GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Joey Votto, recovering from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and his bicep in his left arm, was in the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup for the first time all spring Sunday afternoon.
Facing Los Angeles Dodgers righty Dustin May, Votto went hitless in his two at-bats with a strikeout and a groundout. He appeared to lose one pop-up in the sun, but it turned into an out because of the infield fly rule.
Results aside, it marked a big step for the 39-year-old Votto after he played in minor league simulated games Friday and Saturday. It gives him two weeks to play in Major League spring training games before the Reds break camp, but Votto says he’s not thinking about Opening Day as a target.
Reds spring trainingJoey Votto shows Christian Encarnacion-Strand the ropes at first base
Reds spring trainingGame observations: Jake Fraley, Cincinnati native Nick Northcut homer in Reds spring loss
“I’m not worried about one game,” Votto said. “I’m more concerned about being able to come out, play well and be healthy for as much of the season as possible. If they had some sort of system where I could join Opening Day and then continue my at-bats, then I would do that. But they don’t have that, so I’m not really setting the marker.”
Votto says he isn’t 100% in terms of game speed, but he’s participated in team fielding drills and batting practice since the start of full-squad workouts. There were things he wanted to experience as he worked his way toward games like diving at first base, hit at faster speeds in the batting cages and taking check swings.
During an interview before Sunday’s game, Votto thanked his surgeons, physical therapists and strength coaches for putting him in a position to play in games at this stage of spring training.
“It’s been three years now since I’ve had a legitimate full camp,” Votto said. “The (collective bargaining agreement) last year was a shortened camp. Then ’21, I had COVID during camp. Then ’20 was the abbreviated spring training. It’s nice to get a full camp. I feel like I’m more prepared this year than I have been in a while, but I’m going to need to accumulate some at-bats first.”
The Reds didn’t commit to a timeline for Votto to play in games throughout camp and they’ll let him determine his readiness for Opening Day.
“I knew it was getting close,” Manager David Bell said. “I could tell by Joey’s mood and attitude. He wants to play. I could tell he was getting closer. Up until (Saturday), I didn’t know exactly what day it was going to be. He has been playing and getting live at-bats. The timing couldn’t have gone faster than it did.”
There are no physical hurdles remaining for Votto, which is noteworthy after he underwent a major surgery. At this stage, it’s about preparing for the season.
Votto, in the last guaranteed year of his 10-year, $225 million contract extension, is coming off the worst offensive season of his career. Part of it stemmed from playing through arm injuries and experimenting with a different bat and approach at the plate, but he knows he needs to remain healthy to play at a high level.
What does he need to do to feel like he’s at 100% game speed?
“Reps,” Votto said. “Game reps. Practice reps every day. Having the opportunity to take at-bats. Your body acclimates to the speed of the game and adapts. Do what you can in practice work and try to do that as often as you can until you feel really crisp. I don’t know if it’s the two weeks. I don’t know if it’s shorter than that or longer than that. But I’m happy I’m back in games.”
If Votto isn’t ready for the start of the season, the Reds will likely have Wil Myers and Tyler Stephenson split time at first base. Christian Encarnacion-Strand, a camp standout at the plate, is spending more time at first base, but the 23-year-old prospect has played only two months above A-ball.
For now, Bell said, the plan with Votto is to take it day-by-day on how much he’ll play in spring training games.
“He was very careful and thoughtful and worked extremely hard to get to this point,” Bell said. “Here we are. He has his legs underneath him. He did a lot of defensive work. He worked hard on his swing. Now it’s just getting into the game action for all of those things, which is an important part of this. Joey knows himself well.”
Source link
