Reds not concerned with Winker's spring

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- When Joey Votto posts anemic numbers in Reds Spring Training, few raise their eyebrows because of his long track record of excellence. Left fielder Jesse Winker has not hit well this spring, but he lacks Votto’s track record and is coming off an injury last season.

Winker, 25, entered Thursday night’s game against the Mariners batting .132/.195/.316 with two home runs in 13 games. Still, Reds manager David Bell was not concerned that his young hitter wouldn’t be ready for the regular season.

“No, I’m not. I’m not at all,” Bell said on Thursday morning. “I wish I had a better way to explain why Spring Training results -- I don’t look too much into them. I don’t have any proof of that, but I just think over the years that I stopped putting too much emphasis on these results. He’s going to be fine. He’s getting his work in. You do look and you watch and you see progress. It’s just a feeling more than anything. Sometimes, every now and then, you can tell if somebody might be in trouble. That’s definitely not the case with him.”

Appearing poised to break out, Winker batted .299/.405/.431 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs over 89 games in 2018. His season was cut short after July 23, when he needed surgery on his non-throwing right shoulder to repair a partial dislocation.

Who plays left field for Cincinnati is a somewhat complicated situation as Opening Day nears. Bell has previously stated that he would like to give Winker regular at-bats this season. But there is also the question of where veteran left fielder Matt Kemp fits. Would they work in a platoon? These questions aren’t in a vacuum, as the makeup of the 25-man roster also depends on whether the Reds go with Scott Schebler or Nick Senzel as their regular center fielder.

The Reds acquired Kemp from the Dodgers during December’s seven-player trade that also brought in Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer. The 34-year-old Kemp entered Thursday’s split-squad game against the Royals batting .324/.378/.676 with three homers and nine RBIs.

“Matt Kemp, he is having a great spring. But he’s had a great career, you know, so it’s just much easier to look at the big picture,” Bell said. “Even if he wasn’t having as good a spring, that wouldn’t change the evidence. We have a lot of great options. The decisions are coming down to the wire, but we still feel great about the guys we have, and it’s going to work out because of the talent we have, and the depth."

DeSclafani pleased, and healthy

In his final Cactus League start, Reds right-hander Anthony DeSclafani turned in 5 2/3 innings with five earned runs, six hits, three walks and two strikeouts in a 14-6 loss to the Royals at Goodyear Ballpark. That included a four-run fifth inning where Jorge Soler hit a three-run homer to left field, but DeSclafani was satisfied with his work.

“Honestly, I liked today. I felt good,” DeSclafani said. “Up until that fifth inning, I still felt good. I think I got just a little predictable and it got away from me there. I’m not going to let the one inning deter me with this outing. I got a lot of work in with the curveball, and just trying to mix it up throwing down, throwing up and just mixing pitches. I think overall, today was a good day.”

In six spring outings, DeSclafani posted a 3.66 ERA. He is still scheduled to pitch in Tuesday’s exhibition game against the Braves in Atlanta, but he was thrilled to be healthy after enduring injuries in each of the last three springs.

“That’s awesome,” DeSclafani said. “I’m happy with the progress I made, pitching-wise, but obviously health-wise, it’s been frustrating these last few years. It feels really good just to get through this camp breaking with the team. I’m really excited just to get back to Cincinnati and see an Opening Day for the first time in like three years.”

Cincinnati makes trade

The Reds acquired right-hander Jordan Johnson and cash from the Giants for infielder/catcher Connor Joe.

Johnson, 25, is 21-33 with a 4.37 ERA in 86 games (77 starts) over five Minor League seasons. He has yet to make his big league debut. Cincinnati had selected Joe from the Dodgers' Triple-A roster in December's Rule 5 Draft.

Not really father and son

Like other clubs, the Reds often summon players from Minor League camp to Cactus League games as bench depth. That includes infield prospect Brantley Bell. However, he is not related to the manager. Brantley is the son of former Reds bench coach Jay Bell. David Bell is the son of former Reds player Buddy Bell and the grandson of Reds star Gus Bell.

“He calls me dad and I call him son,” David said of Brantley. “Our families always seem to get mixed up, that's happened a lot over the years.”

Up next

Right-hander Robert Stephenson will pitch in his second game but make his first start at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday when the Reds meet the Brewers in Phoenix. It can be seen on MLB.TV or listen free to an audio webcast. Also scheduled to pitch are Raisel Iglesias, David Hernandez, Sal Romano, Amir Garrett and Cody Reed.