Call him up: local baseball legend Votto deserves a graceful exit
Toronto Star|August 16, 2024
After a five-month wait, it’s almost decision time for the Blue Jays and potential Hall of Famer Joey Votto.
GREGOR CHISHOLM
Call him up: local baseball legend Votto deserves a graceful exit

Joey Votto was a six-time all-star in 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, who are in town to play the Blue Jays starting Monday.

Votto, who missed most of this season because of a lingering ankle injury, has been playing regularly at Triple-A Buffalo for the better part of two weeks. The Jays are approaching the point where they need to call him up or bring his situation to a close.

If the Jays didn’t have any intention of promoting Votto, one assumes they would have communicated that already. There would have been no point in having a player with Votto’s resumé go through a lengthy rehab and play an extended stretch of minor-league games unless a return was realistic. That means a promotion should still be possible.

The logical date would be Monday, when the Jays host his former club, the Cincinnati Reds.

A return like that would represent a full-circle moment for Votto, suiting up for his hometown team against the only big-league organization he had previously known.

To be clear, the recent numbers don’t justify it. Votto homered in his third game for the Bisons, but he was hitting .148 in 27 at-bats heading into Thursday night and isn’t in peak form. Another downside would be taking plate appearances away from young players and handing them to a 40-year-old who surely won’t be back in 2025.

So yes, it’s gimmicky, but what’s the harm? Votto is the greatest ballplayer the Greater Toronto Area has ever produced. He ranks alongside Larry Walker as Canada’s best position player of all time.

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