LAS VEGAS – The Cincinnati Reds need outfield help. They need more pitching.
But the most intriguing position to watch this winter might be first base.
That’s because one of the biggest surprise success stories of their playoff season was the defensive development at that position of the versatile Spencer Steer.
And for a low-budget team that needs to upgrade its fielding almost as desperately as it needs to add slugging, Steer’s fit into their 2026 plans could be critical to how – maybe even whether – the Reds improve their playoff chances after this year’s quick exit.
“I take pride in defense,” said Steer, who wound up a full-time first baseman because of a need to keep him in the lineup as he returned from a shoulder injury and because of lack of production by others. “I take pride in being a complete player, so I want to be a guy that you know can have a positive impact on both sides of the ball.”
The third-year player did it well enough to earn Gold Glove finalist mention in his first season at one position full-time, just two years after becoming one of only four Reds in history to make at least 15 starts at four different spots.
Now the Reds have to measure the value of exceptional fielding at an often under-valued defensive position against the value of Steer’s versatility as they approach a 2026 season that already includes a three-time Gold Glove winner added across the diamond in third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.
General manager Brad Meador said during this week’s general managers meetings in Las Vegas that early offseason talks internally have included the idea of getting Steer reps at outfield and second base again as they gauge whether they can add the hitting help they need in the form of an outfielder or might have to expand their net to include a more limited infielder to add that bat.
“You’d love to figure out how to make the best defensive lineup you can while also providing offense as well,” team president Nick Krall said. “You don’t become a Gold Glove finalist if you’re not a good first baseman. He got better at is as the season progressed, the more he played there.
“It’d be nice to figure out if we can add maybe an outfielder.”
What’s more valuable? The exceptional fielding at first or the ability to move all over the field
“I don’t think you can answer that appropriately right now because we don’t know the makeup of our team next year,” manager Terry Francona said near the end of the season. “If he can accumulate his at-bats moving around, that can be really good. It just depends on what the makeup of the team is.”
In addition to the free agency variable, the first-base question also involves where promising rookie hitter Sal Stewart might fit if he forces his way onto the roster out of spring training.
“We’re just going to have to look at what’s available this offseason and figure out how everything fits,” Krall said.
An overriding concern as the Reds approach that task is a continued emphasis on trying to improve what has been a poor fielding team in recent seasons.
A sizable part of this year’s improvement was Steer performing “about as good as you can” at first − and the ripple effect that tends to have on an infield’s overall performance.
“It’s nice knowing you have him over there because you make a bad throw and he’s probably going to make a play,” second baseman Matt McLain said. “I think that goes unnoticed, too, how some of the plays that he makes on bad throws are unbelievable.”
Francona and “Swiss-army” coach Mike Napoli were quick to point out how hard Steer worked at the position in the spring and throughout the season with Napoli and infield coach Freddie Benavides to make quick improvement at the position and learn some of its nuances.
“Everyone thinks, ‘Hey, you can just throw this guy at first base.’ But there’s a lot to it,” said Napoli, who made the transition from catcher to World Series-champion first baseman in Boston more than a decade ago. “There’s a lot of times where you’re really off the base now without the shifting (allowed) and with right-handed hitters. Where you have to be able to take your eye off the base and do your footwork and know where you have to be.
“You’ve got to think about some of the Gold Gloves around the infield (in baseball),” Napoli added. “Go and look. I can guarantee they’ve got a good first baseman.”
In fact, look at the most successful teams.
The last 10 full-season World Series champions all had Gold Glove winners as their primary first basemen (albeit, Freddie Freeman representing three of them with the 2021 Braves and 2024-25 Dodgers).
The Dodgers have won the last two World Series in part behind championship-level fielding. This year’s American League champ, the Blue Jays, led the majors in fielding metrics.
“When you watch the playoffs, they’re all pretty good defenses,” Steer said. “That’s something the last couple years we probably weren’t the best at. But it’s definitely gotten better.”
In no small part due to Steer’s efforts at the one position.
“If he can get to it over there, you’re pretty much out,” infielder/outfielder Gavin Lux said. “He’s saved us on multiple occasions on errors, too.
“He’s out there working hard every day trying to get better at it, and it’s just impressive to see how good he’s gotten over there in a short amount of time.”
Perhaps especially for a guy who wasn’t sure about the full-time gig when he started.
“I can honestly say I didn’t love the position at first, but I’m really starting to enjoy it,” Steer said at midseason, adding he had to get used to trusting himself to handle the position without feeling “attached” to the base.
“The more I played there, the more comfortable I got playing farther off the bag and more comfortable I got ranging to my right and trusting what balls I can get to and on what balls I can dart to first and have Matty cover the rest.”
Said Napoli: “He’s playing the (expletive) out of it.”
So what comes next for Steer defensively and the Reds competitively.
Stay tuned.
Steer is prepared for anything.
“I still see myself as a utility guy. I still feel I can plug in holes when need be,” said Steer, who did that for eight starts in left field this season. “I don’t want to lose that part of my game.
“But if they need a guy to man first base every day, then I’m more than happy to do it.”