PITTSBURGH -- When the Reds acquired Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp in a package deal from the Dodgers, they understood they were going to face tough decisions about how to divvy up time between those two and Scott Schebler and Jesse Winker, a pair of outfield mainstays in last year’s lineup.

The already-creative Reds staff -- which has deployed four-man outfields, provided detailed outfield cards and shifted with regularity since the start of spring camp -- made one attempt at solving the outfield staffing conundrum on Friday when they tabbed Winker for his first career start in center field.

“We knew coming into this that we were going to have to be creative to get those four guys into the lineup, and we need all of them,” manager David Bell said. “They can all contribute, so we’re looking at different ways of being able to do that.”

Winker has established himself so far in his young career as a slugger, amassing an .830 OPS over 142 total games. But among outfielders who compiled at least 500 innings in the Majors last season, Winker had the 10th lowest mark in defensive runs saved (-14).

“He’s certainly up for it and confident that he can do it,” Bell said. “We’re confident he can do it, just watching him get his work in and so he’s in there tonight.”

Winker’s start led the Reds to scratch Schebler, who broke his 0-for-18 start with a double on Thursday, from of Friday’s lineup. Kemp earned the start in PNC Park’s massive left field and Puig started in right field, where he’s made all but four of his 399 starts since 2015.

Like Winker, Kemp has also been a bat-first outfielder throughout his tenured career, posting a career .840 OPS. But he tallied a combined -23 DRS over his past two seasons, split between the Braves and the Dodgers. At PNC Park, with a left field which stretches back to 410 feet deep as it reaches the bullpens in left center, Bell said the information on the outfielders’ cards will help the personnel make most efficient use of that space.

“Certainly, our positioning will help with that, and that’s taken into consideration in this ballpark,” Bell said. “It is configured a little bit differently than other ballparks, and we’ve thought that through and that will be factored in.”

Playing center field is no foreign idea to Winker. He took reps in center toward the end of Spring Training, knowing the Reds planned to use him there at some point this year. He made an appearance in center during the 2014 Arizona Fall League season, then he made two starts in center at Triple-A Louisville in ‘17, then managed by Reds first-base coach Delino DeShields.

“He put me out there, and he’s like, ‘You can do it. Just go do it.’ And I was like, ‘All right,’” Winker said. “He actually was the first one who told me to start shagging more in center field when I was down in the Minor Leagues, so it’s something I’ve always been comfortable doing.”

Winker trusts in the preparation he and the staff have put into this start, and he’s excited for the opportunity to prove himself in center on Friday and likely in the future. He’s been labeled as a struggling defender since high school, he said, but he feels like last season’s problems led to a turning point in his fielding mindset.

“I remember I just had a couple of games I didn’t play, and I just got to think about it. And when I came back, I’m like, ‘You know what? I can’t play like that anymore,’” Winker said. “Playing the outfield to not make a mistake, it just seems like every ball is coming to you, right?

“So it’s like one of those things where I just kind of shifted my mindset, and I was like, ‘I’m going to go get everything. I’m just going to go attack every ball. Every ball is mine until I get told otherwise.’”