Spencer Steer sees a path out of the slump that he's in

BALTIMORE — The defining quality of Spencer Steer’s big league career has been his ability to have success in just about any circumstance. You can hit him anywhere in the order or play him anywhere in the field, and you’ll typically get the same impactful player.

But this season has presented him with a different level of challenge.

After missing most of spring training with a shoulder injury, Steer started the year on the active roster. He has been in a DH only role (that could change very soon). Every day, he has been completely relearning how to throw during a daily pregame workout before then getting ready for and playing a game that night. He’s hitting .111 with a .390 OPS.

“It’s been a lot on his plate,” Terry Francona said. “When he starts to play (the field), which is going to be pretty soon, he’s still going to have to stay on a program. It’s going to be really good for him — not that we look at it like this — that he’s a full player. Right now, mentally, it’s like he’s a half a player. At least when you’re in the field, you can make a play and forget about the hitting for a half inning.”

Steer said that he’s ready to play a position, and that might be exactly what he needs. He’s about to start playing first base, and he’s about to start working on his throws from the outfield again.

“If I’m able to play a position and add some value with my versatility, I feel more like a complete baseball player when I’m playing both sides of the ball,” Steer said. “I’m just excited to get back to doing that. The next step is throws from the outfield, which I’ll start doing soon.”

All indications are that Steer’s struggles at the plate haven’t been connected to anything physically that has been going on with his shoulder.

Early on in the season, there have been games where he looked like a guy who barely got any spring training at-bats.

‘To his credit, when we activated him, he only had a handful of at-bats coming off the injury,” hitting coach Chris Valaika said. “He’s starting to stabilize, find his timing and find comfort with where his swing is at. It’s a timing and reps thing.”

Steer is clearly seeing the ball better than he was a few weeks ago. It looked like a home run in Milwaukee would spark a turnaround, but then his results took a dip back in the wrong direction.

There has been a mental side to his struggles this year. It’s the first time that an injury has ever kept him out of the field in the big leagues.

“I’m learning myself more as a hitter and as a baseball player,” Steer said. “It’s like I have more appreciation for health. I’ve never taken it for granted, but I have extra appreciation for being available every day and being available to play a position. I take a lot of pride in that, so it’s been tough. If anything, I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to play through this.”

He has been doing a lot of extra batting practice early in the afternoon (before he starts his throwing program. These have been long days for him). Recently, Francona has taken Steer out of the lineup a bit more than he had to give Steer more of a chance to work before the game and to keep the Reds’ hottest bats in the lineup.

But when Steer is officially cleared to play first base, he’s going to be regularly in the mix there especially with Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the IL.

“I’m getting back to some basics to feel like myself again in the box,” Steer said. “I’ve been watching video of what went well in the past and trying to find that again. I’m heading in the right direction. It’s a tough game. You can hit balls hard and still not get the results you’re looking for. I’m trying to focus on the things that I can control, and that’s swinging at strikes and making good contact. I think I’m going to get out of this.”