Reds send Votto on rehab assignment

CINCINNATI (AP) Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto will be begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Sunday.

Votto hasn't played since going on the disabled list on May 21, retroactive to May 16, with a quadriceps strain in his left knee, the same knee on which he had two surgeries in 2012. The Reds have gone 9-11 without the 2010 National League Most Valuable Player, who is hitting .257 with six home runs and 12 runs batted.

Louisville is scheduled to begin a four-game series at Pawtucket on Saturday. Manager Bryan Price says the length of Votto's rehab assignment is not known.

Price says: ''We'll evaluate him after tomorrow. He'll play five or six innings and see how he holds up.''