Focused at SS, Farmer ready for new season

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Gone are the days when Kyle Farmer would report with the pitchers and catchers to Reds camp and catch bullpen sessions. Farmer also isn’t doing the work of a utility player, getting time at six positions.

Farmer, 31, is entrenched as Cincinnati’s regular shortstop -- a job that the club felt he earned with his performance in 2021.

“I strictly focused on shortstop, which was cool,” Farmer said of his offseason. “Being able to not have to put on the catcher’s gear was really nice, and not having to do blocking drills and worry about that. It’s hard to concentrate on catching and infield, because it’s two polar-opposite positions. I could put all my time and effort on getting better at shortstop.”

Entering Spring Training last year, the Reds had a hole at shortstop and decided to shift Eugenio Suárez over from third base. Suárez struggled with the transition and went back to his old position. Farmer had asked manager David Bell to give him a look at shortstop -- his position in college -- during camp.

By May, Farmer had the shortstop job. He finished the season with a .263/.316/.416 slash line and set career highs with 16 home runs, 63 RBIs and 147 games played. Defensively, almost all of the routine plays were made, and there were many spectacular stops as well.

Farmer played well despite dealing with a sports hernia injury for most of the second half that left him unable to play the final weekend of 2021. Surgery was originally recommended, but he got a second opinion before landing on a non-surgical solution.

“I rested for three weeks and didn’t do anything, which was good, and it went away,” he said. “Thank goodness.”

Farmer was deemed by Bell as the incumbent shortstop entering camp, but young Jose Barrero was going to be given a chance to compete for the spot. That seems unlikely now, however, as Barrero is dealing with a sore left wrist. And pending the outcome of a second opinion, it seems unlikely he will be ready for Opening Day.

Despite having his place on the roster assured, Farmer isn’t approaching it that way.

“Once you get comfortable, that’s when it starts going away from you,” Farmer said. “As long as I keep fighting and working, sky’s the limit. I appreciate [Bell] having confidence in me, but I will take it with a grain of salt and just keep going.”

Could getting all his time at shortstop -- and knowing the job is his in camp -- make Farmer a better player there in 2022?

“It’s hard to say he’s going to get better, he was so good last year,” Bell said on Monday. “There’s no reason why he can’t. The big difference with what I see from Kyle this spring is he’s got a little bit more certainty in his role and his position. He can settle in at Spring Training and use it to get ready for the season.

“That will serve him well, because that anxiety can wear you out a little. I think that has happened to him in a couple of the springs he’s been with us.”

Meanwhile, the catching gear remains put away.

“I think he’s pretty relieved we don’t see him as a catcher,” Bell said. “He was good at it. He could always do it again, but he loves to play shortstop.”