Healthy Winker encouraged by productive winter

CINCINNATI -- In his past two seasons for the Reds, injuries have kept outfielder Jesse Winker from reaching the finish line.

During the 2018 season, Winker didn’t play after July 23 because of a partial dislocation of his non-throwing right shoulder that required surgery. In ’19, he didn’t play after Aug. 18 because of neck and upper back spasms. At least the latest issue didn’t require an operation, leaving Winker able to focus on resting and getting ready for '20.

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“Everything has progressed. I’m 100 percent,” Winker said during Redsfest. “Everything is great. It’s the first time in a long time that I can look at you guys and say I felt 100 percent for an extended period of time. It’s been a productive offseason for me.”

Winker, 26, has begun doing some baseball activity that has him feeling encouraged.

“I’ve swung and done some throwing. Everything feels great,” Winker said. “Right around this time is when I really start picking it up a little bit. I’ll just do my normal stuff and get ready like I typically would. The last offseason, I was obviously coming off shoulder surgery and that felt different.”

Over his 113 games in 2019, Winker batted .269/.357/.473 with 16 home runs and 38 RBIs. Like the way his ’18 season abruptly ended, he was on a hot stretch at the plate. The lefty batted .364 over his final 17 games.

During his brief career, Winker has had some big disparities between right-handed and left-handed pitching. He’s a .307 hitter vs. righties compared to .176 against lefties. The 2020 season should be a pivotal one for him to stay secure in one of the corner-outfield spots.

As the Reds seek ways to boost their offense, they are looking at free-agent and trade options -- many of whom are outfielders like Nick Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna and Corey Dickerson. Winker isn't worried he might get pushed out of the picture.

“Not at all. I think what I bring to this club and what I can do on the field, at this point, I think can start to speak for itself,” Winker said. "I have [740] at-bats, and I don’t know what a big enough sample size is, I don’t know what that number is, but I feel like that stuff is starting to speak for itself. I feel like I bring a positive impact to this ballclub. That’s all I try to do.”

A resident of Florida, Winker has remained in Cincinnati full-time this offseason to work out at Great American Ball Park.

“Obviously, I will go home for some holiday-related stuff, but I will be here,” Winker said. “I love this city. Cincinnati is a great spot. It’s cool going to the grocery store and talking baseball and stuff like that.”