TORONTO (AP) — Former National League MVP and six-time All-Star Joey Votto announced his retirement from baseball in a Short video posted on social media Wednesday.
Votto, born in Toronto signed a minor league contract with his hometown team In March, after a long layoff due to an ankle injury, he had been playing at Triple-A Buffalo. He went 6-for-42 with one homer and four RBIs in 15 games, striking out 22 times.
The 40-year-old first baseman became a free agent last fall after finalizing a 12-year, $251.5 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds, his only team in 17 major league seasons. rejected Votto’s $20 million option by 2024.
The Blue Jays hosted the Reds on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series.
Votto, the 2010 National League MVP and 2011 Gold Glove winner, hit .294 with 356 homers and 1,144 RBIs in 2,056 games.
A shoulder injury limited Votto to 65 games in 2023. He didn’t play his first game until June 19, 10 months to the day after surgery on his left biceps and rotator cuff.
Votto homered off Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler in his only spring training at-bat for Toronto on March 17. He stepped on a bat in the dugout later in that game and was sidelined for the next three months.