C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

As Jay Bruce left the Reds’ clubhouse for the last time on Monday, he told clubhouse manager Rick Stowe that he had one last request – “give my locker to Cozy.”

Zack Cozart didn’t find out about his new assignment until Tucker Barnhart, whose locker is next to the prized corner spot, sent him a picture of his stuff in the corner locker that once belonged not only to Bruce, but also Ken Griffey Jr. before that.

The two lockers together at the end of the clubhouse store more things, sure, but they are also filled with responsibility. With prime real estate comes a symbolic standing in the team’s hierarchy. To get to the field, every player must pass between the locker that was Bruce’s and now Cozart’s on the left and the pair of lockers on the right that belong to Joey Votto.

That’s why Bruce wanted Cozart to have them. He knew Cozart could handle it.

Reds will miss Jay Bruce the teammate

“He epitomizes professionalism, the guy goes about his business the right way,” Bruce said on Tuesday. “The other day someone called him Joe Montana, and I was like, ‘that’s perfect.’ He’s the quarterback, he’s the Steady Eddie, every single day you can count on him and what he’s overcome the last year has been really, really fun to watch and special. I’m hoping for the best for him. He’s as good as it gets, he’s as good as it gets.”

Cozart was a little surprised by the honor – and surprised to have any locker at Great American Ball Park after rumors swirled that he was headed to Seattle in a trade.

That trade ultimately fell apart and sometime after the deadline, Reds manager Bryan Price called him and told him that he’d be batting second and playing shortstop on Tuesday. That changed, later, as he was scratched from the lineup with a bruised right ring finger suffered during batting practice Tuesday and replaced by Ivan De Jesus Jr. in the field and in the lineup.

Ring finger aside, as Cozart went to work on Tuesday, it was still a little odd, he said, and it didn’t feel right to be in the clubhouse knowing he wouldn't see Bruce.

“It’s weird to be over here, it’s a weird day with Bruce not being here and I thought I was as good as traded, too,” Cozart said. “It’s pretty weird right now.”

Cozart has one more year of salary arbitration before becoming a free agent following the 2017 season. The Reds recently spent millions on Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez and are now playing Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera, acquired in the Bruce deal, at shortstop and second base, respectively, at Triple-A Louisville. They're the apparent successors to Cozart and Brandon Phillips, who is also a free agent following the 2017 season.

The Reds could still look to trade Cozart during the waiver trade deadline period or in the offseason.

On Tuesday, that was in the future. At present, Cozart is a Red.

“I’m happy. I want to be the with Reds, I want to be here long-term,” Cozart said. “We’ve been playing better ball, we’re getting guys healthy. Obviously trading Bruce, it’s going to be tough to fill that void. This is all I know, it’s all Jay knew, we both wanted to be here. I think we’ve made that pretty clear. But we also want to win.”

The uptick in play – the Reds had their first winning month of the season in July – and the return of Homer Bailey to the rotation made things a little sunnier, Cozart said. And that just made Monday’s off day with the trade deadline hanging over his head tougher.

“I was sitting there watching the clock, waiting for my phone to ring from 10 a.m. on,” Cozart said. “We got in late and I got up around 10 and my phone had been blowing up basically saying I guess Seattle’s beat guy said they were real close to acquiring me. I talked to my wife, I had my baby boy, we started packing up. When you see stuff like that, usually that stuff goes down. It was a long six hours from 10 to 4 because I didn’t get a text, I didn’t get a call, I was just waiting. Then 4 p.m. passed and I guess it didn’t happen. I’m happy as can be to be here, I love the guys here, I wish Brucey was still here.”

Cozart said nobody from the front office has said anything to him about yesterday’s deals or his future. Price’s call reassured him he was still in the team’s short-term future, at least.

In the end, he’s sad to see one of his best friends in baseball go, but happy to still be here.

“We know it’s part of the business,” Cozart said, “but the business sucks.”