Longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who had signed a minor-league deal with his hometown Toronto Blue Jays this spring, announced his retirement on social media Wednesday, just as the Reds and Blue Jays began their game at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Votto, who will turn 41 next month, made one spring training appearance for the Blue Jays before injuring his ankle. He played 31 minor-league games this season in the Blue Jays’ system, the last 15 at Triple-A Buffalo. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a run scored in Tuesday’s game with the Bisons.
“That’s it,” Votto said on Instagram from the parking lot outside of Buffalo’s Sahlen Field. “I’m officially retired from baseball.”
Drafted out of a Toronto-area high school in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft, Votto played his entire MLB career with the Reds, amassing a Hall of Fame resume that includes a .294 career batting average, a .409 on-base percentage, 2,135 hits, 356 home runs and the 2010 National League Most Valuable Player Award.
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Following the 2023 season, the Reds did not pick up the one-year, $20 million option on the contract Votto signed before the 2012 season.
Votto signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays in March after spring training started. He played in just one game this spring for the Blue Jays, hitting a home run off the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler on the only pitch he saw before rolling his ankle on a bat in the dugout. In 42 at-bats with the Bisons, Votto had just six hits — one a home run.
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“Toronto + Canada, I wanted to play in front of you,” Votto wrote in the caption to his Instagram post. “Sigh, I tried with all my heart to play for my people. I’m just not good anymore. Thank you for all the support during my attempt.”
Votto’s career will end with him only wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform during his 17-year big-league career.
“Cincinnati, I’ve only played for you,” he wrote. “I love you.”
Votto also thanked fans.
“Finally, to the MLB fans,” he wrote. “You energized me with your cheers, I loved the boos, the trash talk, the moments where I broke a road cities (sic) moment, or was humbled on stage.”
This story will be updated.
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(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
