Joey Votto sustains ankle injury, removed from lineup for Toronto Blue Jays’ Triple-A team scheduled start..

Toronto Blue Jays infielder Joey Votto was removed from his planned start for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Friday night after aggravating his right ankle injury during pregame warmups.

The Blue Jays announced that Votto, who has already dealt with ankle and lower-back problems this season, would undergo further evaluation on Saturday.

This is the same ankle that the 40-year-old Toronto native injured during spring training after signing a minor league contract with his hometown team on March 9.

During his brief stint in spring training, Votto hit a home run off Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies in his only at-bat on March 17. However, he suffered another setback when he stepped on a bat in the dugout during that same game, leading to a three-month absence from play.

A former NL MVP during his lengthy tenure with the Cincinnati Reds, Votto returned to action recently, playing 16 games in the minor leagues in Florida, primarily with Class A Dunedin.

His anticipated start with Buffalo against the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRaiders was seen as one of the final steps before making a return to Major League Baseball.

Throughout his career spanning 17 seasons, Votto has accumulated impressive statistics, batting .294 with 356 home runs and 1,444 RBIs across 2,056 games. Last season, he was limited to 65 games due to a shoulder injury, marking his sole tenure with the Reds in MLB.