Matt’s Take: Reds Spring Training games begin this week
By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist
Baseball season is officially back! Well, Spring Training is at least, and I’ll take anything at this point, as it has been the longest winter stretch that I can recall in my lifetime. The snow, wet grounds, brutal weather, and boring Bengals season is going to put even more pressure on the Reds to have a good start to the season.
Early news out of Spring Training
Gavin Lux will play 2nd base and 3rd base to begin Spring Training and will not be working on outfield rotations.
Rhett Lowder is ramping up throwing this week. He added roughly 20 pounds this offseason.
Andrew Abbott lost 20 pounds this offseason.
Terry Francona has continuously stated to Elly that he wants him to be the best player in baseball on the best team in baseball. He’s been a frequent visitor to Francona’s office.
Jeimer Candelario came into Spring Training healthy and ready to redeem himself and his contract in 2025.
Who to keep an eye on?
As the Reds begin Spring Training this week, there are a few key players to keep an eye on as they compete for positions. Injuries will occur, as with any team, and after last season’s disaster, complaining about too many infielders should never be a complaint ever again.
Jeimer Candelario – Can he be versatile enough to play third base? Or will Christian Encarnacion-Strand play well enough to play this position? Perhaps, Spencer Steer will even find himself in the infield again.
Santiago Espinal isn’t being talked about enough. His defense is immaculate, and his .246 average last season was solid for this team in just 357 at bats. If his WAR can get back to his 2021 or 2022 levels (2.2-2.5), he could compete for a lot of playing time.
Gavin Lux and how he fits into this roster if fully healthy will be quite interesting.
Can Noelvi Marte or Will Benson play well enough to make the roster on Opening Day or will their droughts from last season continue?
Nick Martinez’ role should be seen early into Spring Training and it’ll be interesting to see if they initially use him as a starter. Same for Graham Ashcraft and his role going forward for this team.
Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand or Elly De La Cruz will have to become the power bat that this team desperately needs. A 30 home run guy on this roster shouldn’t be too much to ask for.