MLB Report Good news for Cincinnati Reds: He is back..
Jason Williams’ inbox: The Cincinnati Reds’ reaction to Joey Votto’s return
Going through the incoming mail. It’s time to respond to your queries. This is a sample of the emails I received last week from subscribers.
The 39-year-old Red Sox veteran Votto will surely assist a young team in the clubhouse. He is one of the Reds’ all-time great players, a positive guy, and a fan of the team. Votto enjoys mentoring young players and is a great resource for advice on hitting and how to go about becoming a big leaguer.
But let’s face it—at a time when the Reds are all about the future, Votto will take away a young player’s playing time and at-bats. Votto is a symbol of the past. It’s not directed at the Reds or Votto. Although maintaining equilibrium will be difficult, manager David Bell is skilled at managing this kind of situation.
Not to mention that he has put in a ton of work over the last ten months to get back on the field, Votto has earned the right to be back in the starting lineup simply because he is Joey Votto. His contract is coming to an end this year. Votto is being paid $25 million by the Reds this season, and everyone is hoping to make the most of his initial $225 million, 10-year contract.
It would be fantastic to witness Votto end strongly. But Votto’s comeback might hinder someone’s progress. Steer, Spencer? Encarnacion-Strand, a Christian? Both? Should that occur, let it serve as a reminder of just how foolish the Reds’ strategy was when they offered a player a contract akin to that of the New York Yankees a decade ago.
Writing about baseball, national news, local politics, fatherhood, and real people is one of my passions. Zac Taylor, the Bengals coach, has those final two covered.
I neglected to include a little tidbit about Taylor’s fatherhood and Talbert House Father of the Year award in my column: Sherwood Taylor, Taylor’s father, attended the event and related a tale from the Bengals’ difficult 2019 campaign.
Zac Taylor’s four kids were unaware that their father was going through a difficult year, even though the Bengals finished 2-14 in his first season as coach. Sherwood said that Taylor had a habit of going home after some of the early season Sunday afternoon losses to play catch with his son in their Mount Lookout backyard.
This anecdote supports Taylor’s wife Sarah’s assessment of her husband: he serves as an example of consistency for their kids.
This season marks the start of a new TV rights agreement for the NFL, and the league has not yet stated if it will carry on the custom of airing primetime games on local over-the-air television in the home markets of the participating teams via cable or streaming platforms.
But I did ask Sports Media Watch’s Jon Lewis about it. Indeed, he stated, “I don’t think that will change throughout the deal.” Local affiliates have traditionally carried NFL games on cable or streaming services, and there is no sign that this will change.
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Nick Krall Talks About The Reds’ Potential Re-Signing of Joey Votto
Is the legendary Reds player coming back to Cincinnati this season?
Joey Votto left the Reds this offseason, and it doesn’t appear that they have any plans to bring him back.
During a gathering with season ticket holders, Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall stated, “As of right now, we don’t plan to bring him back.”
Votto, 40, was a member of the Reds for 17 seasons. For the first time in his career, the six-time All-Star and former National League MVP is available as a free agent.
After making appearances in 2,056 Reds games, Votto recorded 2,135 hits, 1,365 walks, 356 home runs, and 1,144 RBI. His batting average was.294 and his OPS was.920. In 65 games during the previous season, he recorded a slash line of.202/.314/.433.
Votto’s $20 million club option for 2024 was rejected by the Reds, who instead paid $7 million in November to buy out the remaining year of his contract.
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