MLB: Reds’ Joey Votto issues apology

Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto apologized for saying he doesn’t care about Canadian baseball after being asked about a recent no-hitter by Seattle’s James Paxton at Toronto.

In a Yahoo Sports podcast, Votto said that “as far as Toronto, and Canadian baseball, and the country of Canada, and [Paxton] being Canadian, I don’t care at all.”

The Toronto native said he is “terribly ashamed” of his comments and called them “ridiculously selfish and short-sighted” in an email posted on the Canadian Baseball Network website.

Votto said the question brought back feelings of resentment over not making Team Canada or being drafted by the Blue Jays. Votto played for Canada in the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classics.

Etc.

Minnesota catcher Jason Castro is out for the season after knee surgery. ... Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell will sit out a four-game series at Toronto that starts Thursday because he can’t enter Canada while awaiting sentencing in Arizona on a gun-related charge. ... Landing on the disabled list: New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (hip), Tampa Bay outfielder Carlos Gomez (groin), St. Louis reliever Luke Gregerson (shoulder).