GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A lot has changed in the Reds' outfield since Scott Schebler was demoted to Triple-A Louisville after playing 30 games early last season. Yasiel Puig was traded to the Indians at the July 31 Trade Deadline, and home run sensation Aristides Aquino arrived the next day from Louisville. Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama were signed as free agents to boost the offense.

A 30-home run hitter for the Reds in 2017, Schebler is one of 10 outfielders on the 40-man roster and is trying to make the team in camp. He is also out of Minor League options.

“It’s part of the gig. I signed up for it when I got into pro ball,” Schebler said on Tuesday. “If you shy away from competition, you’re not meant to be here. I will just go and compete and be a good teammate at the same time.”

The 2019 season for Schebler was nothing short of a disaster. After he got the center-field job over Nick Senzel last spring, the left-handed Schebler batted .123/.253/.222 with two homers.

Schebler was demoted to Louisville and Senzel took his place.

“A lot of the play had to do with my health,” Schebler said.

While at Louisville, Schebler never got on track as he batted .216 with five homers in 53 games. The 29-year-old also spent three stints on the injured list with injuries to his right oblique, right calf and left shoulder. The final ailment -- to the same non-throwing (right) shoulder he injured for Cincinnati in 2017 -- required surgery in August, to repair a torn labrum.

“I’m not going to comment on any of that, sorry. All I will say is the surgery was a success and I will leave it at that,” Schebler said. “It was tough, through and through. I thought there were big things on the horizon coming out of Spring Training. But I always felt the statistics in Spring Training were good but Spring Training doesn’t really matter a whole lot. I wasn’t striking the ball really well. The ball wasn’t coming off my bat like it usually had. It was just a grind and a very, very trying year. Right now, I’m focused on 2020 and moving forward from that.”

Reds manager David Bell still felt optimistic about Schebler as workouts opened.

“You just go through stuff like that sometimes, it’s usually related to your health,” Bell said. “I think it was last year for Scheb, there’s no doubt. We’re looking forward to seeing him healthy. He’s still the same talent he has been. He’s still young. I’m really looking forward to seeing where he is. From all accounts, he’s in a really good spot.”

But is there a path towards making the team for Schebler among a crowded outfield situation?

“We don’t know exactly how it’s going to turn out. I think there’s a path, absolutely a path for him to be on this team and be an impactful player on this team,” Bell said. “We’ll just have to see how it shakes out.”

Bell meets with full squad ahead of first workout
Before Cincinnati’s 61 players in camp took the field for the first time all together on Tuesday, Bell held a team meeting for introductions to staff and front-office members. Now in his second season as manager, there was more familiarity with the group and the players with him.

“For the position I’m in, it’s just a great honor to be standing in front of our team and to also be doing it with some built-in relationships this year compared to last year,” Bell said. “Knowing our team so much better, it’s just one moment in time but you try to make the most of it.

“Guys know me, know our coaching staff and players know each other. We’re further along.”

Payton gets No. 34
In a nifty move, Reds clubhouse manager assigned No. 34 to outfielder and Rule 5 Draft pick Mark Payton. Although there is no family relation, it is the same number worn by the late Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, for the Chicago Bears.

Like Schebler, the left-handed-hitting Payton has to make his way through a crowded outfield picture. As a Rule 5 player, he also needs to be on the 26-man roster all season or be offered back to his former club, the A’s.

Payton, 28, batted .334 with a 1.053 OPS over 118 games last season at Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s a career .286 hitter over six Minor League seasons.

“He’s going to get an opportunity for sure,” Bell said. “We have to learn [about] Mark and we’ll give him the opportunities. He absolutely has a chance to be on this team. We’re excited about him. We selected him for a reason. He’s a guy that really had a bit of a breakthrough in the last year.”