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Chicago Cubs Rumors: Joey Votto probably is not the answer at first base
Lost in the madness of the Chicago Cubs hiring Craig Counsell as their manager last week was the news that Joey Votto likely will be leaving the National League Central.
Chicago Cubs fans are funny with the guarded approach that they have rumors.
A case in point was when the rumor surfaced over the weekend that the Cubs do view free-agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins as a potential fit. The immediate reaction was disappointment in the sense that the fans believed the team would view Hoskins as their "big" move and the team may going to the well too often after experiencing success with Cody Bellinger last season on a pillow contract.
No, Hoskins, if signed, will not be the "big" move made by the Cubs this off-season. There is an expectation that the Cubs will surpass the first threshold of the luxury tax and the team has about $53MM in available space before they reach that point according to Spotrac. All this to say is that a signing of Hoskins should be viewed as a secondary move to a much larger acquisition and wouldn't be a hindrance to such a deal occurring.
And before we move to the main subject of this story, Hoskins has a career wRC+ of 126 and has 30+ home run power.
Keep that in mind along with the false narrative surrounding the Hoskins rumor when taking a look at what Gordon Wittenmyer the Cincinnati Enquirer (Subscription Required) wrote about former Cincinnati Reds' first baseman Joey Votto and a potential fit with the Cubs.
Wittenmyer also spoke with Cubs' president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer about Votto and while Hoyer did express an appreciation for watching Votto and his offensive approach with the Reds, there does not appear to be any sincere interest.
Votto is not the same player he once was and the past two seasons have proven that with a wRC+ of 93 and 98 respectively.
At this point, Votto should be viewed in the sense that the Cubs viewed Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini last off-season--a former All-Star who likely shouldn't be considered for an everyday role with any team.
For the Cubs, this is not the off-season to do that kind of shopping and we can now put the Votto discussion to bed for good.
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