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The NL Central is in a weird sort of stasis field right now. The teams at the top aren't playing particularly well, while the teams at the bottom aren't playing particularly poorly. That's created a compacted division where, entering play Tuesday, every team, from the Astros at the bottom to the Brewers at the top, is within 4 1/2 games. With a division this close, its conceivable that anything could tip the balance right now. That means it's good news for the Reds that Joey Votto is expected to begin his rehab assignment soon. Dusty Baker told the Cincinnati Enquirer this afternoon that Votto's been swinging the bat and should start working out with the team soon with a rehab assignment closely following. The Reds don't want to rush him, but their lineup could certainly use his .627 slugging percentage back as soon as possible
When Votto last played, the Reds were 26-21 and 1 1/2 games out of first place. Since he's gone on the DL with stress-related issues, the team has gone 5-10 with two of those wins coming against the Nationals. They're lucky to have only lost a game in the standings over those 15 games due to the previously mentioned divisional vortex that's pulling everyone into mediocrity, but they can't keep playing this poorly and expect to remain in contention.
Votto is probably the player the Reds miss the most right now, but he's not the only guy out. In the same report, it's also mentioned that Edwin Encarnacion and Edinson Volquez are also getting closer to returning to duty for the Reds (Encarnacion moreso than Volquez). Even with all three back, I'm not sure the Reds can hang around the top of the division, but they would probably love to have them back sooner rather than later so that they have a chance to prove me wrong.
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