Joey Votto has spent the past two years in very different lanes from the one that made him a Reds icon. After trying a comeback in 2024, he spent last year traveling the world. Now he’s back around baseball in 2026, working as an analyst for MLB Network and NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball.
That put him on the call Sunday when the Reds faced the Cubs, and it also brought him back into the Cincinnati clubhouse before and after the game. He spoke with Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz, among others.
Stewart lit up talking about seeing Votto again.
“The definition of a complete hitter," Stewart said. "I watched him growing up.
It was awesome that he was here to watch that. It’s really cool that now I’m playing and he’s watching me, because I grew up watching him.”
Votto’s place in Reds history is already locked in. Over 17 seasons, all in Cincinnati, he finished second in franchise history in homers with 356, doubles with 459 and OPS at .920. He also sits first in walks with 1,365, third in runs with 1,171, fourth in hits with 2,135 and fifth in games played with 2,056.
On Sunday afternoon in the Wrigley Field press box, Votto talked about the new work, the possibility of more, and the year he spent away from the usual baseball grind.
He said he uses MLB Network to keep up with the sport while sharpening the way he communicates, but he’s not interested in burning nights watching multiple games just to keep pace. He also admitted the Reds’ season has made them an unappealing watch.
“I have not been watching the Reds, because it hasn't been a strong year for them. Working at NBC, my responsibility is to be more breadth than depth, to make sure I can speak to just about everything, comment on the momentum of the league, who are the big names, what's going on with league-wide changes, ABS, pitching styles, gameplay styles.
I can't do that focusing exclusively on one team. That's where MLB Now really helps me.”
Votto also explained why broadcasting fits him. He said he brings more than a former-player résumé to the table because he spent his career adjusting - sometimes standing more squatty, sometimes taller - and lived through different eras of the game.
“I played at a high level. I'd say the thing I offer that few players offer is that I made a lot of adjustments during my career.
Hitting more specifically, I was sometimes more squatty, sometimes taller ... I can comment on what it takes to be successful with different styles.
I also played through several different generations. I've felt spin.
I've felt high velo. I've seen the evolution of the game and I can offer that.
I didn't just observe it. I felt it on the field.
That is what the casual fan and diehard fan want to hear. They want to hear my experience and somehow explain what they're seeing in front of them.”
He said the challenge of getting ideas across clearly is part of what draws him to TV work.
“I find it challenging. Being able to speak but in an efficient and direct manner is quite hard.
I want to get better at that. I also know the sport, and with that combination, I can bring something to the table while also being challenged.”
As for coaching, front office work or another uniformed role, Votto sounded unconvinced. He said he doesn’t want a part-time arrangement or a title where his voice might not carry weight. He also said he does not want to put on a uniform again, after spending years in the game and understanding how demanding that life is.
He pointed to the need for coaches to fully invest in players and to spend time in the minors if they want to do the job right. He also said any future role would need to challenge him, especially as more of the sport becomes driven by data and AI.
“I genuinely feel like the player who played and wants to make sure the product on the field is as clean as possible is of value. And it's hard for someone that didn't play to understand where to coach and where to step back. To answer your question -- I would, definitely, but I don't even know if I am equipped to do something like that.”
He said his tongue-in-cheek remark on MLB Now about being a Reds GM was exactly that.
“I made that comment [about being a Reds GM recently] on MLB Now, tongue in cheek, obviously. But there's plenty of Major League players that are doing executive roles and having success.”
The travel, though, might have been the biggest change of all. Votto said the constant coddling of major league life made the last year especially eye-opening, and he made it a point to seek out places that would humble him. He visited Auschwitz, Hiroshima and Normandy, along with other stops in Japan and Europe.
“The challenging part about being a Major League player is you're constantly catered to. And the most important thing that I snagged from traveling is that nobody gives a damn about you at all and I try to go to places that upped my humility.
I went to Auschwitz. I went to Hiroshima.
I've been to Normandy. I went to as many places as I possibly could to better understand the world and how we're just one.
I had a lovely time traveling and I think it helped me become a better citizen.”
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Terry Francona and Brito both addressed the move, underscoring that the Reds are treating it as a practical roster adjustment rather than anything more disruptive. Still, whenever a regular is pulled out of the lineup for even a short stretch, it creates a small test of flexibility, and Cincinnati will spend the next couple of games sorting out how best to cover the infield until Surez returns. [Read more 🡒]