Cincinnati Reds' Legend Reportedly Drawing Interest From American League Club
Longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto is reportedly drawing interest on the free agent market from the Los Angeles Angels.
That information came from Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
.@JonHeyman says the Angels are one of the teams with interest in Joey Votto
The Angels are a new name in the Votto sweepstakes, who has had a quiet offseason to this point. It's been hoped by sentimentalists that Votto would re-sign with the Cincinnati Reds, but they don't have room for him with their glut of infielders. It's been thought that the Toronto Blue Jays may sign him since he's a Canada native but there hasn't been much traction on that front, either.
Furthermore, the Milwaukee Brewers were mentioned as a fit but after signing Rhys Hoskins, they would seem to be out as well.
As for the Angels, they are interesting for a few reasons. First, after losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency, they may very well have room at designated hitter, which could help Votto. Also, they have rookie Nolan Schanuel at first base, so perhaps Votto could be a mentor to him.
A lifetime .294 hitter, Votto is one of the more accomplished players of the last 20 years. He's got a .409 on-base percentage lifetime and has hit 356 career home runs. The slugger also owns a pristine resume with six All-Star appearances, a Gold Glove and an MVP award.
He's led the league in on-base percentage in seven separate seasons. He spent 17 years with the Reds and is a borderline Hall of Famer.
He hit .202 last season as he battled injury. Unfortunately, this led him to accumulate just 208 at-bats.
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