Reds news: Joey Votto will forfeit $154,320 for every game not played

Joey Votto will not get the full complement of his 2020 salary. For every game not played, the Cincinnati Reds first baseman will forfeit about $154,000.

According to Spotrac, Joey Votto‘s contract will pay him $25M during the 2020 season. Votto signed a 10-year/$225M contract back in 2014. Votto is the Cincinnati Reds highest-paid player, however, for every game missed this season, the first baseman will forfeit approximately $154,320.

There is currently a dispute among Major League Baseball and the players union. According to Yahoo! Sports, MLB is looking to reduce players salaries even further amid the coronavirus pandemic. MLB is arguing that empty ballparks, likely to be norm for the 2020 season, will continue to cut into the leagues already diminished revenue.

According to Yahoo! Sports, the league and the union had already reached an agreement back on March 26th to reduce players salaries by 1/162nd for every game missed. Union head Tony Clark sees the matter of further reductions as a closed case and is ready to move on to finding ways for players to get back onto the diamond safely. Here’s a quote from Clark via Yahoo! Sports:

”Players recently reached an agreement with Major League Baseball that outlines economic terms for resumption of play, which included significant salary adjustments and a number of other compromises. That negotiation is over.”

While $154,320 is a chunk of change, some of the players who signed offseason contracts are going to take a big hit as well. Gerrit Cole, who signed with the New York Yankees, is slated to lose $222,222 for every game missed in 2020.

Some of the Reds recent free agent acquisitions will have to forfeit some serious dough as well. Mike Moustakas, who signed a four-year/$64M contract this past winter will lose $74,074 for every game not played. Nick Castellanos, whose 2020 salary is slightly higher despite similar terms to Moustakas’ deal, will lose approximately $98,700 for every game not played.

For some of the players on the Cincinnati Reds making the league minimum ($563,500), they stand to lose $3,478 for every game not played in 2020. This includes the likes of Josh VanMeter, Nick Senzel, Tyler Mahle, Jesse Winker and Cincinnati’s ace Luis Castillo.

It was reported yesterday that many clubs throughout Major League Baseball, including the Cincinnati Reds, will pay their baseball ops personnel through the end of May. That said, according to Yahoo! Sports, Rob Manfred made the move on Monday to allow clubs to lay off or cut the pay of major league and minor league managers, coaches, trainers and scouts.

For the sake of the game and the fans, hopefully Joey Votto and the reds of the Reds team is able to find the field sometime in the near future. While likely to be played in front of no fans, it was recently reported that MLB may be looking into a three-state plan that would include Florida, Arizona and Texas.