CINCINNATI — Former Cincinnati Red Joey Votto will be playing for his hometown team.
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Votto has agreed to a non-roster invite from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Joey Votto has agreed to a non-roster invite with the Blue Jays. He is back.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 8, 2024
Non-roster invitees are players who are not on the team's 40-man roster that will attend spring training.
Votto wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he's "excited about the opportunity to work [his] way back to the Major Leagues."
"It's even sweet to attempt this while wearing the uniform of my hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays," Votto wrote.
I am excited about the opportunity to work my way back to the Major Leagues. It’s even sweeter to attempt this while wearing the uniform of my hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays. https://t.co/s7xEFLKe8V
— Joey Votto (@JoeyVotto) March 8, 2024
On Thursday, Olney said that Votto lives 25 minutes form the Jays' ballpark.
"[He] could be a really good fit there," Olney wrote on social media.
We just had Joey Votto on our broadcast; he is dying to play. Lives 25 minutes from the Jays’ park; could be a really good fit there, in a very right-handed lineup. Angels another possible fit.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 7, 2024
Votto ended his 17 season streak with the Reds in 2023. The Reds decided not to extend Votto's contract for another season.
At the end of the 2023 season, he finished his $251.5 million, 12-year contract. Since the team didn't extend his contract, they owed him a $7 million buyout.
"For 17 seasons, Joey has been the heart of Reds baseball as a Most Valuable Player, All-Star and respected clubhouse leader," the Reds wrote. "His contributions to our team and his extraordinary generosity toward those in need, throughout our region and beyond, cannot be measured."
Nick Krall, the president of baseball operations for the Reds, went on to call the 40-year-old first baseman "one of the greatest baseball players of this or any generation."
In his last season with the team, Votto was stunted for some of the season with an injury. His performance was less than stellar, posting a career-low .202 batting average. Despite his poor on-field performance, Votto acted as a clubhouse leader for a then-very young Reds squad.
During Votto's last home game at Great American Ball Park, he received a standing ovation and applause from the crowd before his first at-bat.
