The Reds announced six roster moves today, most prominently the returns of some of their biggest names. Joey Votto and Jonathan India were both activated from the 10-day injured list, while Hunter Greene was activated from the COVID-related injured list. Right-hander Lyon Richardson was optioned to Triple-A, while infielder Alejo Lopez and right-hander Carson Spiers (both on the roster as substitute players) were respectively returned to Triple-A and Double-A.
India last played on July 28, as a case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot resulted in a longer absence than expected on the IL, and there was at least some concern that the second baseman might have been sidelined for the rest of the 2023 season entirely. However, the Reds’ rough planned timeline for India in mid-August ended up basically going to plan, so he’ll now look to step back into his normal duty at second base. Votto has missed a little over two weeks due to left shoulder discomfort, and given Votto’s history of shoulder problems, it counts as very good news that the longtime first baseman is already back on the field.
Cincinnati’s waiver-wire additions of Hunter Renfroe and Harrison Bader have further added to what has become a bit of glut of position players for the Reds, though injuries have essentially kept the team’s list of options from becoming a true surplus. Star rookie Matt McLain will still be out for at least another week or two in recovering from an oblique injury, and Noelvi Marte just suffered a broken nose yesterday after being hit in the face by an errant throw during pregame warmups. Manager David Bell told reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Marte isn’t yet being placed on the IL since the rookie infielder will attempt to play through the discomfort, possibly wearing a protective mask.
With Marte a question mark, the Reds’ infield figures to shake out as Votto and Christian Encarnacion-Strand sharing first base and DH duty, India at second base, Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, and Spencer Steer probably taking the bulk of third base work. If Marte is able to continue playing, Steer can split time at second base, third base, and in the corner outfield, which creates a bit of a logjam in the outfield but Steer’s playing time will certainly be prioritized given his strong numbers.
Greene is set to start today’s game against the Cardinals, with the right-hander set for his first action since August 30. Greene was hit hard in his first two outings back from a 60-day IL stint (due to hip pain) before looking much sharper in that August 30th outing against the Giants, but Greene was then sidelined again by the COVID outbreak that has hit the Reds’ clubhouse in recent days.
Where will Votto and India play?
Read the article.
Blows my mind when people ask questions like that when the answer is right in front of their face.
Kotton and LE
Technically, the article doesn’t say. It only says that Votto “figure” to share time at first and India at will be at second. A quote from the team saying how they planned to use these players would be much more definite than the writer of the article guessing
I think you’re both correct that 1975Reds didn’t read the article, however.
Steer goes back to LF, Friedl to CF, and Martini back to the bench, I imagine.
Marte being hurt, probably made the rest of it easier, but someone will have to sit.
Idk man I can’t read as well.
uh oh getting their guns back maybe they should have been the ones getting BIG NAME STARTERS
big names like Lance Lynn and giolito?
Could be the end of the road for Votto. I’m not a Reds fan, but is he a Hall of Famer?
I think so. I hope so. Over 350 homers, almost 1200 RBI, and a career OBP over .400. He was one of the top players in the game for a solid dozen years. God knows if Harold Baines got in then Votto should too.
Nah. They finally felt sorry enough for Jeff Bagwell to barely let his mediocre career in and he surpasses Votto in every offensive category except OPB. If he would have gotten at least 400 HRs he may have a tiny case, but no. He will obviously have his number retired and they’ll give him some fishing tchotchkes or whatever Canadians are into and maybe name a hot dog after him or something but no bust. No statue.
For sure.
Would rather have productive starters than big names.
is scherzer or verlander big enough for you peasant
They were not going to double their payroll for a couple of 40 year olds. Get real.
max scherzer is 39
Hof yes imo , but again the hof is a joke.
Happy birthday to Votto
To answer the above question, I would not vote for Votto for the HoF. Definite Hall of Very Good, though.
I’d vote for him.
I am not saying position doesn’t matter, but if Joey were to play any other position other than first base or DH, everyone would say he’s a HOF without a doubt. Over 35o homers, 2000 hits, an OBP of .400+, an MVP and ROY, 6x all-star, the current active leader in walks, 56 defensive runs saved at first base, 64.5 bWAR, and a 144 OPS+.
When you look at it, his numbers aren’t all that different from Edgar Martinez. Similar amount of hits, but more home runs. Almost identical OPS+. BA/OBP/SLG are also extremely close. Nearly the same amount of total bases. But Votto was a good defensive 1B for most of his career whereas Martinez played DH for most of his career.
Votto just gets overlooked because he wasn’t one of the best sluggers in the league at a position where you see the best slugers. He never led the league in home runs, but that doesn’t mean he was never a threat to hit a home run. He, in my opinion, is a hall of famer.
Yes, 1B have to hit at least 400 HR. Don’t let the whimsical, variable legislative emotions of the BBWA fool you. You’ll be fine. Even Stanton limped to 400 HR and he still has years left in the tank. Votto has no excuse. If he has time for TikTok dances, he has time to muscle up and get to 400.
Is this sarcasm? Stanton was a home run hitter from the start. Votto, while he wasn’t just a spray hitter and hit his fair share of home runs, power was never his calling card.
mlb1225
Well, yes, because first base is the least valuable defensive positions.
First basemen, on average, are 12.5 runs worse defensively than the average defender. The OF corners are next lowest at 7.5 runs worse than average.
If Votto had been a roughly league average LF instead of a roughly league average 1B for his career, he’d haven been worth ((16927/1458)*5) and additional 58 runs, or, nearly 6 wins in his career
Per fWAR (which I prefer)
Votto 58.3 WAR
Edgar 65.5 WAR
If you add 6 wins to Votto, he’s at 64.3 to Edgar’s 65.5
I still wouldn’t vote for Votto. I wouldn’t have voted for Edgar either. I won’t complain if someone else would or would have.
Do the Reds bring back Votto next year at 20 million or buyout at 7million?
The Reds will almost certainly elect the buyout. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Reds and Votto agree on a low cost one year deal.
1 more year votto.
MFF
I don’t know what the Reds will do.
From an on the field standpoint, I’d say that it’s time to move on.
Two consecutive below average years by wRC+
FG’s Projections have him as a below average hitter
I’d imagine the Reds could get a better player with the money
If the team feels that his veteran presence is worth keeping him around, I can’t speak to that,
It seems like now is a good time to pass the torch.
First of all, I gotta wish Votto a happy birthday. Hitting a bomb on your birthday & getting a W during a race has to feel great. In a perfect world, Votto gets his buyout, the Reds then sign him for say $2 million, and he donates his ‘24 salary to charity. He does his retirement tour, continues to mentor the young Reds, will surely be an effective reserve & spot starter, and the Reds can save some cash by not signing the veteran that they do every season, that probably nobody wanted, for about $7 million. Baseball needs Joey Votto!!
The offense has been more productive with India and Votto back in the lineup.
Call it chemistry, leadership, more lineup length, whatever you will, but you can’t deny it.
Even the bullpen don’t seem as worn out, and you can’t blame them for that as they have been burned out for months.
Greene at 87 pifches in 4 innings. SMH
6 innings. 1 unearned run and a W. SMH
Is will be nice to see Votto end the season in the lineup and get the send off from Reds fans that he deserves.
Next stop, Cooperstown.
Hunter Greene threw more pitches than Joe Burrow had yards.
Believe it or not, pitchcount is not what it’s about all the time. Greene hasn’t pitched much lately and didn’t get a feel for his breaking stuff until the 3rd inning. Yet he delivered exactly what you expect from your Ace in a must win game- 6 inning of 1 run (unearned) baseball leading to a win.
It was more about Paycheck Joe than it was about Hunter’s count.