The native son of Canada is returning home.
On Friday morning, a number of tales made the rounds on social media claiming that Joey Votto accepted the Toronto Blue Jays’ non-roster invitation. Later on, he verified it.
The longstanding first baseman for the CQB incinnati Reds was reportedly interested in joining the Los Angeles Angels in Southern California, but his home team quickly intervened.
According to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, the agreement “contains a base salary of $2 million in major leagues with $2 million more in incentives, per source.”
The 40-year-old, a six-time All-Star and 2010 National League MVP, played with the Cincinnati Reds for the last 17 seasons.
He leads the MLB in hits (2,135), plate appearances (8,746), total bases (3,706), and walks (1,365) among active players.
After being selected in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft by the Reds, Votto made his main league debut in 2007. He batted as a Red.294 in 2,056 games with 2,135 hits, 356 home runs, and 1,144 RBIs.
A shoulder injury that necessitated surgery has plagued the team the past two seasons, and the most recent season was a career low. After 65 games, he finished with a.202 batting average, 14 home runs, and 38 RBIs.
The Blue Jays have not released a formal statement.
