On Sunday, news broke the Reds were bringing their guy back to town.
A much needed thumper in the middle of the lineup that will add some pop, power, and leadership to the clubhouse. An area we as fans have been screaming to improve all offseason.
Well, the front office finally allowed GM Nick Krall to spend a little cash to bolster that offense.
Eugenio Suarez is back in the Nati to play a massive role.
We’re all ecstatic. Everyone from the front office to the players to the fans. Not only does Suarez bring a much needed thump to the lineup, but he is the exact type of positive vibes and leadership the clubhouse needs.
But for the rest of the Reds, they should be thrilled.
To add a guy with the pop of Suarez to the middle of the lineup will make things easier on everyone.
Sure, I expect Elly to be better… or even Noelvi Marte… or a lot of guys that will benefit from the presence of Eugenio Suarez in the middle of the lineup. But I think there is one Red who is absolutely primed to have a breakout year.
Think Jesse Winker 2021 when he had a .949 OPS with 24 HR and 71 RBI. A guy who’s been around for a handful of years already. He came up through the farm system and is really now just starting to find his spot in this league.
That guy is Spencer Steer.
Now, I don’t know if he’ll be an All-Star like Winker was back in 2021, but maybe… I don’t think anyone was saying Winker would ever be an All-Star heading into that season. We’ve seen crazier things.
But before we get into all the stats, I want to talk about what my eyes see when Spencer Steer plays.
I see a pure hitter that has yet to put it all together and was surprisingly an asset in the field last year.
He has as pure of a swing from the right side of the plate as you’ll see in the Reds clubhouse. It’s one of those simple, short/quick to the ball, very little wasted movement type of swings.
I’ve always thought Steer looked the part, but I’ve been waiting for him to put it all together.
Last year I thought he was primed for the same type of season, but a lingering injury from 2024 popped back up in Spring Training last year and it caused him to start behind the 8-ball for the first 2 months of last season.
April was brutal for Spencer. He posted a staggering .570 OPS. I felt bad for him because I knew he had that shoulder injury, everyone did, and he was doing all he could to be out there on the field and provide something… anything.
But as last season went on, we started to see the old Spencer Steer that we’ve seen flashes of. To end last season, the month of September was his best, posting an .878 OPS with 4 HR, 2 doubles, 12 RBI, and drawing 9 walks.
With that being said, I am going out and making a bold take that this will be Spencer Steer’s best season of his career.
He’ll be going into his 5th season with the Cincinnati Reds and he will have a perfect storm of hitters around him assuming guys like Suarez, De La Cruz, Marte, Stewart, etc. have solid years.
Taking that type of pressure off Steer will force pitchers to throw to him giving himself more opportunities into what now looks like could be a dangerous lineup, or at least much improved with the addition of Eugenio.
I always tell myself to be cautious once I become optimistic and excited about the Reds because I’ve been proven wrong time and time again.
But this time feels different.
Eugenio Suarez feels like the perfect fit both on the field and off the field for what this young Cincinnati Reds team can be.
And I think Spencer Steer benefits from having Geno back in town as much as anyone else in the Reds clubhouse.
Sure he might have to give up that #7, but if that means having a breakout season and getting back into the postseason stronger this time around, I think Spencer will be okay with it.
“How’s your day today, Jim Day?” – Geno Suarez
We. Are. All. The. Way. Back.
in Steer we trust boys