Reds: Stop freaking out because Jose Barrero is taking reps in center field

Okay, don’t freak out, Reds Country. We’re talking about practice. Yes, I’ll admit it was a little odd and unnerving to see Cincinnati Reds top shortstop prospect, Jose Barrero, taking reps in center field. But, this is likely much ado about nothing.

Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer posted some video to his Twitter feed yesterday evening of Barrero working with Cincinnati’s Game Planning and Outfield Coach Jeff Pickler in center field.

Barrero has been exclusively working as an infielder this season at both Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, and appears to be the best bet to be the Reds’ shortstop of future. I’m not ready to lose my mind over a few seconds of video that show nothing more than a young player gaining some knowledge of how to properly field a different position.

Don’t expect the Reds to move Jose Barrero to center field.

I know, the first thing I thought about when I saw Jose Barrero taking practice reps in center field was, “Why on earth would you move your top shortstop prospect to center field?” But then I gathered myself, and realized that we’ve already seen something similar this season.

Tyler Stephenson, who many would consider the heir apparent to Tucker Barnhart behind the dish, took reps at first base earlier this season, and because of injuries, eventually fielded the position when both Mike Moustakas and Joey Votto were out of action. Nightengale even pointed out later that Stephenson has taken reps in left field on occasion as well.

I get it. As a fan, you hate to see your team’s prized prospect fiddled with. We’re used to seeing coaches and front office personnel think that they have all the answers, and then we see a talented player like Nick Senzel spend more time in the training room than on the field because the organization decided he was a better fit to play center field than third base.

Okay, that may be a bit unfair because Senzel suffered injuries while playing in the minor leagues as well. The point is, Cincinnati’s front office spent all offseason in search of a shortstop, only to settle on Eugenio Suarez.

After Geno proved that he couldn’t handle the position, Kyle Farmer took over and has demonstrated the ability to be a serviceable major league shortstop. But is the 30-year-old former catcher the future at shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds? Absolutely not! Jose Barrero is the future, and some fans see this type of maneuvering as utterly asinine.

On the other side of the coin, I can see the merit in trying to get a player like Barrero as much experience all over the field as possible. Not as a permanent solution, but when you see players like Whit Merrifield and Kris Bryant playing at the highest level all over the diamond, you can see the value in having a talented player with the ability to field multiple positions.

Nick Castellanos, currently the Reds right fielder, came up as a third baseman. Jonathan India spent just six games at second base during his college and minor league career. India is now the Reds’ starting second baseman and I don’t see anyone ready to move him off that spot anytime soon.

Again, I don’t expect that we’ll see Jose Barrero in center field for the Cincinnati Reds anytime soon. In fact, given the early start today following back-to-back games of Kyle Farmer at shortstop, I expect Barrero will get to start versus the Chicago Cubs this afternoon. Yesterday’s reps in the outfield were likely much ado about nothing; at least, let’s hope that’s all it was.