The future of Votto

[Sea Ray]

Of all the guys to worry about in the Reds' lineup, Votto's got to be somewhere near the bottom of the list.

He's one of the biggest holes in the lineup right now and due to his age it's iffy as to whether he can regain form. He's also very difficult to bench or demote in the lineup. No, I'd say due to a lot of factors, Votto and Puig are two of the biggest worries in this lineup

[RedCanuck]

I see Votto being Prime Minister of Canada in his future.

He’d be better than the clown we have now.
He’s also more qualified than our current PM who was previously a substitute school teacher.
Unfortunately I am not joking.

[OGB]

I say we send him to the glue factory

Good luck getting Joey Votto to eat glue!

[marcshoe]

He’d be better than the clown we have now.
He’s also more qualified than our current PM who was previously a substitute school teacher.
Unfortunately I am not joking.

And what's wrong with substitute school teachers?

[OGB]

Look for Votto to go on the DL with a mystery injury.
We would be OK with Dietrich or Farmer at 1st. Or maybe Brian O'Grady?

Im trying to be as optimistic about our farm as anyone, but God help us if the answer is to DL Votto and play Brian OGrady

[RiverfrontRed]

Of all the guys to worry about in the Reds' lineup, Votto's got to be somewhere near the bottom of the list.

Currently, that's not even close to being true. I hope that changes, for Joey's sake, not to mention the team's.

[GAC]

I hope you're right but...I think you're nothing more than a cock-eyed optimist on this one.

Could be. But explain what's cock-eyed about believing his slow start this year, his struggles at the plate, are more mental then age? I'm not disavowing his age, nor it's factor. We started seeing evidence of that last season with the power drop off. But again, he still had a good slash line overall. While not impossible, I do not believe he's fallen off the cliff all of a sudden between last season and now.

You, and others, have basically written Joey off, it's over - and base that (primarily) on 45+ games. And you all may be right. Only time will answer that. And IMO, there hasn't been a big enough "window" for me to jump out there with such certainty and say Joey's done.

So I'm optimistic in the sense that I don't think Joey's tank is empty, that he can adjust and possibly be a sound table-setter for us. Again, we'll see. Because he's not going anywhere (LOL).

[757690]

Of all the guys to worry about in the Reds' lineup, Votto's got to be somewhere near the bottom of the list.

I’d say he’s the guy to worry about the most.

The Reds offense can’t afford to lose an MVP caliber bat like his over the next few years, and he’s not going anywhere until 2024. If he doesn’t return close to form, the Reds aren’t competitive for many years.

[Kinsm]

The only things I get from Votto's performance is that Reds fans don't understand that Luis Castillo is more important to the team than Votto right now, and that it's a mistake to have contracts that pay a player for what they've already done instead of what they are doing now.

So, you're saying don't give Castillo a 20 year 400 M$ contract this winter?

- - - Updated - - -

If Roy Hobbs can do it ... then so can Joey!

All we have to do now is get the media to forget about that woman who shot Joey and then jumped from a window. Then Joey will be just fine.

[Sea Ray]

Could be. But explain what's cock-eyed about believing his slow start this year, his struggles at the plate, are more mental then age? I'm not disavowing his age, nor it's factor. We started seeing evidence of that last season with the power drop off. But again, he still had a good slash line overall. While not impossible, I do not believe he's fallen off the cliff all of a sudden between last season and now.

You, and others, have basically written Joey off, it's over - and base that (primarily) on 45+ games. And you all may be right. Only time will answer that. And IMO, there hasn't been a big enough "window" for me to jump out there with such certainty and say Joey's done.

So I'm optimistic in the sense that I don't think Joey's tank is empty, that he can adjust and possibly be a sound table-setter for us. Again, we'll see. Because he's not going anywhere (LOL).

I don't think it's mental that's causing a slow bat. That's a physical thing. This thing has gone on too long for it to be mental. Second half of last yr wasn't good either. I don't think he'll ever put up an average offensive number for a starting MLB 1B again. The good news is I do think he'll retire "early". I do hope you're right and I'm very wrong.

[Phoenix2]

I love Votto and believe he is a Hall of Famer and the Reds all time greatest first baseman. I have no idea what to make of this sudden drop in production. The 8 RBIs to date is truly astounding. That has to be bad luck in addition to poor hitting. I'm not going to tell Votto how to hit but I would move him down in the order and still pencil him in everyday.

[M2]

Currently, that's not even close to being true. I hope that changes, for Joey's sake, not to mention the team's.

Half the starting lineup has sub-.300 OBs. Votto's not one of them. He's going to be more up and down as he gets older, but I'm reasonably confident about the ups. Most of the other struggling players, not so much.

[plantmanky]

I wonder if Votto would restructure his contract, cut it down to say 10 M a year, but extend it out like Griffey did.

[UKFlounder]

Maybe he'll rework it so we can send him to AAA /WilyMo

I wonder if Votto would restructure his contract, cut it down to say 10 M a year, but extend it out like Griffey did.

[KronoRed]

I wonder if Votto would restructure his contract, cut it down to say 10 M a year, but extend it out like Griffey did.

The Reds didn't spend the money they saved on JR on the payroll, they counted the full amount and pocked the deferred savings, I'm sure they would to the same here.