Maybe it’s Spencer Steer who claims the 1B spot for the Cincinnati Reds
That’s what y’all say, at least!
The 1B situation for the Cincinnati Reds has been muddied ever since the club cut ties with Joey Votto and the future Hall of Famer ultimately retired.
The hope was that Christian Encarnacion-Strand and his special, special blend of power would seize control of the job, but so far injuries have kept him away from even attempting to. Jeimer Candelario’s poor defense at 3B put him in the 1B mix, too, but his underperformance and subsequent injury has him on the outside looking in at 1B now, too.
The Reds activated Tyler Stephenson off the injured list on Friday, though they opted to keep the hot-hitting Austin Wynns up as part of a potential catching trio along with Jose Trevino. Might Ty Steves eventually end up getting reps at 1B if that’s how this roster is going to shake out?
Or could Spencer Steer, now working his way out of shoulder-induced DH-only duties and into glovework, claim the 1B job and eschew his otherwise OF/3B versatility?
This week’s MLB Reacts - brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook - posed a question about the uncertainty at 1B for the Reds. More specifically, we asked you which of the options would end up socking the most homers while playing 1B for the Reds in 2025, and your answer turned out to be Steer above all others.
Two things in particular are worth noting here.
I’m writing this on Friday evening, and the poll was open when Steer socked a big homer in GABP just yesterday, something that a) might have showed voters that his shoulder really is on the mend and b) may well have veered your vote in a more Steer-ish direction. On top of that, Stephenson hadn’t been yet activated, though your pretty strong voting for ‘other’ suggests you think he - or maybe even top prospect Sal Stewart - may well have their say with the dinger-sockin’ at 1B before season’s end.
Also, Candelario getting a rock solid 1% is a pretty hilarious indictment of how underwater the Reds are with that signing at this juncture. Yeesh!