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The Cincinnati Reds announced today that first baseman Joey Votto has a torn meniscus in his left knee and will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday. Votto suffered the injury in June when sliding into third in a game against the San Francisco Giants. He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
Obviously, this injury could significantly impact the Reds. The most likely move and the one the Reds used tonight is to move third baseman Todd Frazier to first and have Scott Rolen play third every day. A roster move will be announced tomorrow.
This should benefit the Pirates' playoff chances, but it may have an even greater impact on the MVP race as Votto was one of the few players who had a first half similar to that of Andrew McCutchen.