The Reds enter the 2024 season with the outfield as an under-the-radar strength

GOODYEAR, Ariz. –– The Cincinnati Reds’ plan to maximize the talent in their outfield in 2024 will involve a lot of juggling.

“It adds a headache for (manager David Bell),” Reds outfielder Jake Fraley joked.

While the Reds’ surplus of talented middle infielders gets most of the spotlight, there’s just as much of a logjam in the outfield. TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Will Benson, Spencer Steer and Jonathan India are all in the mix. Combined with a deep infield that includes several designated hitter possibilities, the Reds have 11 total players that Bell is going to try to get every day playing time.

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Outfield has an eclectic mix of players

The outfield group consists of one of MLB’s most effective center fielders from the 2023 season, two corner outfielders who have shown that they can hit right-handed pitching at close to an All-Star level, the 2023 Reds’ team MVP and a hitter deemed so important to the lineup that the Reds are having him learn the outfield as a way to get him more at-bats.

“We all bring something special to the table,” Benson said. “We feed off of each other. It brings out the best in us.”

All five of these players would be every day pillars in the lineup for most teams in MLB, and they all had stretches in 2023 where they carried the Reds’ offense. They also all play with very different styles.Friedl is the gritty center fielder, Fraley has power, Benson has incredible strike zone judgment and makes hard contact, Steer thrives with an old-school approach and India is known for working tough plate appearances.

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Entering the season, the idea is that the Reds play the matchups, mix in off days and aggressively use their bench to keep all five of those guys in the mix.

“It should be great,” Steer said. “Getting a lot of guys consistent playing time keeps guys fresh. With our versatility, we can play a lot of matchups, and we can be a nightmare to face.”

Center fielder TJ Friedl key to the outfield mix

Friedl enters the season as the Reds’ most indispensable player. While Benson is working on improving in center field this spring, Friedl is the only true center fielder of this five-man group.

Friedl had the fourth-best OPS of any qualifying center fielder last season, led the team in Wins Above Replacement and is the team’s best defender. When Steer played left field last year, he said he knew that Friedl would be able to cover all of the ground to his left because of Friedl’s impressive range and instincts.

The left-handed Friedl also made himself more valuable by proving he can make an impact against left-handed pitching. He earned his initial opportunities to start against those matchups because of his defense and base running, and Friedl went on to prove that he can make quality contact and steal bunt hits against tough left-handers.

“TJ’s level of consistency for that long was outstanding,” Benson said. “He got an opportunity to be an every day player, and he thrived. What can’t he do?”

Last season, before Fraley broke his toe in August, he ranked in the top-25 in MLB in OPS against right-handed pitching. Fraley credits work with a mental skills coach beginning in 2022 as the experience that turned around his career, and the only thing that has slowed him since then was the significant and painful injury that he tried to play through. This year, Fraley will likely play a lot of right field and will also be a big part of the designated hitter rotation.

Fraley is faster and stronger in 2024 than he was in 2023. He hired a team of experts to work with him on strength and conditioning, improve his diet and decrease his chances of getting injured in 2024. Fraley took an analytical approach this offseason, and the results were encouraging.

“Last year, I learned that my process works,” Fraley said. “When you create a process the right way, it becomes bulletproof. I can’t wait to see what I added in the offseason pay off at the end of the year. I’m dialing into every aspect of my game and taking it to another level.”

Will Benson came back from demotion better than ever

Benson’s combination of power, speed and pitch recognition made him one of the Reds’ best players for the final five months of the 2023 season. Following an early-season demotion where he made adjustments that saved his career, Benson posted a better OPS (.915) than Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper did in 2023.Benson credits former Reds first baseman Joey Votto for helping him hit with confidence, and Benson’s improved pregame preparation turned him into the Reds’ best individual success story of the season.

“What Will came in and did last year, he went on a tear for five months,” Steer said. “I don’t think that gets appreciated enough.”

The next step for Fraley and Benson is with their defense. Benson is an incredible athlete, but he has to improve his ability to track the ball in the outfield. During the offseason, he also did sprint training and lengthened his strides as he worked to improve his range. Fraley said that he didn’t really prioritize defense until 2023, and he plans for his offseason training to make him more of an impact defender this year.

On a team full of potential every day players, details like defense and running could be tiebreakers as Bell makes the lineup.

“Continuing to improve in all areas of the game makes it easier to keep guys on the field no matter who you’re facing,” Bell said. “We value defense and base running so much. Our players understand that.”

Steer is expected to play just about every game and will continue to hit in the middle of the Reds’ order. Bell said that Steer will mostly play left field, but Steer will also be ready to play right field, second base, third base and first base. Whenever he’s in the lineup, Steer will likely be a middle-of-the-order bat.

Last season, the Reds had Steer begin playing in the outfield to keep him in the lineup as often as possible. In 2024, they’re working on a similar plan with India, who is expected to make starts in left field, at second base, at first base and as the designated hitter.

Jonathan India's situation far different from other outfielders

“(India) has never played the outfield before in his whole life,” Bell said. “I don’t take that lightly. I don’t think anyone does. His willingness to be open to it is great, but we need some time out there to get acclimated.”

India’s adjustment to playing in the outfield represents the biggest moving piece in the outfield mix. He was slowed by plantar fasciitis in the offseason, and he’s still in the early stages of learning the outfield. This week, he has been tracking fly balls in the outfield side-by-side with outfield coach Collin Cowgill, and he’s also doing defensive back style drills where Cowgill throws a football deep and India practices backpedaling, tracking the ball and making the catch. He’s also adjusting his throwing mechanics to prepare to make stronger throws from the outfield.

If India doesn’t fit in the outfield, then he’ll be a bigger part of the Reds’ plan at designated hitter in 2024. They’ll use the spring to judge India’s potential in the outfield and determine what his specific role will be this year.

Overall, it’s a lot of moving pieces and potential “headaches” as Bell puts together the lineup.

“That’s good,” Fraley said. “Every guy in this clubhouse is a stud and deserves to play every day. Every guy will come out with an aggressive attitude. When you have a group of guys like that, that makes it difficult for (Bell) and the front office, it’s a whole big recipe for success.”

As Fraley considered the depth in the Reds’ outfield, he thanked the front office for keeping the group together.

“They understood the value of that,” Fraley said. “In sports, it’s a revolving door every year. There’s so much to say about the organizations that find the talent and then value keeping us together. When you combine the talent we have with the time we’ve spent together, it’s a formula for some really cool things.”

The Reds have plenty of talent and a good amount of experience in the outfield, and Bell is going to work to mix-and-match the right combinations to create an end product that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

As the Reds begin shaping that plan, the outfielders are excited about how the group fits together.

“There are a lot of good players who made a lot of impact last year,” Benson said. “It’s an honor to be with a group like that.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How the Reds' deep, versatile outfield group looks entering 2024