TORONTO – Joey Voto described himself as the most excited when he was at home, so much so that the feeling made him goosebumps and cost him sleep.
He grew up 11 miles from Rogers Center and regularly passed the dome and CN Tower during his summer growth as he headed to the center to catch up with his father at work. “It makes a lot of sense (to return to the city),” he said. “Really great meaning.”
Of course, he admitted that he allowed himself to think about what it would be like to play for the Toronto Blue Jays, the team he grew up on. The path of the 38-year-old first baseman took him in another direction. He is now nearing the end of his hereditary career at the Cincinnati Reds, but his hometown club has never been far from his radar.
“There are three important teams in my life,” he said on Friday. “When I was elected, I thought I would be Yankee. My late father wanted me to be Yankee. We were courted by the Yankees, who approached the draft. Then the Reds chose me, so this is the second and most important team. “
“And Toronto Blue Jays is my childhood team. The team, for which I still have family and friends, is asking me questions. Pointing out how well the team is doing. We come to a play-off match in 2015 and sit there in the stands after we got knocked out, irritable to Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, my friends. So, of course.
Voto’s long-term commitment to the Reds in 2012 – when he signed a 10-year $ 225 million extension, which runs until next year with a club option for 2024 – essentially denies that possibility. He would have been the perfect addition to the Blue Jace 2015-16 when Cincinnati last sold out their core, but now, amid the club’s last leveling, as he tries to find his swing after a terrible start and attack of COVID-19 , the fit is less secure.
Certainly his profile – high OBP, high IQ, powerful left-handed striker – is a must for the Blue Jays, who rode George Springer’s RBI single, Bo Bischet’s double points and Hyun Jin Rue’s six home innings in a 2-win victory. -1 on Friday night.
But Votto started the evening with .413 OPS in 22 games and “set out to make amends,” he said. And while he’s very right, noting that he’s had “very few bad periods in his career and I’ve always corrected them,” how much of what’s left of his $ 25 million salary this year and next, plus the $ 7 buyout million under his option for 2024 will the reds have to pay to make it a bet that someone is willing to take?
Given the way the Reds hacked their payrolls over the winter, they are unlikely to find common ground with any team, and Voto will have the final say on his destination, which he has earned and deserves.
Now, perhaps the equation would have changed if he had been packed with right-hander Luis Castillo, who allowed two runs in seven hits with five outs for six impressive innings on Friday. The 29-year-old is making his third start of the season after recovering from shoulder strain and is among the most electric starters in the game, but as a free agent waiting for next season, he is part of the Reds’ past, not their future. .
Therefore, there is room for creativity for any team that wants to be.
The priority for the Blue Jays this summer, at least until things take shape, should be a left-handed striker who can make an impact. Ideally, this is an outfielder or someone who can jump around the diamond, but with the DH point currently moving around the list to manage the workload, they can stick any acquisition there and not worry about positional fit .
Flexibility in DH is useful, although sacrificing it for another offensive figure is a useful trade.
“Yes, as any manager can tell you, if we get to DH, who swings the bat and is there every day, I’m all for it,” said Charlie Montoyo. “We don’t have this guy right now, so we’re using DH’s place to give the boys half a day.”
The Blue Jays made this Friday using Springer in DH and launched Bradley Zimmer in the center with Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who was still dealing with some tension in the hamstring. Zimmer doubled twice, including in the fifth, to trigger the key rally of two series.
Ryu made it count, although he allowed 12 balls in play at 94.9 mph or more, six of them with triple digits. The veteran left-hander, on his second outing after returning from forearm inflammation, doubled in five of his six innings, but each time found a zero, aided by some strong defensive positions.
Still, his fast top averaged 89.7 mph and he touched 92.9, his toughest step of the year, creating a 10.1 mph separation from his change, generating five of his seven breaths.
“As someone we can command his change and quick play with life, so I attack the attackers,” Rue said through translator JS Park. “If I can keep doing this, it will just keep growing.”
Contact against the two stressed the importance of changing it to help control the speed of the bat, as well as the protective alignment to best maintain it.
One of the five pairs came from Votto, who snatched the ball to the right at 99 mph with two outs in the sixth, but was blocked when Kyle Farmer came out on the line with 102.6 mph right against Raimel Tapia in the left field.
“The process is that the front office collects information about us, sends it, we look at it, making sure we’re all on the same page for what we’re trying to do,” said first base coach Mark Budzinski, who positions external players. “We hope you are in the right place more times than not. It’s not a perfect science, but we’re trying to give our boys a chance to do plays. “
The Reds managed to enjoy Matt Reynolds’ seventh RBI single, but Adam Simber, Yimi Garcia and Jordan Romano, in his first outing after a gastrointestinal infection, blocked him.
For Voto, day 1 of 4 is a start as he tries to reorient his season. He came back from IL with a plan and his diagnostic process deviated from too much data.
“I feel that with more information it becomes more complicated, as if you are starting to descend in a spiral,” he explained. “I tried to simplify it. I’m more of a striker. When I have too much information, I complicate things. I’m the best. When it’s simple, it’s instinctive, it’s natural. “
There is no better place than home for this.
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