TORONTO (AP) — Former NL MVP and six-time All-Star Joey Votto announced his retirement from baseball in a short video posted on social media Wednesday.
Toronto-born Votto signed a minor league contract with his hometown team in March and played at Triple-A Buffalo after an extended layoff with an ankle injury. He went 6-for-42 with one home run and four RBIs in 15 games, striking out 22 times.
The 40-year-old first baseman became a free agent last fall after a 12-year, $251.5 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds, his only team in 17 major league seasons, expired. Cincinnati declined Votto’s $20 million option for 2024.
The Blue Jays hosted the Reds on Wednesday for the finale of a three-game series.
Votto, the 2010 NL MVP and 2011 Gold Glove winner, batted .294 with 356 home runs and 1,144 RBI in 2,056 games.
Due to a shoulder injury, Votto was only able to play 65 games in 2023. He did not play his first game until June 19, exactly 10 months after undergoing surgery on his left biceps and rotator cuff.
In his only spring training batting appearance for Toronto on March 17, Votto hit a home run against Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler. Later in the game, he stepped on a bat in the team’s dugout and was sidelined for the next three months.
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