Byrd must produce before he can lead the Reds

The Reds didn't really tell us what they were looking for in a left fielder until they got their man. Walt Jocketty and Bryan Price spent more time talking about Marlon Byrd's intangibles than what he does on the field.

Jocketty: "The one thing that kept coming back about Marlon Byrd was the way he played the game, the way he went about his business, his work ethic. We take a lot of stock in guys like that."

Price: "The other thing that we've been talking about is someone who can go out and, on a daily basis, play the game the right way, adding another quality professional to our mix. It makes us better in a lot of ways -- from the standpoint of how hard we're going to play and how we prepare."

Those are very nice things to say about Byrd, but it also tells you that Jocketty and Price saw major problems with the 2014 Reds as far as preparation and effort. Veteran leadership can correct that.

Jocketty brought in Scott Rolen in 2009 to do that. The Rolen move was largely responsible for turning around the Reds. They went from nine straight losing seasons to winning 90 games or more three of four years.

Last year was a major step back. It's impossible to say how much of that was due to the lack of leadership. Skip Schumaker, a player brought in for a veteran leadership role, was hurt or ineffective much of the year. Ryan Ludwick, another player brought in for that role, struggled most of the year at the plate.

None of Reds' marquee position players -- Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips or Jay Bruce -- has moved into the leadership role. Bruce is best suited for it, but he had his worst year in 2014. It's hard to lead when you're not playing well.

Can Byrd have the same effect as Rolen? It's hard to say. He doesn't come in with the same type of resume. Rolen had a World Series ring and made a case for the Hall of Fame. Byrd's been in the postseason once and is a good player.

Leadership in baseball is a hard thing to judge. Rolen was about as far from "rah-rah" as you can get, but he played hard all the time. The younger players respected him -- and feared him a little bit.

One Rolen story: During his last spring training with the Reds, they were doing a pop-up drill. That's about as monotonous as it gets. Phillips was making it a bit more interesting by clowning around a bit. He was still catching every ball but he was doing so with total disregard for fundamentals.

"Do not show tape of this to any Little Leaguers!" Rolen shouted from his spot at third. The implication was clear to the younger players: Phillips might be able to get away with this stuff, but don't you try it.

Byrd realizes it's difficult to come into a new team and become the leader.

"I'm just one of the pieces of the puzzle," he said.

But he said he prides himself on playing hard all the time. When a veteran does that, it can't help but influence the younger players.

So we'll see. But frankly, one guy isn't going to change a roster of 25.

Of course, Byrd is going to have to help the offense as well as lead. He should give the Reds a boost. He hit 264/.312/.445 last year with 25 home runs and 85 RBI. And, remember, this isn't 2000. Numbers are down. Only two National League outfielders had more home runs than Byrd; only four NL outfielders had more RBI. And the Reds' left fielders combined to hit .233/.288/.339 with 10 home runs and 57 RBI.

His 185 strikeouts are reason for some alarm. But Byrd was out at the batting cage working on things when he got the call that he had been traded to the Reds.

"I wasn't really happy with this season, even though I put up good numbers as far as power and production," he said. "My batting average slipped down, my strikeouts went up, my walks went down. I need to get some work in."

That's the kind of example-setting the Reds are looking for.