Charlie Goldsmith

Players and coaches alike are using Spring Training to focus on last year’s biggest shortcomings.

Eugenio Suárez’s signing capped an excellent offseason for the team. The vibes are all positive a couple of weeks into Spring Training.

Surrounding Elly De La Cruz with a truly threatening lineup is job #1. It’ll be mostly internal guys taking a step forward, but a big free agent bat would be helpful.

Let’s hand out some season awards as Cincinnati takes on the Dodgers in the National League playoffs.

Recent minor league call-ups Stewart, Benson, Phillips, and Maxwell are keeping Cincinnati in the playoff hunt.

Greene, Singer, Lodolo, Abbott, and Littell have the season’s outcome riding on their pitching shoulders.

Let’s look at the team’s options at second base, in the bullpen, and on the bench.

The deadline trade brings in a defensive-minded player with six years of club control. But can he hit enough to justify the move?

Already a superstar at age 23, the Reds shortstop knows he’s come a long way, which keeps him grounded. “I don’t think about the future,” he says. “I live in today.”

Getting his bat in the lineup regularly while improving third base defense are aggressive moves as Cincinnati chases a playoff spot.