roster construction -- you need a catcher, two infielders, and at least one outfielder. If he could reproduce Belt's slash stats from last year then it could still be worth it, but I don't think he's got it in him anymore.

Belt should have a job, never mind Votto!

Joey Votto has agreed to a non-roster invite with the Blue Jays. He is back.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 8, 2024

Great! He either earns a spot or he doesn't--but at least they're giving it a shot.

looks like it either him or Vogelbach. hopefully this doesn't block Spencer Horwitz, tho i think he'll have a good shot at LF.

Reds got a jam of young guys that can play first or DH.

Votto might just join those guys who have that last hurrah on another team like say Billy Williams with the As or Ron Sanyo with the White Sox. Willie Mays going back to NY and Hank to Milwaukee a bit different.

Ron Sanyo and J.D. Marantz should have been teammates.

(I empathize--I've been bemoaning my own typos.)

https://www.mlb.com/news/joey-votto-homers-in-first-spring-training-at-bat-with-blue-jays

Hell yeah

“I accidentally stepped on a bat in the dugout, rolled my ankle and it hurt like the dickens,”

Most blue jays thing ever

As the only person he follows on twitter, I feel like he needs to see this. https://t.co/BuUlgtuQJl pic.twitter.com/0d9Wxlpd4r

— Devin Mesoraco (@DMesoraco) March 19, 2024

I should in theory post this to the spring training content thread, but Joey Votto…

Spoilers for Love is Blind here

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4yqTY9RYZv/