GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Joey Votto looks a bit menacing with that square jaw and heavy beard, and he has always had a reputation as a loner. Younger teammates have been too nervous to approach him in the Cincinnati Reds' clubhouse over the years. And even a fan learned not to interrupt Votto in his work space.

So when an industrious second grader recently entered his orbit and came away smiling, it said a lot about where Votto's priorities are this spring.

Votto, 33, was giving an interview when head athletic trainer Steve Baumann's son, Drew, 7, approached his locker with a pair of new baseball shoes Votto had requested. In appreciation, Votto reached out with a fist bump and said, "That was really nice of you. Thanks, buddy," before turning to a reporter to explain.

"He's here with us in spring training, and he's excited to be helping out," Votto said of Drew, who was wearing a Reds uniform with his last name stitched across the back.

What might typically pass for a touching interlude has bigger ramifications in Cincinnati. As the Reds keep trending younger, Votto, their veteran star, is getting in touch with his nurturing side, striving to be a more accessible and engaged teammate to the 20-somethings such as Jose Peraza and Scott Schebler who surround him in the starting lineup.

It's a side of Votto's personality that he admits is outside his comfort zone.

"I'm naturally inclined to keep to myself, maybe be a bit more introverted and focused on the process," Votto said. "But I'm making an intentional point to connect and listen to my teammates and build relationships. It's something I'm going out of my way to do and I'm excited to do. It's giving me energy.

"In the past couple of years I've been more willing to share my work time. When I was younger, I was like, 'I'm working now, and you go work.' That was all I knew, because I was trying to keep my head above water. Now I'm more willing to say, 'Let's do our work side by side and cooperate.' That's really difficult to do in this sport sometimes because it can be so individualized. But taking that approach can be really beneficial for both [people] involved."

An evolving leader

During Votto's formative years in Cincinnati, Scott Rolen was the guy who set the tone in the clubhouse and ribbed Todd Frazier for being too chatty for a rookie. Then Rolen passed the leadership mantle to Jay Bruce, an All-Star player with the gift of relating to others. For all his skills, Votto was regarded as the cerebral star who spent much of his career in a competitive cocoon -- refining his swing mechanics through long hours in the cage.

"When I first came up in 2010 or '11, Joey was more into his routine," Reds shortstop Zack Cozart said. "Not that he didn't care about everybody else. He was just so locked into his routine and making sure he was right, he didn't really pay attention to the other stuff. If you don't know Joey, he can be an intimidating guy. Young guys would come to me and not him, because he's more intimidating than I am."

Subtly and somewhat unexpectedly, the Reds began seeing a different side of Votto last summer. The most noteworthy beneficiary was center fielder Billy Hamilton, a blazer whose speed was being wasted by his inability to make solid contact. Votto invited Hamilton out for early 3:30 p.m. sessions in the cage, and soon the information they shared began having a positive impact on everything from Hamilton's confidence to his exit velocity. Hamilton raised his OPS from an anemic .563 in 2015 to a more presentable .664 last season, and he cited Votto's tutorials as a principal reason for his turnaround.

"He's been building me up,'' Hamilton told Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans in May. "Everybody tells me I can't hit and everything. Joey says, 'Listen, Billy, don't listen to what anyone else has to say. As long as you come in and get your work done, everything is going to work out.'"

The concept of Votto as surrogate coach bodes well for the Reds, who have been peeling off veteran parts with a resolve that portends some short-term pain. Since the 2015 season, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Frazier, Aroldis Chapman, Bruce and Brandon Phillips have passed from the scene, leaving Votto, Cozart and oft-injured pitcher Homer Bailey as the main links to the team's run of three playoff berths under former manager Dusty Baker from 2010 to 2013.

Joey Votto jokes with teammates as they run during spring training. Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo

Votto is still owed $179 million on the 10-year, $224 million deal he signed with Cincinnati in April 2012, and his full no-trade clause, which will soon morph into 10-and-5 service time rights, guarantees he'll have the final say over any trade. History suggests the atmosphere can get strained when a star chafes over losing that he never signed up for and the team begins to regard his contract as an albatross.

But Votto's relations with Reds ownership and the front office remain harmonious. He accepts the current shift in direction as an inevitable part of the franchise's evolution, and he talks as if he expects the Reds to be competitive again well before his contract expires in 2023.

"I feel lucky that I was able to sign a contract for an extended period of time with a no-trade clause," Votto said. "I don't take that lightly. I also understand that there are gonna be ebbs and flows, and peaks and valleys."

The Reds, similarly, have asserted throughout their rebuild that they see Votto as a building block rather than a drag on the team's long-term ambitions. General manager Dick Williams made it a point to sit down with Votto for an extended conversation early in camp.

"We need Joey in a good place, and he seems to be in a great place,'' Williams said. "He understands what's going on. He gets the life cycle of the business."

Win or lose, he rakes

Votto has built a reputation for professionalism that is worthy of respect. His .425 career on-base percentage is 12th-best in history among hitters with a least 3,000 career plate appearances, and his .313 batting average is third-best among active players, behind Miguel Cabrera and Ichiro Suzuki. The list of Votto's other career achievements consumes a whopping 13 pages in Cincinnati's 2017 media guide.

Votto's 2016 season gave his young teammates a lesson in the importance of persistence. In late April, he was sufficiently exasperated with his performance and insisted he would rather retire than continue to produce at such a feeble rate. And things didn't look much better when he was batting .225 on June 10. By admission, Votto had allowed his attention to detail slip in spring training, and he paid the price for it.

"I was a little sloppy, and it showed itself on the field and in my performance in all aspects of the game," he said.

Then the alarm bells went off, and the real Joey Votto reintroduced himself to National League pitching. He logged a .408/.490/.688 slash line after the All-Star break and nearly hit .400 in back-to-back months. With one more hit in September, Votto would have become the first MLB player to achieve the feat since Josh Hamilton did it for the 2010 Texas Rangers.

While Votto is subject to criticism at times for being too finicky at the plate, he concentrates on on-base percentage and keeps collecting his walks because that's the way he's built.

"He's special in the sense that he's going to look in his zone for his pitch, and if he doesn't get it, he's not going to swing until he gets two strikes," Cozart said. "If you've played baseball, that's borderline impossible to do -- to look for one pitch only and take everything around it. And Joey's the best at it. His zone management and judgment is as good as anybody's.

"He could probably go up there and say, 'Screw walks,' and 'I'm gonna swing at everything,' and he would get 200 hits next year. He has such good hand-eye coordination, he's going to get his hits no matter what. But that's not the type of player he is. Me personally, I wouldn't want him to change. I hear people say, 'You don't have 120 RBIs.' Who cares? For some reason he gets some flak for that, which doesn't make sense."

Last year, when Votto admittedly got "sloppy," he strayed from his typically meticulous approach in spring training. Even though he hit .455 in the Cactus League, he was uncharacteristically aggressive and didn't see enough pitches to feel right going into Opening Day. So it was telling when he ran deeper counts in the spring opener against Cleveland and struck out twice in three at-bats. Votto wants to be in sync for the season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 3, and he's going to do it his way.

It's natural to assume that pitchers will tread carefully with him this season and routinely pitch around him, because Bruce and Phillips are gone and Adam Duvall, Eugenio Suarez and the hitters who bat behind him have less accomplished resumes. But Votto has already pondered the possibilities and says he has a gut feeling it will be just the opposite.

"I'm guessing I'll probably get attacked more," he said. "It's what I found last year. I'm always ready to be attacked."

Judging from his demeanor this spring, Votto is also ready to be approached, prodded and quizzed for guidance that could help speed the growth process for his teammates. His resume suggests that Cincinnati fans can expect something in the neighborhood of his .313/.425/.536 career slash line. But if Billy Hamilton can raise that .260 batting average to .280, Votto will be equally pleased.

The guy has always been able to hit. Now he talks a pretty good game, too.