I know Votto is due millions and he is on the downside of his career. I think it is time to either bring up a new first baseman or trade/sign a new one. If they keep the DH, just let Votto do that. I just feel it is time and I want to move on from the Votto era.

How many years are the Reds still on the hook with him?

(11-30-2020, 09:03 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: How many years are the Reds still on the hook with him?

Not exactly sure. But I think another 2 or 3 years at $25 million per year.

For almost a decade ('09-'17) Votto had the highest OPS in all of baseball. His .980 (min 2500 AB) was better than Trout and Cabrera and everyone. He was first in OB%, 3rd in BA, and 5th in SLG%. He won a Gold Glove and finished in the top 7 in MVP voting 6 of those nine years. No player in Reds history has been that dominate for that long of a period of time.

But over the last 3 years his production has fallen off a cliff. Over that span his .802 OPS ranked 57th, his BA was 64th, and his SLG% 96th. He still had the tenth highest OB%, but the value of that high OB% was greatly reduced by the fact that he is a terrible base runner. Not only is he slow, but he also makes too many mental errors on the base paths for a 14 year veteran. Even though he regained his HR stroke this year his average dropped to .226. Since 2018 he has averaged only 18 HR and 65 RBI per 162 games played with a .265 BA. Those numbers are just not acceptable for a first baseman.

We can't trade that salary, and since it is guaranteed we can't save any money by releasing him. Plus his .800 OPS was second best on the team last year. So I am afraid he will still be starting at first base.