“There’s a difference being patient and being stubborn,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “When you think guys can do something, you allow them the time to do it.”
Steer has been one of the Reds’ best hitters going back to 2023, but this year has presented him with some new challenges.
Steer battled a shoulder injury in 2024, and it lingered into this season. He wasn’t available to play the field until this week, and being in a DH-only role presented him with some challenges.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“To his credit, when we activated him, he only had a handful of at-bats coming off the injury,” Reds hitting coach Chris Valaika said. “He’s starting to stabilize, find his timing and find comfort with where his swing is at. It’s a timing and reps thing.”
Steer returned to first base last Sunday, and the Reds are hoping that his return to the field helps him get more comfortable.
“Not having spring training (due to the injury), it’s tough to jump right into games at this level,” Steer said. “The game was going fast on me at the beginning. The more at-bats, the more things started to slow down for me.”
Candelario had similar struggles to the 2024 season and has historically been a slow starter. But the big difference in his start to this season is that his strikeout rate has spiked.
Generally, his swing has been behind on the fastball and ahead of the breaking ball.
“We’ve got to work through some bat speed stuff,” Valaika said. “We’ve got to make him more aggressive early in counts to pitches he wants to handle rather than guess or ambush. That’s where we’re seen the weak contact come from. Overall, he has been in the big leagues for a while. It’s tough to get out to a slower start, but somebody who has played in the big leagues for this long, I’m not overly worried about it. We’re playing a long game.”
Candelario was on pace to hit 29 homers last season before a season-ending toe injury, and he says the next step for him is tapping into more of that power and driving the ball more consistently.
“That’s what we practice,” Candelario said. “Hopefully, sooner than later we’ll get that. Then when you get it, you go from there.”
Getting more production as well as more power is even more important for the Reds with first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the injured list with a back injury. Encarnacion-Strand has been struggling, but he plays good defense and has as much raw power as any Reds player outside of Elly De La Cruz.
Since Encarnacion-Strand went on the injured list, Steer and Candelario have been splitting time at first base.
Francona has expressed confidence in each of them.
“As cold as guys get,” Francona said, “They get just as hot.”
NEXT GAME
What: Reds at Rockies
When: Saturday, April 26, 3:10 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM
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