The Toronto Blue Jays have signed first baseman Joey Votto to a minor league contract with a non-roster invite to Spring Training, ESPN’s Buster Olney was first to report Friday.

This will mark the first time Votto has been part of an organization other than the Cincinnati Reds, who selected him in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft. Votto played 17 seasons in Cincinnati, earning countless spots in the franchise’s all-time record books.

The 40-year-old slugger had been publicly begging for a contract from any MLB team over the past few months – going viral with his dry sense of humor on multiple occasions – after the Reds declined his $20 million club option last fall.

Votto is no stranger to the Blue Jays, considering he was born and raised in Toronto. He has represented Canada in the World Baseball Classic as well, so Votto is due for quite the homecoming welcome should he make their Opening Day roster.

From the time he made his major league debut in 2007 through the 2023 season, Votto has racked up 2,135 hits, 356 home runs, 1,144 RBI and a 64.4 WAR. The six-time All-Star and former NL MVP is a .294 hitter in his career.

Coming off the 10-year, $225 million contract he had with the Reds, Votto was unlikely to hold out for a massive payday heading into 2024. It remains to be seen if he is actually willing to stick it out in the minor leagues, though, or if he will these next few weeks of Spring Training are an all-or-nothing affair.

Votto currently ranks second all-time among Canadian-born players in career hits, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, trailing Hall of Famer Larry Walker by just 25. Should he carve out a role in Toronto, he might just be able to break the record while representing Canada’s lone MLB club.

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation’s All Bruins, 247Sports’ Bruin Report Online, Rivals’ Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists.