Reds fans can’t watch Angels turn Joey Votto into next Albert Pujols

It was recently revealed that a couple teams have shown interest in signing Joey Votto. Speculation grew as to whether it was the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, or even the hated Chicago Cubs.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post is reporting that he believes the Los Angeles Angels are one of the teams who are targeting Votto in free agency.

While the Halos would afford Votto the opportunity to be the team's DH with Shohei Ohtani having joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Angels don't have the best track record when it comes to former MVP first baseman joining their ball club.

Reds fans can’t watch Angels turn Joey Votto into next Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols left the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2011 season. At the time, Pujols' accolades included NL Rookie of the Year in 2001, nine-time All-Star, two Gold Gloves, six Silver Slugger Awards, three NL MVP trophies, and two World Championships. At the time, Pujols was arguably the best player in baseball.

Prior to the 2012 season, Pujols signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Angels and it was assumed that once he joined would help take the Halos to new heights. In typical Pujols' fashion, his first season in southern California was successful. LA won 89 games, Mike Trout won Rookie of the Year, and the Angels looked like contenders.

But the following year saw Pujols play fewer than 100 games as he dealt with knee and foot issues. It's hard to remember an offseason between the time he signed his mega-deal with the Angels until his departure in 2021 when Pujols wasn't rehabbing from some sort of ailment or surgery.

During his career in Los Angeles, Pujols compiled a slash line of 256/.311/.447. That's quite the drop off from his days with the Cardinals when he hit .326/.417/.614. Reds fans could scarcely imagine watching the same fate befall Joey Votto while wearing an Angels uniform.

Pujols isn't the only player who's failed to thrive inside the Angels organization. While not very popular with baseball fans in general, it's hard to ignore the complete drop in production from Anthony Rendon. After watching him succeed in Washington while leading the Nationals to a World Championship, Rendon's played just 200 games in four seasons since joining Los Angeles in 2020.

While most Reds fans would love to see Joey Votto return to Cincinnati in 2024, that doesn't appear to be in the cards. President of baseball operations Nick Krall said that the club has no plans to bring the former MVP back as of now.

Joey Votto ended his Cincnnati Reds tenure with an early trip to showers after being ejected during the final game of the 2023 season. While that's not the best memory for the fans throughout Reds Country, it would certainly be better than watching the future Hall of Famer fade into utter obscurity with a team going nowhere.