Cincinnati Reds: Make-or-break season for these five players in 2020

4. Phillip Ervin, Outfielder

I hate putting Phillip Ervin on this list, because the 27-year-old had a nice season in 2019, putting together a .271/.331/.466 slash line. But, with the depth in the outfield, Ervin is going to have to find a way to stand out. Last season, Ervin took advantage of left-handed pitchers. Perhaps that’ll be his niche with the 2020 version of the Cincinnati Reds.

Nick Castellanos is likely to draw the everyday start in one of the two corner outfield spots. That’ll leave a lot of competition for the opposite corner. Ervin, Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino will all be looking to earn time playing in the Reds outfield. One thing that sets Ervin apart from the others, with the exception of Akiyama, is his ability to play all three spots.

Last spring, Ervin produced possibly the best offensive statistics on the team and still couldn’t make it out of Goodyear. This year could be more of the same for Ervin, however, the Reds don’t have the luxury of optioning the right-handed hitter down to Triple-A, as he’s now out of minor-league options.

If Phillip Ervin survives the competition in spring camp, he’ll still have an uphill climb to snag enough meaningful time in order to impress the coaching staff. Ervin has been a player who’s had to fight and claw his way up through the minor leagues in order to find adequate playing time in the bigs, and 2020 will likely be more of the same. Ervin has a very little margin for error.