Joey Votto arrives at camp with Blue Jays eager to get him up to speed

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Joey Votto arrived at Blue Jays camp Saturday morning to take the physical that will allow his pending minor-league deal to become official.

As players filed into the team’s Player Development Complex, manager John Schneider had the chance to speak briefly with the veteran of 17 big-league seasons. The message for now: the Blue Jays are excited to have Votto and eager to help him get to game speed on his schedule.  

“We’ll work with him. We haven't we haven't touched on specifics yet,” Schneider said. “We’ll let him come work out today and go from there. But whenever he's ready to get into games, he'll be in there.”

While acknowledging that there’s little sense in overdoing a ramp-up, it’s likely Votto sees lots of at-bats against live pitching, possibly starting with simulated games before ramping up to Grapefruit League appearances. But if he needs more than two and a half weeks to get ready for the big leagues, that would be no problem, with Schneider describing the timing here as "totally open-ended.” 

An announcement could come any time, with Votto likely to address the media Sunday morning. In comments to The Athletic Friday, he said he’s open to starting the season at triple-A, flexibility that helps all involved.

The Blue Jays’ minor-league deal with Votto would pay him $2 million at the big-league level with another $2 million available in incentives, as reported by Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. It stands to reason that Votto wouldn’t have signed with the Blue Jays unless he believed he had a real path to playing time. At the same time, this is a minor-league deal, suggesting Votto will have to earn his way onto the team on merit rather than past accolades.

At the same time, this is a minor-league deal, suggesting Votto will have to earn his way onto the team on merit rather than past accolades. One way or another, he’s here to help the Blue Jays win, not to provide fans with a feel-good story. If he can produce, though, it’s clear opportunity will be there.

For now that means competing for a roster spot alongside the likes of Spencer Horwitz and Daniel Vogelbach, the two other left-handed hitting first base options in Blue Jays camp. Schneider spoke with Vogelbach Friday, encouraging him to keep doing what he’s doing instead of letting the Votto news throw him off course.

“It doesn't affect him, really. It doesn't affect him much,” Schneider said. “Vogey was great. He was on board. He knows how the game works. And I think when you're adding a player like Joey, everyone kind of understands that.”

The 31-year-old Vogelbach has impressed since signing a minor-league deal of his own late last month, homering twice in Grapefruit League games while working consistently good at-bats. There’s no predicting what opportunities might emerge because of injuries, but if everyone’s healthy and productive, it appears unlikely there would be room for both Votto and Vogelbach on a team that already has a 39-year-old designated hitter in Justin Turner.

There’s some potential for awkwardness there, to be sure. But Votto is also a player who hit 36 home runs with a .938 OPS at age 37. If he can get anywhere near that production at age 40, the Blue Jays would be thrilled.

“It's really cool to have a borderline Hall of Famer come to his hometown team that he grew up cheering for,” Schneider said. “But (there’s also) the effect that he can have on our team with his experiences and adding that to an already really close group, and a group that's hungry for information. We look at it from both ends, really. It's a cool story, but it's not like, ‘hey Joe, come on to Canada and retire.’ There's some real baseball there too.”