Cincinnati Reds looking for Joey Votto’s replacement as he undergoes arthroscopic surgery – MLB News
With the unexpected news of first baseman Joey Votto’s arthroscopic surgery that may take a month to recover, Cincinnati Reds’ general manager Walt Jocketty stated on Monday, July 16 that the team is trying to figure out who can actually replace him.
"We'll see what we can do internally, initially, to try and replace him," Jocketty said. "It's going to be difficult to replace Joey Votto, although I think Frazier can give it the best shot."
Reds on Monday did bring rookie Todd Frazier to play in Votto’s place. He was 1-for-4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cincinnati, which sit atop the National League Central, nonetheless lost the Monday game by 5-3.
On the other hand, Votto had a lot of things to grapple with. The All-Star was not at his best since his knee injury on June 29 while playing against the San Francisco Giants. Since that injury, he had maintained a .281 average with 9-for-32.
That was a sharp slump given the fact that Votto was being considered the backbone of the team and all eyes were on him to further strengthen the offence. Votto’s contract extension had come only this year with a 10-year, $225 million deal.
Having appeared in 86 of the total 88 games played this year, he had maintained .342 batting average with 49 RBIs to his credit. He hit 14 home-runs with .465 on-base percentage.
While Votto could play with the tear that was diagnosed on Monday, the team prefers not to take any risk given the utility of this accomplished slugger. The team for now does not want to give any impression of being worried in the aftermath of this eventuality.
"I guess the good part of it is if you can weather the storm over the next two or three weeks and still be in the thick of things when he gets back, it gives us a lift when he does come back," Starter Bronson Arroyo said. "For now, it's not a good prognosis for our team."
For now Todd Frazier seems a good replacement. His decent performance can help the team compensate for the absence of Votto.
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