Spencer Steer somehow became the Reds answer to almost every problem

Spencer Steer's career with the Cincinnati Reds has undergone a few transformations, but he's completely settled into a utility role in 2026 and is thriving as a result. His 117 wRC+ ranks fourth on the team, and he's provided roughly league-average defense at five different positions.

Throughout baseball history, there have always been versatile chess pieces who could defend multiple positions, but the notion of a full-time starter without a single defensive home was mostly a foreign concept prior to Joe Maddon's experimentation with the Tampa Bay Rays. Former big-leaguer Ben Zobrist popularized the modern idea of the "super-utility player."

Spencer Steer fits the definition of a super-utility star for the Reds

Most teams would be scrambling to replace Eugenio Suárez and Ke'Bryan Hayes in the everyday starting lineup, but the Reds have kept right on rolling with Steer starting in both outfield corners and first base in just the last week alone.

It'd be disingenuous to call him the most important player on the team while Elly De La Cruz still exists, but Steer is proving to be one heck of an ace in the hole for Reds manager Terry Francona.

From an offensive standpoint, Steer is undoubtedly having his best season of his career. He's hitting .259/.333/.449 in 42 games this season. He's also responsible for some tantalizing batted ball data, including a 90th percentile barrel rate and elite marks in expected batting average and expected slugging percentage.

Narrow the scope to May, and he's been even better. JJ Bleday, who is on an otherworldly tear, is the only Reds player this month to surpass Steer in each of the following categories: fWAR, home runs, wRC+, and OPS. To receive that kind of offensive production from a utility player is almost unheard of.

Steer probably isn't going to win a Gold Gloves — though he was a finalist at first base last season — and he remains a better baserunner in theory than in practice. But there isn't another team in the league that wouldn't sell the farm to get such a refined, versatile player on their roster.

Steer has morphed into the ultimate glue guy for the Reds this year, and if there's a problem on the lineup card, just throw him at it — the odds are good that it'll be fixed by tomorrow.

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