Just the sound of the surgeries undergone by Joey Votto over the offseason were daunting. Rotator cuff. Torn biceps. Working back to complete health from one, let alone another, as one’s 40th birthday looms is difficult enough to fathom - when that ‘complete health’ then requires you to be honed-in enough to hit 101 mph fastballs, well, ‘complete health’ doesn’t always mean you’re ready to go.
That became evident for Votto as spring camp wound down in Goodyear, Arizona, and whether or not he’d be ready for Opening Day with the Cincinnati Reds was called into question.