Former Red Cozart adjusting to new position, new team
Infielder says he has ‘no hard feelings’ toward his former club.
Zack Cozart was TEMPE, ARIZ. — set to move from shortstop to second base after leaving Cincinnati for a $38 million, three-year contract with the Angels. Then general manager Billy Eppler asked whether he would be willing to shift to third, which would allow Los Angeles to acquire Ian Kinsler from Detroit.
“I was about to fly out for my physical, and Billy called and he just said ‘Hey, I hate to do this to you, but I have a chance to swing this trade for Kinsler that’s going to make our team much better,’ ” Cozart recalled. “He told me ‘If you’re not comfortable with it then I won’t make the trade, simple as that.’ ”
Cozart admitted being a little shocked.
“The whole point of me coming to the Angels and to switch positions anyways was because I felt like the Angels were doing everything they can to win,”
Cozart said. “So it was easy to say ‘of course I’ll do it.’ ”
After postseason appear- ances early in his career, the Reds finished no better than fourth place in the NL Central from 2014 through last season.
“There’s no hard feelings that they didn’t see me as part of the rebuild,” Cozart said. “The last couple of years with the Reds were tough with wins and losses. There’s no way around that. But I’m happy where I’m at right now and I’m looking forward to helping the Angels win.”
Cozart was a first-time All-Star last year and set career highs in batting average (.297) and home runs (24), and he tied his best with 63 RBIs. He thought back to a knee injury that limited him to 53 games in 2015.
“To be rewarded l ast year at the break was cool,” Cozart said. “That’s a little bit of an individual bonus. I don’t like to harp on those too much, but it was a cool experience.”
Kinsler said Cozart’s move from shortstop to third should be easier than a switch to second.
“We all have a pretty sig- nificant amount of experi- ence in the major leagues, so everything’s gone smooth,” Kinsler said.
Cozart played third base and batted fifth for the Angels against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, Cozart’s second spring training game.
“It was a little weird at first, just because the angles are so much different. My whole life I played shortstop, so literally, just sliding over you would think would be easy,” Cozart said. “Just figuring out the positioning part of it, the way the ball comes off the bat differently, it’s going to take a little bit of time.”
Reds claim pitcher
The Cincinnati Reds claimed left-hander Jairo Labourt off waivers from the Detroit Tigers on Friday and optioned him to their minor league camp.
Detroit had designated the 23-year-old reliever for assignment. He appeared in six games for the Tigers last season and had a 4.50 ERA, walking seven in six innings.
Right-handed starter Rookie Davis was placed on the 60-day disabled list Friday as he recovers from hip surgery. The Reds also assigned right-handers Barrett Astin, Ben Rowen and Domingo Tapia to their minor league camp.