Struggling Joey Votto says he'd rather retire than play the way he's playing

Joey Votto is off to a slow start, and the Cincinnati Reds star says he'd rather quit than continue playing at this level.

"It's not something I'm OK with. I'd rather quit and leave all the money on the table than play at a poor level," Votto told Cincinnati.com before Sunday's game against the Pirates. "I'm here to play and be part of setting a standard. It's something I've always taken pride in. I love to play at a really high level. So far this year, it's not been that. I will not be a very satisfied, happy person if I don't perform at the level that I expect."

If Votto, who hit .229 with two homers in April, decided to walk away, he'd leave a massive amount of money on the table. Including this season, the 32-year-old owed $199 million for the next eight years. Votto's struggles in April included an 0-for-19 slide, his longest hitless streak in his career.

"(I) was just prepping my swing for what I view as the long haul approach," Votto said. "There's growing pains. But I won't accept competing at that level, this level, I just won't."

Votto, a four-time All-Star, did admit that his frustration level could be the impetus behind these comments. He's a career .309 hitter, so this kind of slide is foreign for the former MVP.

"In the frame of mind I'm in right now, I don't know... I just... All I've known is playing at a certain level. The way I played in April is unacceptable and embarrassing to me," he said. "It's not something that I would look forward to coming to the ballpark, coming to spring training to do, year-in and year-out, it just would leave me too unhappy, too unsatisfied. I'm probably speaking in... I don't know if (the word would) be abstract, hypotheticals, but I'd have a really hard time — and maybe I'm full of (it), but I just don't feel I'm at that point in my career where I can accept mediocrity."