CINCINNATI -- The Reds decided to keep right fielder Nick Castellanos out of Saturday’s “Summer Series” scrimmage as a precaution, after he was hit on the upper back by a Tyler Mahle fastball on Friday.

Castellanos was batting for the Cincy Ballers side in the top of the first inning when Mahle’s fastball came up and in. He was down for a few moments before walking off the field under his own power.

“He came back out, and we were thinking about getting him back into the game,” Reds manager David Bell said on Saturday. “But that didn’t make much sense the more we thought about it. He is a little sore today, so he’s not going to play. I would expect that he’s most likely to be in there [Sunday].”

Bell reported that Castellanos was hit on the spine below his neck. His helmet came off as he fell to the ground.

“Really kind of a scary place to get hit,” Bell said. “What happened was he described it as a stinger, down through his fingers. Everything kind of froze up on him, and he couldn’t really move. He said other than that he would have got up and ran. But that’s what kind of froze him. He was a little bit scared to move for a minute. He responded well and is just sore today. In that location, it probably makes sense to give it another day.”

Cincy Ballers earn off-day
Saturday’s second game of the “Summer Series” was a 4-3 win for the Cincy Ballers over Fred’s Reds. Tucker Barnhart snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning with a leadoff homer to right field against Robert Stephenson. Nick Senzel added a leadoff homer of his own in the third inning. That means Senzel, Barnhart, Mike Moustakas and others on the squad will have Monday off -- a perk of clinching the best-of-three series.

Farmer impressing at shortstop
Reds utility player Kyle Farmer started 211 games at shortstop for the University of Georgia, but he has logged just one inning of one game at that position in the Majors, which occurred in 2019. Farmer, who has also played only 10 games at shortstop in the Minors, wanted to change that.

A couple of weeks into Spring Training in Arizona, Farmer initiated a conversation with Bell.

“I always talk to my wife about it, and she finally told me, 'Why don't you just go and tell him that you can play short?' I was like, 'Yeah,’” Farmer said on Saturday. “So, I finally had the nerve to go and say, 'Hey, I seriously want to get looked at, at shortstop.' He was open-ears about it, and he let me do it and all is well so far.”

Farmer, who also plays first base, second base, third base and is the third catcher, has gotten lots of extra looks this spring and summer as a result.

Bell is glad that Farmer spoke up, and he believes that he could be a capable backup to Freddy Galvis. Or, he could play there regularly if Galvis was injured.

“He’s a unique athlete in that he can play the two most important positions, demanding from an athletic standpoint and skill standpoint,” Bell said. “Not many people fall into that category. We knew that, but I don’t think I gave it enough thought to truly see how good he was at that position. He made great points, and it opened my eyes. He’s showed it in this camp. He can really play there. He knew that, and maybe other people knew that.”

Farmer showed some skills Saturday with a diving stop to his left on Shogo Akiyama’s hard grounder up the middle. The throw was not quite in time to get the speedy Akiyama, who reached on a single.

Davidson making bid for Opening Day roster
During Game 1 of the Summer Series, non-roster player Matt Davidson slugged two home runs -- including a three-run drive to center field in the first inning. Davidson, a righty hitter who plays the corner infield spots and can be a designated hitter, is trying to make the 30-man Opening Day roster.

“We know and have known coming in that he can hit,” Bell said. “He has power. He really does a lot of damage against left-handed pitching. He’s demonstrated that, as we’ve all seen. He’s also shown that he can play in the field. He has really good hands, an excellent arm, he’s in good shape and he’s moving well -- and honestly better than expected, because his reputation is more of an offensive player.”

Davidson, 29, hit 33 homers in 2019 for the Rangers’ Triple-A club after he spent the previous three seasons with the White Sox and one with the D-backs in 2013. After he was non-tendered by Chicago following the ’18 season, he made changes to his swing.

“I kind of did the whole swing-revival thing that a lot of people do nowadays,” Davidson said. “Last year was kind of that first year using that swing. ... Overall, I felt like, by the end, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go moving forward and continued making those adjustments this offseason. I really feel better than I’ve ever been. It’s just crazy how much technology is out there and how much stuff is there for us to be able to learn and better ourselves. Hopefully, I can take advantage of that and keep my career going.”