Here's where Reds stand as Spring Training ends
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The sun has set on the Reds’ time in the Arizona desert, 34 days after their first full-team workout of Spring Training.
Players took the field at Goodyear Ballpark on Sunday afternoon for the final time in 2024, fittingly against their spring facility mates, the Guardians, who defeated the Reds, 10-7.
The clubhouse was business-like and quieter with half a room of empty lockers through the reality of roster cuts. But make no mistake, even on the last day in town the approach hasn’t changed since early February.
“Same as the first one -- go compete,” said first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who will also see time as DH in 2024. The second-year Red closed the spring with five homers and three triples in 55 plate appearances with a hefty 1.166 OPS. On Sunday, he hit his last homer of the spring while batting sixth.
“I know it’s Spring Training, but I’m trying to win every time. I don’t care if it’s the first game, the last spring game, a playoff race, non-playoff race, I try to focus the same way.”
There was also still business to tend to on the last day in Arizona. The regular season opens on Thursday when the Nationals visit Great American Ball Park for a 4:10 p.m. ET first pitch.
• The team will leave the desert with 25 players locked in for the Opening Day roster, but manager David Bell confirmed Sunday that the final 26th spot remains undecided. The Reds will travel back home with around 33 players in all.
He says he hopes to name the last player “as quick as we can,” and that could mean as early as Monday or as late as Wednesday.
“Everything’s a possibility right now,” Bell said. “There’s a possibility we can call anyone up from our system. We could still acquire somebody from the outside. The guys that are going with us are in that mix.”
• Hunter Greene got the start in Sunday’s finale -- allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts over three innings -- which will assure him five days’ rest in time to start the regular season’s second game on Saturday.
The righty has struggled throughout spring, allowing 12 runs on 14 hits with 10 walks in 15 innings over five starts. However, he did throw enough gas to chalk up 19 strikeouts.
• The Reds will open the regular season without center fielder TJ Friedl, who is out for an extended time with a fractured right wrist. The good news is that Friedl is already making progress on the non-displaced fracture.
Bell said Sunday morning that the 28-year-old left-handed-hitter was told by doctors that he could start moving his wrist and that his next evaluation will be in two weeks. The original timetable was six to eight weeks, but might be closer to six going by his early progress, which could mean an estimated return of around May 1.
Spencer Steer and Jake Fraley will also patrol the outfield, while Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild will get more opportunities in Friedl’s absence.
• Steer, who belted his fourth homer of camp in the third inning and had a two-run double in the fourth inning on Sunday, checked off a number of boxes on his spring to-do list.
“The consistency in my swing, consistency in my timing -- I was able to get that in the last couple weeks, which I was happy about,” the 26-year-old said. “And just getting comfortable in the utility role and how I prepare to play multiple positions in a game. I feel good about all that.”
It’s been a packed five weeks of reps, mechanics, drills, practices, and games in Arizona. But, no, the time hasn’t gone by fast, if you ask Steer.
“No, Spring Training feels endless sometimes,” he said while smiling Sunday. “I’m ready to get out of here and get things going.”
The Reds are looking to build off their 82-win season in 2023 as Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Encarnacion-Strand, and others enter their sophomore seasons in the big leagues. The team will play an intrasquad game at Great American Ball Park on Monday followed by an off day Tuesday, then a workout on Wednesday before Opening Day arrives on Thursday.