Reds have plan for improving vs. lefties
GOODYEAR, Ariz. –– Last season the Cincinnati Reds had a 71-61 record and were in playoff position as the second NL Wild Card team, when on Aug. 29, they played the Miami Marlins and lefthanded starter Jesús Luzardo.
That started a stretch in which the Reds faced nine left-handed starting pitchers in 14 games. In that span, Cincinnati went 4-10, falling out of the playoff race. That stuck with Reds manager David Bell and has led to change.
“It was a focus, an initiative, on our hitting side to find ways to prepare against left-handers,” Bell said. “We went the whole year, really, without facing them much, so we kind of got away from training different ways to prepare for left-handers. And then we tried to do it on the fly ... we struggled.”
The Reds led the NL in 2021 with a .785 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Against left-handed pitchers, the Reds ranked 13th in the NL with a .685 OPS.
The 2022 Reds could still face a challenge. Joey Votto, Tyler Naquin, Mike Moustakas, Jake Fraley and Max Schrock are all left-handed hitters who have historically hit much better against right-handers. But the Reds also have a deeper group of right-handed hitters with Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson and Nick Senzel expected to make bigger contributions and Tommy Pham added into the mix.
Bell plans to get all the Reds more practice against southpaws.
“Even if we're facing all right-handers, we'll continue to look at left-handers in batting practice, angles and different ways to make sure we're ready when that time comes,” Bell said.
This spring, that has included tilting the “arm angle” of the pitching machine several feet, simulating a left-handed, sidearm pitcher.
“That's beneficial to everybody," Schrock said. “That's been really good for me getting me a comfort level to get my eyes used to that left-handed angle.”
With infielder Donovan Solano out with a hamstring injury, the Reds don't currently have a right-handed option at designated hitter. There are a few candidates for the role in Brandon Drury and whichever player becomes the backup catcher between Aramis Garcia and Andrew Knapp.
The other option would be turning Naquin, Fraley or Schrock into a fulltime player. If one of them can earn regular playing time against left-handed pitchers this season, then the Reds will be in much better shape.
“It's only about results,” Schrock said. “If you're hitting well, you create more opportunities for yourself.”