Reddick displays versatility with time in left field
Whenever manager A.J. Hinch plays Josh Reddick in left field, it makes for good banter in the Astros’ dugout.
“I keep telling him he looks great over there,” Hinch said. “He keeps telling me he’s a right fielder.”
Reddick, a right fielder by trade, made two diving catches as the Astros’ left fielder Saturday night in their 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. He also slugged a two-run homer in the third inning to give his team a lead it never relinquished.
In Sunday’s 8-2 victory at Seattle, Reddick entered as a defensive replacement for Nori Aoki. He had an RBI single in his only plate appearance and scored a run.
Hinch plays Reddick in left field only when Jake Marisnick starts in center, which pushes George Springer to right. Saturday’s was Reddick’s seventh start of the season in left, a position he hadn’t played since 2011, his final season with the Boston Red Sox.
“It’s still not easy. It’s still tough,” he said. “I’m still learning a lot of the angles and a lot of the way the ball comes at you.
“Fortunately, I got some good breaks (Saturday night) and was able to hold on to the ball and keep them out of the lights. If either of those balls gets in the lights, I might be in trouble. Just got to keep working at it. Keep working at it, and hopefully, it will still improve as the year goes on.”
Reddick won a Gold Glove in right field in 2012. But his ability to move around helps Hinch deploy his best outfield defense, a configuration the manager earlier in the season used mostly only late in games. Marisnick’s vast improvement offensively has made the Reddick-Marisnick-Springer alignment viable on a more regular basis.
“The versatility’s been huge,” Hinch said of Reddick. “He hasn’t done it a ton in his career. He’s been very selfless about it. He’s a tremendous right fielder. He’s got a Gold Glove. He’s never had a problem in right field. But the way we’re configured, sometimes we need him to play left field, especially in a big outfield like this.”