Reds first baseman Joey Votto spent nearly a month on the disabled list with a quadriceps injury suffered in mid-May and now, after hitting just .250 with a .699 OPS in 23 games since returning, the former MVP is headed back to the disabled list with the same injury.
Cincinnati used backup catcher Brayan Pena as the primary first baseman during Votto’s previous DL stint, but he lacks any sort of offensive upside and ... well, hits like a backup catcher.
Last night Pena was unavailable due to being on paternity leave, so the Reds sacrificed some defense by shifting Jay Bruce from right field to first base and used Skip Schumaker in right field.
There’s no great in-house solution to replace Votto because the Reds obviously weren’t planning to be without their $225 million franchise player for long stretches, but replacing his production this season won’t be as tough as years past. Votto has continued to get on base at a very strong clip thanks to his excellent plate discipline, but he’s hit just .255 with six homers and a .409 slugging percentage in 62 games overall and his .799 OPS is 151 points below his career mark.
At age 31 he’s being paid just $12 million this season, but Votto is owed another $213 million from 2015-2023.
