There's a catch to TJ Friedl's absence from Cincinnati Reds outfield – lots of them

Just ahead of the Cincinnati Reds’ trip to his hometown of Seattle, outfielder Stuart Fairchild made one of the best catches of his career to rob college roommate Gavin Sheets of extra bases in a win over the White Sox with a dive from right field into the gap – catching the ball about a foot off the ground at full extension.

Showing off for all his other pals awaiting his arrival back home?

“A little bit,” Fairchild joked. “Just got to remind the people what they’re about to see when I come home.”

It didn’t quite go as according to plan as Fairchild and the Reds drew it up for that homecoming series, with the Reds getting swept by the Mariners.

But as they returned home to open a seven-game homestand with three over the weekend against the Los Angeles Angels, a funny thing has happened on the way to outfield purgatory for the Reds early this season.

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After losing their best fielding outfielder and catalyst to injury, the Reds outfield has gotten better.

OK, that’s an exaggeration.

But not by much.

And that’s the point. It’s also one of the keys to keeping the Reds afloat through injury and illness early in the season.

It might even become a bigger issue for the Reds over the next three or four weeks after learning last week that TJ Friedl – who suffered a non-displaced wrist fracture March 16 – didn’t get the hoped-for early clearance to start ramping up activities. His timeline for a return looks closer to the original estimate of maybe mid-May.

“Our guys have really stepped up to fill the void for sure,” said Reds outfield coach Collin Cowgill said. “He leaves a big void. Not only does TJ lead us physically but emotionally, too. He doesn’t take plays off. And those guys have taken that. They’re doing the same thing. They’re ready to go every pitch. And I think that’s the separator.”

Those guys include Fairchild, Will Benson and Bubba Thompson in a center field rotation that has looked solid on its worst day and spectacular several times already.

But whether it’s the pre-pitch communication and leadership Cowgill said has been especially impressive in Friedl’s place from that threesome, corner outfielders Spencer Steer and Jake Fraley also have been part of the overall stout outfield play.

“We miss TJ Friedl in every way,” manager David Bell said. “It speaks to the work that our guys have done individually and collectively to improve defensively.”

The Fairchild play that day in Chicago was followed two innings later by a sliding catch of a sinking liner by Steer in left and four innings later by a sliding catch onto the warning track in left-center by Thompson, the center fielder that day.

They helped preserve the shutout in left-hander Nick Lodolo’s long-anticipated debut.

“Ah, it wasn’t like a layout catch or a rob,” Thompson demurred, suggesting he’s had more than a few better ones. He’s just trying to help fill the Friedl void, he said.

“Trying to. They’re carrying most of the weight,” he said of Fairchild and Benson.

Benson added his own diving play from center the next day — 12 days after he had one of the best catches of the young Reds season, in Philadelphia, to rob Bryce Harper of a hit.

“Anytime you lose those caliber players, it’s a loss no matter what,” Fairchild said. “But at the same time, we just have athletes everywhere. We know what we lost, but we have guys who are ready to step up.”

The day before the gems across the outfield in Chicago, Jake Fraley in right field bruised his body banging the wall to rob Paul DeJong of extra bases in what was a one-run game at the time.

Fairchild during the last homestand made the top of ESPN’s daily highlight sequence with a leaping catch at the wall to rob Milwaukee’s Willy Adames of a home run.

The list goes on, but the point is — actually, that is the point.

“It just goes to show our depth and the caliber of athletes we have all over the place,” Fairchild said.

And what makes it especially important for a team with playoff ambitions — for a team navigating long-term lineup losses of Matt McLain (injury) and Noelvi Marte (steroid suspension) — is something Thompson said:

“That shouldn’t slump,” he said.

Defense doesn’t slump.

“You just have to bring your A game,” Thompson said.

For what it’s worth this early in the season, Benson, Fairchild and Fraley all rank among the top 52 outfielders through the Seattle series in making highlight-caliber catches (Outs Above Average measured against difficulty).

“The leadership that’s taking place out there, even when Bubba’s out there, Stu’s out there — no matter what they’re always talking, they’re always communicating,” Cowgill said. “They just don’t miss a pitch. But it’s them being locked in pitch to pitch. That’s the difference.”

“TJ is that every time he’s out there. But the Will Bensons right now — he’s really taken a step forward.”

Benson might be the most improved player on the roster overall but especially in the field, which was an emphasis for him over the winter. He continues to work daily on reaction drills and footwork.

He looks like a different outfielder compared to the scenic-route-taking right fielder of a year ago whose routine plays looked fraught at times.

“One of the big messages with Will was being more smooth,” said Cowgill, who coached Benson to incorporate pre-pitch movement (aided by a PitchCom receiver telling him what pitch is coming) that helps his first step flow into the play better.

“It just kind of gets him outside of that stiffness that sometimes you can fall into,” Cowgill said. “When he tries to be fast, when he tries harder, it limits his athleticism.”

The Reds went into the weekend ranked first in right field in the majors in defensive runs saved, eighth in left field and 15th in center, per fangraphs.com.

Not bad across the grass for a team without its best outfielder.

“We know that when we lost him we needed someone to step up and be that for us,” Cowgill said. “Between (Benson) and Stu and Bubba, we have some of the three best athletes in baseball in kind of a rotation out there.”

Imagine what it might look like when Friedl gets back. Cowgill has.

“He was one of the best center fielders in baseball last year, if not the best,” Cowgill said. “And when he comes back we’re going to be a tremendous outfield with whoever plays the corners on a given day, whether it’s Benson or Fraley or Stu or Bubba.”

How well do you know your Reds?

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Did Cincinnati Reds outfield get better after losing its best defender?