The last time catcher Tyler Stephenson attended Redsfest, which is returning after a two-year hiatus Friday and Saturday, he had yet to make his Major League debut.
Now Stephenson is one of the longer-tenured players on the roster and he’s expected to be one of the faces of the team.
“There’s definitely room for all of us, not only myself, but we have a bunch of other young guys, to fill some roles,” Stephenson said.
The Reds are hoping Stephenson will be a mainstay in the middle of their lineup and take a leadership role as one of the faces of the team. He was limited to 50 games last season because of a concussion, a broken thumb and a broken collarbone.
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Stephenson is fully recovered from the broken collarbone, which ended his season on July 22 and required surgery, and he’s begun in his normal offseason routine with hitting, throwing and catching. But he’s bracing for a lot of questions at Redsfest about whether he should remain catcher.
From his perspective, it’s an easy answer.
“I want to catch,” he said. “I want to do it as long as possible. Like I’ve said, unless something physically down the road doesn’t let me, then that is something to talk about another day. But I’m catching.”
How Tyler Stephenson plans to protect himself in 2023
Stephenson, 26, met with EvoShield, the apparel company, earlier this offseason to make some adjustments with his equipment. He’ll have more padding around his neck and elbow guards. He changed catching masks after his concussion last season and he loved the newer one he used, which absorbed foul balls.
It’s a way to further protect himself, but his injuries came in fluke circumstances. His concussion stemmed from San Diego Padres first baseman Luke Voit colliding with him at the plate. His thumb, positioned slightly behind his glove, was hit by a foul ball.
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“Twenty-six years and I’ve never broken anything and then this year, I broke two things,” Stephenson said. “I’ve never heard of a catcher breaking their collarbone on a foul ball. Even the thumb thing, if you want to break it down, yes it should have been protected, but if you really look at games, how many catchers have their hands exposed. I think J.T. (Realmuto), I don’t know if it was during the playoffs or when he was in Cincinnati playing us, I think he took a foul ball off his wrist and he ended up staying in the game. I paid attention to it a lot more and you’d be surprised at how many guys, their thumbs are actually exposed.”
It’s possible Stephenson could see a little more time at first base and designated hitter next year, but he will remain the Reds’ primary catcher. The Reds want him working with their young pitchers and his bat is elite for a catcher, but not as special compared to a league-average first baseman. He hit .319 with six homers and 35 RBI last season while the Reds posted a 22-24 record in games he started.
For a team still rebuilding, the Reds look at Stephenson as one of the leaders of the team from behind the plate.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a huge, loud, vocal person,” Stephenson said. “I think there are different ways in leading. (Kyle) Farmer kind of took that role last year and he did a great job. Even with some of the young guys pitching, there is room for a bunch of people to step up.”
Reds complete hiring for David Bell’s 2023 coaching staff
The Reds announced Alon Leichman as their assistant pitching coach Thursday, their fifth new hire to manager David Bell’s coaching staff for the 2023 season.
Leichman, 33, spent five seasons as a minor league coach in the Seattle Mariners’ organization, working as the Triple-A pitching coach this year. He replaces Eric Jagers on the Reds’ coaching staff after Jagers went to the New York Mets to be their director of pitching development.
General Manager Nick Krall said the team expected to make one more hire after announcing the changes to Bell’s coaching staff earlier this week.
Leichman, who grew up in Israel, represented the Israeli national team during the 2013 World Baseball Classic and was the team’s bullpen coach at the 2017 WBC qualifier.
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