Joey Votto says he would trade Elly De La Cruz for prospects if he were running the Cincinnati Reds. He argued that a potential $650 million contract would take up far too much of the club’s payroll. The former Reds first baseman said he would not commit half or a third of a team’s spending to a single player.
Votto, 43, spent all 17 of his major league seasons with Cincinnati, winning the 2010 National League MVP award and making six All-Star teams before retiring in 2024. De La Cruz, 24, is the team’s two-time All-Star shortstop and was Votto’s teammate in 2023.
The comments came in a Foul Territory interview published on Thursday, when former big league catcher A.J. Pierzynski asked Votto what his top priority would be if he were the Reds’ general manager.
