Reds have impact potential at alternate site

CINCINNATI -- Among the 22 players the Reds have working out at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, a few have come over to Great American Ball Park to play in the scrimmages. Some have been there more often than others.

Prospects Tyler Stephenson and Jose Barrero -- ranked Nos. 3 and 5 in the organization, respectively, by MLB Pipeline – have been frequent participants.

“We are trying to see everybody over at Prasco for different reasons, I would say,” Reds manager David Bell said on Tuesday. “I still believe each guy over there has an opportunity to either make the team or contribute a lot to our team during the season, so it’s important to see all of them.”

During Spring Training, Garcia wowed the club as he led the way with four home runs while playing some dynamic defense at shortstop. The 22-year-old, who was in his first big league camp as a non-roster player, played at Class A Advanced Daytona in 2019. It wasn’t unreasonable to expect that he would have been at Double-A Chattanooga this season.

Of the first seven Reds scrimmages, Garcia has played in five games. Making the Opening Day roster seems to be a long shot, however. Cincinnati has veteran Freddy Galvis to start and has Kyle Farmer and Alex Blandino among potential backups.

“Jose Garcia is an exciting young prospect that is coming on fast, and we want to see him as much as we can,” Bell said. “He has never played above A-ball, but because he’s coming on so strong, he’s putting himself in a position where he could contribute as early as this year. So we need to get him around a Major League atmosphere as much as possible.”

Unlike Garcia, Stephenson is already on the 40-man roster. And as a catcher who was on the cusp of being in the Majors, he could be a factor sooner than later. The Reds already have Tucker Barnhart and Curt Casali as the main catchers and Farmer as a third catcher. But if something were to happen to Barnhart or Casali, Stephenson could be promoted. The club also has veteran Francisco Peña as a non-roster invite.

“I like working with him because he asks a lot of questions,” Peña said of Stephenson. “He wants to learn. He wants to get better. As a veteran guy, you're there for him. I really don't see him as competition or anything like that, I just try to help him the most I can, and if I see something I'll let him know as well. I like him a lot. He has a bright future ahead as well. He's going to be good back there behind the plate.”

Not every Prasco player getting extra looks is a young prospect. Non-roster invite Christian Colón, who spent most of last season with Triple-A Louisville, played in four consecutive games before Tuesday and slugged a home run on Friday.

Colón has played in the World Series for the Royals and has experience around the infield, including shortstop.

“You mentioned Tyler and Jose Garcia. I would put them, maybe, in a different category than Christian Colón," Bell said. “We love Christian Colón. We believe that he will help our team this year if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, which he still has an opportunity to make. The reasons for that are because he’s an established veteran, just has great experience on winning teams. Just a really good ballplayer that has proven that for years and brings a lot to the table from a character standpoint and as a teammate.”

Overall, the Reds have 57 in their player pool. They must get down to 30 players for Opening Day on July 24. Each team will be permitted a three-player taxi squad for every road trip, giving them immediate options to replace an injured or COVID-19 infected player.

As the Reds compete for a postseason berth in the 60-game season, that could mean some players will be readied for prime time ahead of schedule.