Reds Get Terrible News on Joey Votto Update

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell revealed his lineup for the team's matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, and notably Joey Votto was absent.

It's easy to assume this is simply a day of rest for the aging slugger. Votto has played in all 22 of Cincinnati's games thus far and could be due for some rest based on his abysmal start, slashing just .122/.278/.135 across 90 plate appearances.

Unfortunately, there's a more concrete reason Votto is on the bench today and it's not good news for Bell and his staff.

Joey Votto COVID Update

Reds News

Votto was placed on the COVID IL Tuesday afternoon, meaning he'll be inactive until he's able to clear protocols established by MLB's Health and Safety Committee.

In a corresponding move, the Reds reinstated catcher Tyler Stephenson from the concussion list. The young backstop hasn't played since the controversial slide and collision with Luke Voit of the San Diego Padres about two weeks ago.

Votto's absence from the Reds lineup is always strange. He's been an ironman throughout his 16-year career in Cincinnati. The former MVP and six-time All-Star played at least 129 games in 11 of his 16 seasons, reaching 145+ games in eight of those.

It's unclear how long Votto will be on the COVID list, but hopefully he's asymptomatic and can take some time off to re-center his bat. The veteran still has zero home runs on the year and has struck out 29 times.

The Reds head into Tuesday's matchup with the Brewers as +194 road underdogs from FanDuel Sportsbook's MLB odds.

Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.