John Fay

jfay@enquirer.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jon Heyman of Cbssports.com Tweeted that the Reds are among teams that are interested in an Arizona shortstop.

It makes sense, given some of the things Bryan Price has said and done:

- He said yesterday that Chris Nelson will only be used at short in a "stop-gap" situation.

- He played Todd Frazier at short for a few innings Saturday.

- He said that if Jack Hannahan were healthy, he would have played some short this spring.

- He said that Ramon Santiago is the only long-term solution at short, if Zack Cozart gets hurt. "That's where Santiago fills the role if we need a long-term fixture at shortstop if we had an injury," Price said. "He could do that."

But Santiago can opt out of his contract on March 28 if he's not on the roster. He's similar to Wilson Valdez or Cesar Izturis -- he's excellent defensively, but offensively he doesn't offer much as a bench player. He hit .224 last year and .206 the year before with no power.

If the Reds had a ready replacement for Cozart at Triple-A, they may be willing to live with Frazier or Hannahan spelling Cozart occasionally. But they don't have anyone in the high minors who could help them immediately.

That's why a trade for middle infield depth makes sense. Word is the Diamondbacks might be willing to part with former Red Didi Gregorius. Chris Owings has outplayed Gregorius this spring in Arizona camp.

Does all this mean anything? Hard to say. But shortstop is a spot to watch for the rest of Reds' camp.