Veteran first baseman Joey Votto has accomplished quite a bit during his 17-year MLB career. He became a free agent this winter after the Cincinnati Reds cut him loose. Votto has been fielding contract offers, but not the kind he was expecting.
The left-handed hitter made a March 1 appearance on The Dan Patrick Show and discussed how his time as a free agent has been. "Funny enough, I've had 10 times the analyst jobs over this offseason than I have had any baseball offers," he told Patrick. Votto has had discussions with MLB teams about actually playing baseball instead of talking about it, but there have been no firm offers yet.
"I get excited about the idea of retirement, traveling, hopefully starting a family one day, having a consistent routine. But I'm just not there yet mentally."
-@JoeyVotto discusses his desire to play Major League Baseball this season pic.twitter.com/Ln86HhPV38
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) March 1, 2024
He didn't shy away from sharing that his morale is"as low as it gets, and at this rate, I don't see it getting any better."
Votto had some interest from clubs earlier in the winter, including the Los Angeles Angels. But clearly, nothing has come to fruition yet.
The 40-year-old has put together a solid career that will make for an interesting debate whenever he lands on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. All 17 of his seasons have come with the Reds. It's included a Gold Glove Award, the 2010 National League MVP Award, and six All-Star Game selections. He's produced five other top-10 finishes in MVP Award voting and has led the league in on-base percentage seven times.
Votto isn't too far removed from having an above-average season at the plate. As recently as 2021, he slashed .266/.375/.563 with 36 home runs and 99 RBI in 533 plate appearances. However, he's been on the field for just 156 total games since the start of 2022, and the production hasn't been great. Votto has hit .204/.317/.394 with 25 home runs and 79 RBI during that time (618 plate appearances).
He's certainly on the downturn of his career, but it seems quite surprising that the veteran can't find a low-cost, one-year deal that'd get him somewhat regular at-bats in 2024.
