Monday was the first day that there was an official on the field workout for the position players in Goodyear, Arizona at the Cincinnati Reds spring training complex. The infielders who are likely going to be playing most seem to be set as long as everyone is healthy. Tyler Stephenson is going to be the catcher, Sal Stewart’s going to be at first base, Matt McLain is going to be at second base, Ke’Bryan Hayes is going to be at third base, and Elly De La Cruz is going to be at shortstop. Eugenio Suarez will be the designated hitter. The backup catcher will be Jose Trevino, and he’ll get plenty of time behind the plate. Spencer Steer might wind up playing around the infield at times, and he’ll also probably get some time in the outfield now that his arm appears to be healthy.
Something that the Reds don’t seem to have heading into spring training this year is someone in the role that Santiago Espinal has served in over the past few seasons with the club – a back up around the infield. It seems that the plan for now is that the backups at first base will be Spencer Steer and Eugenio Suarez, the backup at second base could be Sal Stewart or Spencer Steer, the backup at shortstop is going to be Matt McLain, and at third base the team could look at Steer, Suarez, or Stewart.
When it comes to players who could factor into the infield when it comes to the bench three players at least warrant a little bit of discussion. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Callihan are both on the 40-man roster, and then there’s non-roster invitee Nathaniel Lowe who just signed last week.
The problem for Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Nathaniel Lowe is the same one for the most part and it’s where do they fit in? Lowe has the advantage in the fact that he’s a left-handed hitter while everyone else who is in that designated hitter/first baseman category is a right-handed hitter. But that isn’t likely to matter as much in 2026 for this team as the guys who are the likely starters at those spots are players who are going to play every day in Sal Stewart and Eugenio Suarez. Those two are not platoon players or anything like it.
For Lowe that presents the issue of carrying him on the roster. First, he would require you to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Right now the 40-man roster is full of healthy players, so there’s not a spot there for the taking in the sense that you can send someone to the 60-day injured list and open a spot up like the team has had in the past. Then there’s the fact that he’s not going to be a platoon lefty if everyone is healthy, so he essentially becomes a guy who you would be carrying as a pinch hitter. At the cost of $1,750,000 (how much he would make if he makes the team out of spring training). He’s also out of options, so if you commit to him in the spring you are committing to him for the full season or chancing a situation where you have to designated him for assignment later in the season if things aren’t working out.
Encarnacion-Strand isn’t quite as limited defensively as he’s got experience at both first base and third base. But he still has the same questions with exactly how does he fit in? He’s not going to play all that often if everyone is healthy, he’s not exactly known for his defense so being a late-game replacement for that doesn’t make much sense, and while he could provide some pop off of the bench he’s a right-handed hitter on a team that is full of right-handed hitting starters. Unlike Lowe, he does have options remaining and that could play into his favor as you could send him back to the minor leagues throughout the season if his role isn’t working.
Tyler Callihan has a bit more position flexibility than the other two. He’s played first base, second base, third base, and left field over the last few years in the minor leagues. Third base is probably a stretch as he’s only played in one game there in the last few years, but he’s had more experience at the other spots during that time. Unlike Lowe or Encarnacion-Strand, he has some speed that could be useful off of the bench as a pinch runner for some guys. Callihan is also a left-handed hitter, which does give him a bit of an advantage as a bench bat on a team full of righties. But only by a small amount because guys like JJ Bleday, Will Benson, and potentially Nathaniel Lowe are also left-handed hitters who could be on the team and all have longer track records and better performance in their career than Callihan does.
On the surface, none of these three guys look like they have a good chance to make the big league club out of spring training if there aren’t injuries that open up a spot. But if that does happen, or if a trade happens and a spot becomes available on the bench for an additional infield type of guy, it’s probably one of these three guys who can grab a spot.
