After missing a month earlier this season with a distal left quadriceps strain, Reds first baseman Joey Votto returned to the disabled list earlier this week with a recurrence of the very same injury. According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds team medical director Tim Kremchek said this afternoon that while Votto’s return isn’t exactly imminent, the hope is that platelet-rich plasma injections will allow him to come back healthier than before and contribute during the second half.
Kremchek: Hope to get Votto back for the "stretch run." Players shy away for Platelet Rich Plasma injections during season (cont)
— John Fay (@johnfayman) July 12, 2014
b/c it takes longer to heal. But Votto chose to b/c it was his second time on DL. PRP should heal it more thoroughly. #reds
— John Fay (@johnfayman) July 12, 2014
When asked for context for what Kremchek meant by “stretch run,” Fay writes that the Reds are hoping to have Votto back for the final five or six weeks of the regular season. In other words, he’s likely to miss at least another month.
Brandon Phillips had thumb surgery yesterday and is expected to miss around 4-6 weeks, so the Reds should be in the market for infield depth before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Ramon Santiago is the top internal option to fill in at second base now that Skip Schumaker is on the 7-day concussion disabled list. Meanwhile, Todd Frazier, Jay Bruce, Brayan Pena, and the newly-recalled Neftali Soto figure to split playing time at first base.