Jeimer Candelario brings a veteran perspective to his slow start to the year

On Tuesday night, the moment set up perfectly for Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario. He signed with the Reds because of the potential to take at-bats like this one.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs, two runners on base and the Reds down by four runs against the Milwaukee Brewers, Candelario had the chance to deliver his first big hit in a Reds uniform and leave his slow start to the season in the past.

Instead, he struck out to end the game. Candelario finished the game with a .163 batting average and an ugly .555 OPS.

Candelario hasn’t made the first impression that he was hoping for, and his Reds career has started with a slump.

“Just competing every day, the numbers will be there,” Candelario said.

Then, he repeated and emphasized, “The numbers will be there.”

The Reds signed Candelario to a three-year deal for $45 million last December because they didn’t have a player quite like him on the roster. They didn’t have anyone who had been an every day player for more than four years. They had plenty of speed and power on the roster, but they wanted a savvier veteran who could work tough at-bats and provide a consistent, steadying presence in the lineup.

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An outfielder would have been a cleaner fit on the roster, but the front office preferred Candelario’s profile at the plate. In three of the last four years, Candelario had been one of the 100-most valuable players in baseball, according to the Wins Above Replacement metric.

Candelario hasn’t looked good at the plate so far this season, but his experience being a good hitter in the big leagues gives Reds manager David Bell confidence in him.

“He’s a professional hitter, and he’s here for a reason,” Bell said. “That doesn’t mean you don’t have to continue to make adjustments, because you do. But that’s what he’s looking to do. Keep it in perspective, make adjustments and continue to try to have good at-bats.”

Bell is putting more stock into how Candelario’s track record and how he has fit on the Reds.

Their rapport grew during spring training. A few weeks in, Candelario stopped into Bell’s office.

“He offered his observations to me and asked questions,” Bell said. “He’s doing the same with our players. That was something we hoped for. He has maybe exceeded that.”

The Reds also wanted another veteran in the clubhouse. Bell said that Candelario’s biggest strengths in the clubhouse are how observant he is and how Candelario is confident in sharing what he’s seeing.

“He helps keep everyone upbeat,” Reds right fielder Jake Fraley said. “It’s a vital thing in a long season. It speaks for itself what he does on the baseball field. To have that talent on our team every day is going to be huge.”

For the first time in a while, Candelario feels established where he is. At the end of the 2022 season, the Detroit Tigers cut him. He signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals before the 2023 season and then got traded to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline.

After signing a multi-year free-agent deal with the Reds last winter, Candelario is setting up for the long haul.

“I’m looking forward to building everything we’re building right now as a team,” Candelario said. “It’s a new day for me and a new family. I’m looking forward to building relationships and helping us win. If I can help in any way, I’ll do it.”

Even though Candelario was only with the rebuilding Nationals for half of a year in 2023, his old teammates still see the impact he made there. Last year, the Nationals focused on developing their young core, including catcher Keibert Ruiz, second baseman Luis García Jr. and shortstop CJ Abrams.

Nationals veteran designated hitter Joey Meneses took note of how, right away, Candelario made it a priority to help those young players take steps forward.

“He always takes care of the Latin players,” said Meneses, who grew up in Mexico. “He does it with the whole team, but especially with the Latin players. He shows them how to play the right way, how to dress, how to be a good player and a good teammate. He does things the right way. He really helped us pay attention to that.”

This year, during Reds spring training, Candelario organized dinners for the team’s infield. At Great American Ball Park, Candelario’s locker in the Reds’ clubhouse is right next to shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s locker.

“He’s a great mentor to the young guys here,” Reds reliever Brent Suter said. “He speaks up. It’s cool to see him have that leadership effect. He has a great presence.”

Candelario’s presence was one of the reasons why the Reds signed him, but the most important one was his bat. So far, the Reds haven’t seen what it looks like when Candelario is humming at the plate.

Bell has stuck with him in the cleanup spot because of Candelario’s track record, but he hasn’t looked like himself during the first two weeks of the season.

“As a switch-hitter, it’s all about getting reps,” Candelario said. “Right now, I’m searching to get quality at-bats. It’s pretty simple right now. It’s early in the season. I want to be able to grow little by little. It’s not about having crazy highs and lows. I want to maintain what I’m going to do for 162 games.”

Candelario said that he has been working on adjusting his swing path to get behind the ball more consistently. The other most important factor is his timing, and the switch-hitter said that it’s a process to get his movements from each side of the plate to sync into place. He’s still in the process of getting into a rhythm from both sides of the plate.

Candelario doesn’t have any track record of making poor swing decisions or being strikeout prone, but those areas of Candelario’s game have been his biggest weaknesses early in 2024. He has 16 strikeouts through the first 11 games of the season.

“This game has ups and downs,” Candelario said. “Thank God we have a great team. We can win games in many different ways. Right now, it’s about getting better every day. I’m searching for quality at-bats. It’s cold. You’ve got to get yourself warm.”

Since the start of the 2017 season, Candelario has been an above-average hitter for a third baseman, has consistently hit doubles and earned a reputation as a guy who works deep counts and difficult at-bats.

For Candelario, the most important aspect of the first week of the season was that after he hyper-extended his elbow in Philadelphia last week, he didn’t have to miss any time.

He’s healthy, and he’s confident that the rest will take care of itself.

“When everything clicks,” Candelario said, “It’ll all go from there.”

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jeimer Candelario isn't concerned about his slow start to 2024