Reds Placing Veteran Infielder On COVID Injured List

It looks like the Cincinnati Reds will be without their veteran infielder Joey Votto for an unforeseeable amount of time, due to illness.

The team has placed the first baseman on the COVID injured list because of symptoms that Votto was showing, although Reds manager David Bell confirmed that Votto has not actually tested positive for COVID-19 as of now.

“We’re precautionary as far as being able to put him on that COVID IL, which is really a day-to-day thing until we know more,” Bell said to Cincinnati reporters.

The Cincinnati Reds have put slumping first baseman Joey Votto on the COVID-19 injured list.

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Votto's stint on the injured list is occurring after an atrocious start to the season for the Canadian slugger. In 22 games this season, the former MVP and All-Star has a career low batting average of .122, as well as just 3 RBIs and not a single home run thus far.

Votto had a resurgent season last year, putting up 36 home runs and 99 RBIs, numbers that were not far off from his career-high seasons in his prime.

But, at 38-years-old, and with almost 16 seasons worth of mileage under his belt, a drop-off in performance is almost to be expected.

It will be an intriguing storyline for the rest of the season to see if Votto can bounce back from his slump—and time on the injured list—to turn back the clock and offer similar production to his comeback season last year.

Although, if he is not able to overcome his slump and it continues for the remainder of the season, it may leave many wondering if this could truly be the final season for Votto? A prospect that the Reds infielder has already had to address via social media.