Reds first baseman and slugger Joey Votto was not in Friday's lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals with a neck injury.
Continue below for updates:
Votto's Injury Details and Timeline for Return Revealed
Friday, Sept. 2
According to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Votto is considered day-to-day with a stiff neck.
Votto has been one of the hottest players in the majors despite a miserable start to his 2016 season. Entering the All-Star break, he was hitting just .252, which was on pace for a career-worst mark.
But since July 15, he's been red hot, raising his averaging to .309 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI. ESPN Stats & Info tracked his play through Aug. 23:
Votto has been able to avoid major injuries since he missed 100 games in 2014 with a quadriceps injury.
When healthy, he's Cincinnati's most productive bat. Last year was the sixth time in his career that he hit more than 20 home runs and the fourth time he led the league in walks.
His bat wasn't enough for a Reds team that was one of the worst in baseball with a 64-98 record last year, which was their worst season since a 62-win 1949. This season hasn't been much better, as the Reds are 55-77 while sitting 30.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.
There was even more pressure for Votto to produce in 2016 after the Reds dealt Todd Frazier (35 home runs last year) to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason.
Ivan De Jesus Jr. will get the start in place of Votto at first base.
The Reds are already on the wrong side of one of the toughest divisions in baseball, and losing Votto for any amount of time is only going to make things worse.
In a perfect world for the Reds, Votto will make a quick recovery and lead the way for a strong finish so Cincinnati can gain some momentum heading into next season.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments