Cincinnati Reds: Five bold predictions for spring training

3. Michael Lorenzen spends more time in the field than on the mound

Michael Lorenzen played in played in 100 games last season, 73 of which were as a reliever. However, Mikey Biceps also showed promise as an outfielder, starting six games in center field for the Cincinnati Reds in 2019. Look for David Bell to experiment a bit this spring, seeing how Lorenzen responds on the outfield grass.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Lorenzen becomes an outfielder rather than a pitcher. In fact, he’s much more valuable to this club out of the bullpen. Last season, Lorenzen went 1-4 with a 2.92 ERA in 73 relief appearances and was unquestionably the Reds best reliever.

So why mess with a good thing? Well, with the roster expanding from 25 to 26 and Major League Baseball capping a team’s pitchers at 13, designating Lorenzen as a two-way player could add another arm to the Reds bullpen.

According to MLB.com, a player must pitch 20 Major League innings and have 20 games played as a position player or designated hitter, with at least three plate appearances in each of those 20 games, in either the current or previous MLB season. Lorenzen is almost halfway there, earning three of more plate appearances in eight games last season.

Fan or not, this appears to be the direction that David Bell is going with Michael Lorenzen. It also seems as though Lorenzen welcomes the challenge. Bell said back in December, via the Cincinnati Enquirer, that he held Lorenzen back. I don’t expect we’ll see that in 2020. Look for Lorenzen to get a lot of work in the outfield during spring training.