Veteran Reds first baseman Joey Votto is done for the 2022 season. He will undergo surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder on Friday, he told reporters (via Bobby Nightengale) after the Reds' win over the Phillies on Wednesday.
This concludes Votto's 16th season with the Reds. In many ways, it was his worst. He hit .205/.319/.370, which was an 85 OPS+. He had a 138 OPS+ last season while hitting .266/.375/.563. As well, the -0.1 WAR was the worst of his career after putting up 3.5 last year.
Votto, 38, is still signed through next season with the Reds for $25 million. There's a $20 million club option for 2024, though it's hard to see that picked up at this point, so it looks like 2023 might be Votto's swansong with the Reds.
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Regardless, it's been quite a ride with Votto and the Reds. He's a six-time All-Star and won the 2010 NL MVP. He's been with the club for parts of 16 seasons, racking up 2,093 hits, 1,338 walks, 453 doubles, 342 home runs, 1,106 RBI, 1,145 runs. He's led the league in on-base percentage seven times, slugging once, OPS twice, OPS+ once, doubles once and walks five times.
After struggling with power for a few years, Votto has a renaissance in 2021. He slugged 36 homers, which was just one shy of his career high despite his being 37 years old and only playing in 129 games. This time around, it wasn't quite the same. He hit 11 homers in 91 games while striking out at the highest rate of his career and walking at the lowest rate since he was a rookie in 2008.
After winning on Wednesday, the Reds are 46-70 and in fourth place in the NL Central.
