{"id":529159,"date":"2026-03-17T17:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/529159\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:34:09","slug":"bench-battles-heating-up-in-final-week-of-spring-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/529159\/","title":{"rendered":"Bench battles heating up in final week of spring training"},"content":{"rendered":"

For example, JJ Bleday looks like a potential regular contributor in the outfield. He\u2019s also competing for a roster spot.<\/p>\n

ExploreAsk Hal: Will the Dodgers three-peat this year?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Reds have a good number of bounce back candidates, bench pieces and prospects on the verge of being ready for more. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re good names,\u201d Terry Francona said. \u201cThey\u2019re legit. Sometimes, you bring guys in to fill out the roster in spring training. There are names there of guys who can help us. It\u2019ll be interesting to see where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the Reds signed veteran first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to a minor league deal.<\/p>\n

Lowe spent August and September of 2025 as a role player on a very good Boston Red Sox team, and Lowe has a track record of being a consistent impact bat against right-handed pitching. <\/p>\n

With the Reds, he\u2019s competing for a role on the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for a new challenge,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to slight anyone, but I\u2019m trying to get in there and help the team win. If my role on this team is platoon against righties, then kill righties and take advantage of left-on-left at-bats when I can get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

It looks like there\u2019s one spot for Lowe, Bleday, Rece Hinds and Blake Dunn.<\/p>\n

Bleday was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, which underscores his upside. At this point last year, he was a critical piece of the Athletics\u2019 young core. The 2025 season was then a nightmare year for Bleday, who got cut at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was mechanical thoughts and way too many people in my ear trying to fix me,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cAs a result, I got away from what I do well and got away from my own athleticism. It was a tough pill to swallow. No one wants to play like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Cincinnati, Bleday is really turning some heads in camp. <\/p>\n

Hinds has shown his elite raw power, but an adjustment that he made during the second half of last season in Triple-A has turned him into a much more consistent hitter. He has really cut down on swing-and-miss. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s looking to prove that he can make an impact as a role player. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy power stands out so much that my defense is overlooked,\u201d Hinds said. \u201cI told (Francona) that I want to show everyone I\u2019m an elite defender.\u201d<\/p>\n

ExploreCincinnati Reds: Noelvi Marte working to earn full-time right field job<\/a><\/p>\n

Francona said, \u201cI was really glad he brought that up. You can\u2019t get hits every game. You\u2019ve got to be reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to Hinds, Dunn made adjustments during the second half of last season in Triple-A and really hit his stride. Dunn has a second lane to make the team as the backup center fielder, but Dane Myers has looked like the favorite to win that spot so far. <\/p>\n

Regardless, Dunn has looked like a much-improved player this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cPhysically, he can do it,\u201d Francona said of Dunn\u2019s tools. \u201cYou let their play dictate (the timing and their roles), not what I sit here and say in (spring training).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For example, JJ Bleday looks like a potential regular contributor in the outfield. He\u2019s also competing for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[1558,208941,363,2008,10600,215789,99,1507],"class_list":["post-529159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-baseball","tag-cactus-league","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-mlb-spring-training","tag-scottsdale-stadium","tag-sports","tag-stars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}