These are the Reds' options at shortstop

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- As the Reds prepare for 2023 Spring Training, they have a few spots that appear up for grabs: Left field, center field, third base, the bullpen and the back two spots of the starting rotation all come to mind.

None of those battles have piqued my interest more than what might develop at the open spot at shortstop.

Let’s take a look at the candidates:

Jose Barrero: When the Reds shifted Kyle Farmer to third base in August, they did so to give Barrero an extended audition at shortstop. That audition, at least offensively, went quite poorly.

Barrero, who was already struggling to hit at Triple-A Louisville, slashed just .152/.195/.206 with two home runs in 48 big league games last season. He struck out 76 times in 174 plate appearances for a rate of 43.7 percent.

Because of Barrero’s excellent defensive skills, the Reds let him skip Double-A and Triple-A when the Minor League season was canceled due to the pandemic during 2020, and they had him go directly to the Majors to continue to develop. It didn’t work out well, as Barrero has struggled at the plate while batting .170 over 93 games from 2020-22.

Barrero played winter ball in Puerto Rico this offseason. Before he departed in December, hitting coach Joel McKeithan visited him in Florida and the pair spent two days working on mechanical adjustments with Barrero’s approach. McKeithan had Barrero eliminate a big leg kick before swinging, and he helped him incorporate a toe tap. The hope was to improve his balance, bat path and pitch selection.

In 21 games with Mayaguez, Barrero batted .247 with one homer and cut down on his strikeouts (16 in 86 plate appearances). So perhaps, there’s been progress. But there’s a big difference between winter ball and the big leagues.

Barrero, who will turn 25 in April, has a Minor League option left and will have to show he can hit to earn the starting job.

Kevin Newman: A 29-year-old acquired from the Pirates on Nov. 18 (the same day Farmer was traded to the Twins), the Reds won’t have to worry as much about Newman’s bat.

A veteran of five big league seasons -- all with Pittsburgh -- Newman slashed .274/.316/.372 with two home runs and 24 RBIs in 78 games during 2022.

Over 130 games in 2019, Newman batted .308 with a .799 OPS, 12 homers and 64 RBIs. Since then, however, he has a .605 OPS in 270 games. Thus far in his career, according to Baseball-Reference, Newman has a 4.3 offensive WAR and 0.9 defensive WAR (Barrero’s are -2.1 and 0.3.).

With the ban of the shift this season, fielding range will be a bigger emphasis. Compared to Barrero, Newman is less mobile and athletic. But if he can hit well enough, that might be a trade-off the club is willing to accept.

Elly De La Cruz: An X-factor in this battle, De La Cruz is the organization’s No. 1 prospect and No. 14 overall per MLB Pipeline. Cincinnati's decision makers have often pointed out that the 21-year-old De La Cruz has only 47 games and 207 plate appearances logged in the Minors above the Single-A level entering his first big league camp. But he sure has hit everywhere he’s played.

De La Cruz batted .304 with a .945 OPS, 28 homers and 47 stolen bases over 120 games for High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga in 2022. He also struck out 158 times in 513 plate appearances (a 30.8 percent rate) compared to 40 walks.

A 6-foot-5 player with five-tool talent and superlative scouting reports, De La Cruz could arrive at camp and do something similar to what second baseman Jonathan India did in 2021: play so well that it almost forces the organization to put him on the Opening Day roster.

As for the risk of rushing De La Cruz, look no further than Barrero for what could happen if the Reds push their top prospect too far, too fast. Another issue is whether De La Cruz’s larger size makes him less mobile and he eventually needs to be switched to third base or center field.

The Reds are likely hoping that Barrero or Newman claims shortstop and keeps the spot warm for De La Cruz until he is fully ready, which could mean a debut perhaps late in 2023 or Opening Day 2024.