What a difference year makes for Reds' Kristopher Negron

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Reds manager Bryan Price was going down the list of bench players that have made the team. It's a short one.

Skip Schumaker.

Brayan Pena.

"Those two for sure," Price said "We certainly put a lot of thought into Kris Negron as a guy we think is one of those guys that's just a very important player or piece for our ball club."

It's safe to say Negron would not have been on that list this time last year. But Negron had a breakout year last season. He hit .271 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 49 games and played nearly flawless defense at second base, third base and shortstop.

Negron was one of the pleasant surprises in a disappointing year. Negron, after all, is a career .246 hitter in the minors. He hit .225 in 116 games at Triple-A in 2013.

"I think it would have been a bigger surprise had he not had such a great spring training for us," Price said. "He played multiple positions and he swung the bat as well as we had seen Kris swing the bat. Then he got off to a terribly slow start in Triple-A and bounced back. When he came back up, he took advantage of his opportunity."

While Negron's status has changed — "I'm on a different side of the locker room," he said — his attitude hasn't.

"I came in with the same mindset," he said. "Just come in here and handle my business, go about my business the right way. I'm going to come out here and compete no matter what the situation is. If it's 10 years down the road or three years ago, I came in here with the same mindset. Be a good teammate and do everything I can."

Price expected no less from Negron, the 29-year-old the Reds got from the Boston Red Sox for Alex Gonzalez in 2009.

"He's probably one of the last guys on that list that I would think would ever take anything for granted," Price said. "You certainly would like your guys all to think they're competing to make the club. Certainly, we know there's guys that know they are on the team but we want to see the type of effort that would suggest everyone is trying to make the club. I just think that bodes well for what we're trying to do as a team, and that's play hard every minute we are on the field."

Negron learned a lot from his time with the Reds last year. It was his first extended stay in the big leagues.

"I learned to really stick to my routine and really study," he said. "That was a big thing last year. Skip Schumaker helped me out a lot with that, how to watch video on pitchers and go out with a game plan. Coming off the bench and going out to pinch hit, I had an idea. I definitely put myself in a lot better position to succeed."