The only sure thing is to say that the Cincinnati Reds have options in the outfield. The team had options to go before they came out in the offseason and signed Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos to add to the team. With Nick Senzel, the teams’ former main prospect Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino and Josh VanMeter also in the mix of potential starting outfielders: Cincinnati probably feels pretty comfortable on any given day being able to take on the opposing pitching team.
“For starters, Nick is new to the garden. He is also elite with his running speed. We really want to see Nick play in center field primarily, ”Reds manager David Bell said Sunday. “It would be really nice to see Nick settle in. Shogo allows us to do that because of his experience as a gardener.” His ability as a gardener, it is much easier to move him around the garden and keep him comfortable and we really believe in his ability to adapt to any position in the garden. That makes him nice and gives us the luxury of allowing Nick to settle more in center field. It’s not that Shogo doesn’t play center field, he will, the DH position really helps me in my position, we as a team, the depth in our open field is a strength, the DH really allows us to take advantage of that. ”
The designated hitter spot certainly gives the Reds many ways to mix and match the boys in the lineup. There will be additional at-bats among outfielders now, which probably would not have been available in a normal season. But with the designated hitter reaching the National League for the 60-game season, Cincinnati may be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
“We looked at the challenges in spring training to get quality hitters in our lineup, the problem came with our outfield, I think more than anywhere else because we had guys we needed to get in there and there weren’t enough places for that happen, “Bell said. “It doesn’t mean that our DH spot won’t come from an infielder-based position player sometimes, but I’d say most of our DH at-bats will come from our team’s outfielders.”
In the inside box, you might see a guy take a trip to the designated hitting point every now and then, but overall it seems like those at-bats go to the field group. When it comes to center field, the only two options heading toward spring feel like Nick Senzel and Shogo Akiyama. As we learned last week, Senzel said there was no way he was ready to start the 2020 regular season on time due to his recovery from shoulder surgery in 2019. However, the extra time took him back to where he needs to be. be. Bell seems to be giving all the signs that, on most days, he’ll be the sophomore outfielder at the center patrolling the balls with his speed.
For Shogo Akiyama, he’s probably the second fastest outfielder on the team, unless we really want to break the rules and count Michael Lorenzen. He is not as fast as Senzel, but he has a lot of experience at the center throughout his career in Japan and in international competition. But unlike Senzel, Akiyama also has some experience in the corners. While we don’t know how things will break in the corners with Winker, Castellanos, and Akiyama, it seems like there could be a lot of movement between those two places for the first Japanese player in the history of the Cincinnati Reds, while still getting a little time in center field.
“Shogo looks great. What is so impressive about him is his professionalism and dedication to his craft, “Bell said Sunday.” Throughout this time we were away, he remained dedicated and still approached him every day as if to receive the call to report. He’s going to be ahead of the game, no question. It just says a lot about what we already knew about Shogo. It’s very refreshing how he does it, he clearly loves the game, but he has a great perspective of not just enjoying the game. game, but to see it as a true trade and profession. That infects everyone. “
