$20 Million Club Option Looms For Cincinnati Reds Regarding Joey Votto

Joey Votto has worn only one uniform in his 17-year major league career. A pillar of excellence for the Cincinnati Reds, the 40-year-old first baseman enters the final week of the regular season with his ball club’s prospects dimming when it comes to securing a wild-card postseason berth. Besides the obvious concerns with father time’s undefeated record, Votto is also wondering if his prodigious career with the Reds has reached its conclusion as the ball club has played its final regular season home game in a 4-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Great American Ball Park.

Votto’s 10-year, $225 million contract expires at season’s end, but the Reds hold a 2024 club option for $20 million according to Spotrac. If they decide to decline the club option, Votto is owed a buyout of $7 million and becomes a free agent. His base salary this season is $25 million and for Competitive Balance Tax purposes, it is $22.5 million based on the average annual value of Votto’s contract. Spotrac’s total adjusted salary for the Reds states that Votto comprises 25.96% of the ball club’s payroll this season and has earned $13,440,900 while missing 100 days due to injury.

It’s hard to justify how an aging and injured former all-star could comprise one quarter of a ball club’s payroll, especially if you’re a small market franchise. However, Votto isn’t your average ball player finishing out a nine figure, long-term contract that was originally rewarded based on past performance and meritorious service. As the structure of baseball contracts regularly fails to align achievements with compensation, Votto’s matter is complicated since he is an institution with the Reds.

The vision of Votto wearing another uniform is difficult given what he has meant to the franchise as his association with the Reds dates back two decades. If the Reds decide the $7 million buyout is in their best interests, Votto must determine if it is worth his while to sign a one-year contract with a competitive ball club in pursuit of that elusive world championship as a part-time ball player. No one wants to see a distinguished ball player succumb to a warped sense of reality while doing damage to a sterling legacy. However, Votto gives the impression that he will be at peace regardless of what the Reds decide to do with the club option.

A second round selection as a catcher in Major League Baseball’s 2002 draft, Votto received a $600,000 signing bonus after being the 44^th overall pick out of Richview Collegiate Institute in Ontario, Canada. The Toronto native has the second highest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) based on Baseball-Reference’s calculation in his draft class at 64.4 and only trails Kansas City Royals right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke’s 77.0 WAR. Out of the “Moneyball” draft of 2002, Greinke and Votto have two of the most compelling cases for enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Votto’s Hall of Fame candidacy is predicated on his innate ability to get on base, which is ironically one of the primary themes of Michael Lewis’ best-selling book on the art of winning an unfair game.

According to Baseball-Reference and its calculation of WAR, there are 31 major league ball players who have posted a WAR of 60.0 or greater while playing for only one ball club in their careers. The group boasts 27 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Besides Votto, the other three presently on the outside looking in are Mike Trout (85.2), Lou Whitaker (75.1), and Todd Helton (61.8).

A darling of the analytics community, Votto’s brilliance has been evident in multiple advanced metrics beginning with on-base percentage (OBP) and on-base plus slugging (OPS). Based on a minimum of 4,000 plate appearances between the 2008-2018 seasons and data collected using Baseball-Reference, only two of the 129 qualified ball players have posted an OBP of at least .400: Votto (.428) and Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (.416). To no one’s surprise when it comes to OPS, both Trout (.990) and Votto (.957) sit atop this statistical category for the period covering 11 seasons. Votto (1,099) takes it a step further by also being the only ball player to surpass 1,000 base on balls.

The 2010 National League’s Most Valuable Player Award winner is confronting the painful realities that accompany a ball player with diminishing skills who has sustained a significant injury in the latter stages of his career. In August 2022, Votto underwent surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff and biceps. He did not make his debut this season until June 19^th and returned to the injured list on August 24^th with a left shoulder strain.

Amid stints on the injured list this season, Votto has achieved two noteworthy accomplishments for the Reds. According to Baseball-Reference, he became one of six ball players who have played in at least 2,000 ball games and surpassed 2,000 hits while a member of the Reds. The other five are: Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, Barry Larkin, Bid McPhee, and Pete Rose. Votto also became only the second ball player in franchise history to hit at least 350 home runs alongside Bench (389).

In an April interview with Ian Hanomansing of CBC News: The National, Votto reflected on what it means to encounter obstacles while aging as a baseball player. Votto said, “It’s challenging as you get older in this sport. It’s challenging, you know. You’re competing against your previous self.” In a poignant moment with Hanomansing, Votto admitted that he isn’t as good as he once was, but he is trying to figure out ways how to be successful and help the Reds win ball games.

Joey Votto has left an indelible mark on the Cincinnati Reds thanks to his exemplary play, fan engagement, and entertaining social media presence. Occasionally quirky, Votto’s superpower is a blend of humility and thoughtfulness which has made him one of the most interesting ball players in recent memory. Always willing to engage in a witty conversation, Votto knows the Reds are in an awkward financial position regarding the club option and buyout. Regardless of what happens, expect Votto to extol the beauty of playing baseball in Cincinnati while demonstrating gratitude for a career that will lead him to the hallowed halls of Cooperstown wearing a wishbone-style C on the cap of his Hall of Fame plaque.