C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – For Jesse Winker this spring is no different than his first two in big-league camp – “come in, work hard, play hard.”

It’s others that see his situation differently, and the others are among those making the decisions. The last two years, he was with the team in spring training among other high-numbered non-roster invites. Now with a spot on the 40-man roster, a number that you’d see on the field beyond March (33) and a locker next to a player who made his big-league debut when Winker was 13, things are different.

“As much as we talk about our particular set of circumstances right now, things can change, things can change through the performance of others, things can change through injuries,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “There’s a lot of different ways for these guys to find their way onto the team and into the lineup.”

Winker, 23, has been limited to just 26 at-bats over the last two Cactus League seasons due to an ankle injury (2015) and a hip injury (2016). He said he enters 2017 fully recovered not just from those injuries, but also a wrist injury that truncated his 2016 and sapped his power (just five total home runs, three in Triple-A).

“I feel like the first two camps, I guess you could say it was good practice, but I had the same mindset — come in, work hard, play hard,” Winker said. “That's kind of how I've always treated it.”

The Reds currently seem to have their outfield set – Adam Duvall in left field, Billy Hamilton in center and Scott Schebler in right. Veteran Desmond Jennings has an inside track on a reserve outfielder and Arismendy Alcantara can play both the infield and outfield.

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The door, however, is not complete closed to Winker breaking camp with the team and making his big-league debut on Opening Day.

“Think of a guy like Joey (Votto) who made the team in 2008 and was playing behind Scott Hatteberg. He forced his way into the lineup,” Price said. “The way Schebler played last year at Triple-A. When the opportunity came, it forced us to give him a serious look. If he’s hitting .242 in Triple-A, there’s no pressing sense of obligation that he’s got to be the guy to come up and plays on an everyday basis. I’d like Jesse and anyone we feel that is close to or ready for the big leagues to press us to make a tough decision late in camp to keep themselves in camp as late as they can. Things happen. You can’t ignore performance.”

Price also downplayed the importance of Winker’s home run total. Winker had 13 home runs in 2015 and 15 the year before. The 16 home runs he hit in 2013 in Dayton serve as a career high at this point in his minor-league career. Last season he did hit .303/.397/.384 in 106 games for Triple-A Louisville, with 22 doubles.

“We had a good talk about that yesterday as an organization, you spend too much time focusing on power numbers. I think when we talk about power, too, it's mostly about extra-base hits, it doesn't have to be reflected in home runs,” Price said. “It's run production, it's hard contact. We feel like he's a gap-to-gap hitter. I think the power numbers will show themselves in time. What we want him to do, I'd like him to continue to hit. He hit .300 in Triple-A, had a high on-base. Those things play well for us. I think eventually he'll show more power than we saw last year in Triple-A.”