Joey Votto activated from injured list, will make 2023 debut on Monday night

The Cincinnati Reds are among the hottest teams in baseball right now, and as if that wasn’t exciting enough, they’re about to add a Hall of Famer to the lineup: Franchise legend Joey Votto has completed his rehab assignment and will rejoin the team for his season debut on Monday night.

The 2010 NL MVP is set to start at first base and bat sixth against the Colorado Rockies. It’s been a long road back for Votto, who’s been out since undergoing season-ending rotator cuff surgery on August 19 of last year. The 39-year-old appeared in eight games during Spring Training and first began a Minor League stint way back in early April, with eyes on a return at some point that month. But his shoulder refused to cooperate — not a huge surprise, considering the initial timetable for return was 8-to-12 months — and Votto was shut down after 10 games amid renewed discomfort.

Radio silence followed over the next few weeks, but Votto finally started taking BP again in late May before rejoining Triple-A Louisville at the start of June. He hit .167 with two home runs, a double and five RBI in 12 games during his second rehab assignment, exiting Sunday’s game vs. St. Paul after going 0-for-1 with a walk in two plate appearances. Votto struggled before his injury last season, but he’s just two years removed from hitting .266/.375/.563 with 36 homers and 99 RBI in just 129 games. With rookie Spencer Steer thriving at first base in his absence, the future Hall of Famer is likely to slot in some sort of platoon against righties at both first and DH.

The team he’ll be returning to is a far cry from the one he left last summer. With Jonathan India enjoying a bounce-back year and top prospects Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain and Andrew Abbott providing a jolt of youth, Cincy has reeled off eight wins in a row — including a road sweep of the Houston Astros this weekend — to get to 37-35 and just half a game back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead.