Pena starts opener at DH while he works on defense

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds' lineup for their first exhibition game on Wednesday had backup catcher Brayan Pena batting ninth as the designated hitter against the Indians.

Pena, who was signed in the offseason, has been working on his defensive skills behind the plate during workouts.

"He's done a really nice job of making a strong commitment to work with [catching coordinator] Mike Stefanski on making some adjustments to his footwork and his throwing," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "The trio of us have spoken on his readiness to transition what he's doing early in the day to games. We agreed that mostly likely Game 4 will be his first game behind the plate, just to make sure that all the footwork and things of that nature are more fluent and more instinctive."