C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

Steve Smith will not return as the Reds third base coach in 2015, but the rest of Bryan Price's first coaching staff with the Reds is expected to return, the team confirmed on Monday.

Smith said he had been told on Sept. 30, two days after the season ended, that he would not be back with the team. Smith was on a one-year contract with the team.

"I was the fall guy," Smith said. "I don't want to sound like I'm being critical — I loved my one year with Cincinnati, loved the players, loved everything."

With Smith at third base, the Reds had a Major League-most 28 runners thrown out at home on non-force plays, the most by a Reds team since 1977 (36).

Late in the season, Reds manager Bryan Price defended Smith, saying the reason for that many outs at the plate was the team was struggling to score runs and used the contact play at almost all times with a runner at third.

During the season, statistician Joel Luckhaupt broke down the outs at home and found 12 of the 28 were on the contact play. Price and Smith both noted that 10 of the 28 were Smith's responsibility, the same number that Luckhaupt found.

"It's just trying to make the right decision," Price said in September. "We've had 10 guys thrown out trying to score where Smitty's been in charge of sending them, and I don't think that's a ridiculous number, by any means."

This was Smith's 12th season as a third base coach, also serving with the Mariners (1996-99), Rangers (2002-06) and Phillies (2007-08). Smith played seven seasons in the Padres organization. Smith was also a manager for 11 seasons in the minor leagues before joining Lou Piniella's Mariners staff in 1996.

Smith, who won a World Series with the Phillies in 2008, said he was as disappointed not to return, because he sees bright things in the Reds' future and wanted to be a part of the team.

"It's really frustrating that I'm not going to be with the Reds. I feel like with all the injuries, we have a really good chance next year," Smith said. "I had to go through the injuries — it reminded me of those Phillies teams, and I think this team can get right back in it quick and not to be part of it, and to be there with Bryan, that's the stuff that's a bummer. I'm old enough, I'm OK otherwise, but it'd be nice to finish up baseball with a chance to see how far this team can go."

The rest of the coaching staff includes bench coach Jay Bell, hitting coach Don Long, pitching coach Jeff Pico, first base coach Billy Hatcher, assistant hitting coach Lee Tinsley, assistant pitching coach Mack Jenkins and catching coach Mike Stefanski.