Why haven't the Reds placed Joey Votto on the Injured List?

This is getting ridiculous. Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has been out of the lineup for the past seven games. The six-time All-Star last played a game on our nation's birthday, the Fourth of July against the New York Mets.

Votto has been dealing with back tightness for the last week. At this point, the Reds need to just shelve Votto for the upcoming series against the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals and retroactively place him on the 10-day IL.

With Joey Votto unavailable, the Reds have been playing with a short bench. When a player is oftentimes listed a day-to-day, it can make sense to refrain from placing him on the Injured List. But in this case, it's warranted.

Why haven't the Reds placed Joey Votto on the Injured List?

Joey Votto should be placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to July 5th. If he's healthy, Votto could then return to the Cincinnati Reds lineup After the All-Star break. The added rest could be of benefit for such an injury.

We know that Votto is close to returning. In fact, he may even be back in the lineup on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium when the Redlegs open up a three-game set against the American League East-leading New York Yankees. But this is just bad roster management.

If Votto were available to pinch hit or provide some measure of on-the-field contribution, I'd have no issue with him remaining on the active roster. But this is just getting silly. The Cincinnati Reds could recall TJ Friedl, Max Schrock, Jose Barrero, Alejo Lopez, or Stuart Fairchild for the next couple of games just to give David Bell an extra bat off the bench.

The Reds played a doubleheader last Thursday and played three games that went into extra innings last week. Hopefully we'll see Joey Votto back in the Cincinnati starting lineup on Tuesday in the Bronx. If not, the Reds should put the former MVP on the IL.