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.

SAN DIEGO -- When he signed a three-year, $45 million contract in December to join the Reds, corner infielder Jeimer Candelario didn't envision having the type of start he's had with his new team.

Not only has the switch-hitting Candelario struggled mightily while batting .189 with a .660 OPS, almost all of his advanced statistical metrics are way down.

“You wake up all the time saying you want to help the team win and be part of the beautiful wins. It’s not the way I wanted to start, but I always say it’s not how you start but how you finish," Candelario said. "I am working really hard to put myself in a great position to do the things I know I can do.”

Candelario, 30, snapped a 0-for-19 skid that included 12 strikeouts when he notched two hits during Monday's 5-2 Reds win over the Padres. On Tuesday, he added two more hits, including a seventh-inning solo home run, in a 6-4 loss to San Diego.

It was Candelario's third homer of the season and his first since April 15 at Seattle.

Before his back-to-back two-hit games was a brutal weekend at Texas, where Candelario struck out in seven of his eight at-bats over two games.

And during mid-April, Candelario was one of several Reds to miss time with illness.

Add it all up, it was a pretty crummy first month with Cincinnati.

According to Baseball Savant, Candelario's swing rate is on par from last season (48.7 percent vs. 47.4 percent) and his chase rate outside of the strike zone is only nominally higher (31.8 percent vs. 28.3 percent). But his whiff rate of 33 percent is up almost 10 points from 2023. And his barrel rate has dipped from 7.9 percent last season to 5.4 percent in 2024.

“A lot of that is timing and being in between pitches,” Reds hitting coach Joel McKeithan said. "He’s seen a lot more offspeed pitches early in the count. He’s getting pitched backwards more or less.”

Against breaking balls this season, Candelario is batting .067 vs. .222 when seeing fastballs.

Of course, it's way too early to write off Candelario just one month into a three-year contract. Looking to just last season with the Nationals and Cubs, he set a full-season career highs with an .807 OPS, 22 homers and 70 RBIs over 140 games. He had a 120 OPS+.

“He’s been a really good hitter for a long time,” McKeithan said. "I think it’s getting back to what he does when he’s at his best and knowing what that is and being consistent with that. The skills he has are going to show up because he’s done it for a long time. A lot of it is getting comfortable again, finding his timing and getting his rhythm.”

The Reds were banking on Candelario to be the veteran presence and a boost for a young infield. But that group has been forced to deal with early attrition.

Third baseman Noelvi Marte was handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Second baseman Matt McLain will be on the injured list until deep in the second half, at the earliest, because of left shoulder surgery.

That makes the need for Candelario to contribute essential for the Reds.

“You know how it is in baseball. You have ups and downs, but you have to fight through that,” Candelario said. “It’s about rhythm and seeing the ball well.

“We’re going to be just fine.”