Toronto Blue Jays scouted Joey Votto: ‘Definitely something we would have to consider’

This story was first published in November

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — If Joey Votto can’t go back to the Cincinnati Reds, the Canadian baseball legend might yet be able to go home again.

Ross Atkins, the Toronto Blue Jays general manager, said on Tuesday his team has done enough background and scouting work on Votto to know this much: If he believes the Jays are a fit, the feeling is mutual.

“Incredible player, remarkable career – just a massive impact in the community if he were to be a Toronto Blue Jay,” Atkins said during baseball’s annual general managers meetings at the Omni resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“So it’s definitely something that we would have to consider if that was something he wanted to pursue.”

The Blue Jays have been the focus of easy and obvious speculation as a 2024 destination for the Toronto-born Votto even before the Reds officially declined their $20 million contract option last week on the franchise’s most significant player of the last two decades.

With free agency just starting this week, the Jays haven’t talked with Votto yet, Atkins said. “And also, we’re very respectful of where he is.”

That’s the thing. A month ago, Votto finally said publicly he wanted to play at least one more season and that if the Reds didn’t exercise his option he would “have a new experience” and become a free agent.

He’s had only a few days to process the Reds decision, which team president Nick Krall said came down to the lack of projected playing time they would have for the former MVP with all the young hitters vying for at-bats across the infield and DH spots.

Toronto has a clear opening for a left-handed bat at first base and DH with the departure of Brandon Belt, and Atkins made it clear repeatedly Tuesday that “we will be prioritizing position-player acquisitions” this winter – trying to add between one and four hitters, said the exec whose team is one of the few contenders that doesn’t plan to seriously pursue starting pitching.

He said he has the resources to sign free agents (Belt made $9.3 million this year) and the organizational depth to make trades to address the roster’s needs.

But while Votto heading to Toronto sounds obvious, even poetic, it’s not as obvious that’s what Votto would consider the best fit, depending on the projected playing time and goals for proving what he has left in the tank competitively.

“We spent time on him, [scouting and] background over the years and at points in time we’ve spent more time on him,” Atkins said. “As it relates to their desire, I can’t really speculate on it.”

Atkins said Votto’s clubhouse presence and impact on the development of young players also plays into the fit with a Blue Jays team that still has a relatively young core.

“And in today’s game with the DH being available to all teams, he has a really compelling track record I would imagine all contending teams would have some interest in,” Atkins said. “He’s a Torontonian, too; it’s not just Canadian. He has an incredible reputation, really dynamic personality, he’s really bright – [qualities] OI know our team would embrace.

“But I think that’s the case for probably 15 teams as well.”

Whether the Jays or any of those other teams would commit everyday at-bats beyond platooning against right-handers, is unclear. Belt, who got more than two-thirds of his playing time at DH (the rest at first), wound up with 404 plate appearances despite a slow start and two  injured-list stints for a hamstring and his back that cost him about a month. He hit .254 with 19 homers and an .858 OPS).

Atkins said he wouldn’t “put him in a category” at this point.

But the Jays did a lot of scouting of Votto since his June 19 return from a 10-month shoulder injury – and all the way through the final three weeks after his return from a second, 10-day IL stay for more strengthening.

“We spent time on him and have a good feel for the player that he is,” Atkins said. “We didn’t have concerns that would suggest that he would be more limited than any other situation. Nothing to say that he couldn’t be productive.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Toronto Blue Jays eyeing Joey Votto as potential free agent target