The favorite to be the Reds\u2019 primary first baseman in 2026 is rookie Sal Stewart.<\/p>\n
Before last September, Stewart had barely played first base. He went on to learn that position on the fly in the big leagues. First base defense was a big area of focus for him during the offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had actual time to train,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cLast year, it was difficult because I didn\u2019t have much experience there. I was trying to do whatever I could for the team to give us the best chance to win. This offseason, I had a chance to go to the drawing board, actually study and know the principles of first base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francona has called Stewart one of the most gifted young bats that he has seen, and Stewart contributed in a big way at the plate last September. He looks even better this spring. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a stud,\u201d Matt McLain said. \u201cWe all know that by now. He likes that (stage). He\u2019s a competitor. He likes to win. He plays with that fire. That\u2019s really fun to be on the field with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steer can play just about anywhere, and he\u2019ll continue to be an every day player. But because of the depth that the Reds have at first base, he\u2019ll likely get most of his work in left field and at second base this spring. <\/p>\n
Veteran Eugenio Su\u00e1rez will often be used as a designated hitter, but the Reds are also having him learn first base this spring. Every morning, he\u2019s the first player on the field at the spring training facility. At 7:30 a.m, he\u2019s on the field working with coaches. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a guy who likes work,\u201d Su\u00e1rez said. \u201cI want to be better at first base. I know they\u2019re going to need me there. I want to be the best first baseman in the league. I\u2019ve been working hard. I\u2019m very excited for that challenge. I come out early, work on my footwork and my picks and get ready to help the other infielders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, the Reds added veteran first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to a minor league deal. He had a \u201cdown\u201d year in 2025, but he still would have been one of the Reds\u2019 better hitters versus right-handed pitching last season. <\/p>\n
Last September, Lowe was a regular on a Boston Red Sox team that made the playoffs. He can definitely help the Reds, and he\u2019s competing to make the team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just got to come in and compete,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to help this team get better. From the outside looking in from a roster standpoint, there\u2019s a chance to come in and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Infield prospect Cam Collier, who plays first and third base, is in big league camp. <\/p>\n
So is Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who was the Reds\u2019 Opening Day first baseman in 2024 and 2025 but has really struggled over the last two years and ended last season in Triple-A. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to come out and try to play to the best of my abilities,\u201d Encarnacion-Strand said. \u201cIf I can help the team, that\u2019s amazing. At the end of the day, it\u2019s what\u2019s best for the team. Not what\u2019s best for me. If I fit into that role, amazing. If I don\u2019t, it is what it is. I\u2019ll do my best to fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The favorite to be the Reds\u2019 primary first baseman in 2026 is rookie Sal Stewart. Before last September,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2400],"tags":[5,5250,535,50,4259,4,256,536,151,12115],"class_list":["post-586018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cincinnati-reds","tag-baseball","tag-cactus-league","tag-cincinnati","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-cincinnatireds","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-reds","tag-spring-training","tag-spring-training-baseball"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116112595551967071","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}