Joey Votto on the Blue Jays would be perfect

It’s all about perspective.

On Monday morning, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tweeted out that the plan is for Canadian first baseman Joey Votto to retire as a Cincinnati Red, unless…

Nick Krall #Reds GM told us their plan is for Joey Votto to finish his career as a Red. However, if the Reds are out of it at the trade deadline and Votto came to them and asked if they would trade him home to Toronto #BlueJays..he said he would consider under those circumstances
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) March 20, 2023

The most interesting part of this tweet is that Votto would consider being traded to his hometown Blue Jays if the Reds are out of the playoff race. We’ll go over this more in the contract section, but keep this in mind.
In terms of fit, you may be saying “well Brennan, the Jays don’t need another first baseman, they have Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and Brandon Belt to back him up.” While that is true it’s all a matter of perspective.
Let’s dive into the numbers, his contract, and how I think he fits.
How good is future Hall of Famer Joey Votto in 2023:
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that out of any current players in the league, Votto may be one of the only locks to make the Hall of Fame. For his career, he has slashed .297/.412/.513 in 8504 plate appearances and has accumulated 57.9 fWAR in his 16-year career. For first basemen since 1900 with 5000+ plate appearances, Votto’s 57.9 fWAR ranks 26th overall, beating out 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Fred McGriff.
However, what about recent times? At the end of the day, Votto is in the twilight of his career, so it’s unlikely that he puts up a considerable amount more.
Last season, he slashed .205/.319/.370 with 11 homers in 376 plate appearances. It’s worth noting that his season was derailed by i …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

The qualifying offer remains, which is a good thing for the Blue Jays

Monday was the deadline for the MLB and MLBPA to work out a deal with the international draft.

As you could tell by the title, there wasn’t a deal reached before the deadline. This means that the qualifying offer will remain and that there’ll be no international draft.
How the Jays have used the qualifying offer to their advantage:
Last season, the Blue Jays extended a qualifying offer to Cy Young winner Robbie Ray and MVP nominee Marcus Semien. Both declined and signed with AL West teams, giving the Jays two compensation picks.
With these picks, they drafted Tucker Toman, a projected first-rounder, and Cade Doughty, someone who easily could’ve been drafted in the middle of round two. 
While losing all-star calibre players sounds like a losing strategy, the Jays were able to sign Kevin Gausman (who didn’t have a qualifying offer) and trade for Matt Chapman, filling the holes left by Ray and Semien.
I’d argue that the Jays also could have extended a qualifying offer to pitcher Steven Matz because in the worst-case scenario, he’d of made $18 million or so over one season if he accepted. Had Matz declined it and signed with St. Louis, the Jays would’ve received another pick.
Internal Ramifications:
Fast-forward a year, and the Jays are in a situation where a pitcher is pitching his ass off. Ross Stripling has a 3.10 ERA and a 3.12 FIP in 78.1 innings pitched this season. He has a K/9 of 7.12 and a BB/9 of 1.72, along with a …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation