CINCINNATI — It was a sunny, crisp day early in camp at the Reds player development complex in Goodyear, and Reds hall of fame shortstop Barry Larkin was doing what he does best in his post playing career – talking baseball with two of Cincinnati’s rising stars.
One one field, he worked with Elly De La Cruz on positioning and mechanics of addressing the ball during infield practice, moments later he was chatting with Matt McLain just outside the player development clubhouse.
In between, he worked with veteran Jeimer Candelario on footwork drills at third base.
They all listen intently to Larkin because they all know that it isn’t just his impeccable resume with the Reds that carries weight, it’s the passion he maintains for the game he loves long after his playing career, which ended in 2004.
“It’s great. It’s an opportunity to stay involved and give back,” Larkin told me. “And I feel like it’s a great compliment that at least people want us around. And I feel good about it. I feel like we can really help the players. I feel like the players like the information that they’re getting, and it’s great.”
Larkin and fellow 1990 World Series champ Eric Davis still remain very active in instruction, scouting and player development because the Castellini ownership has embraced the ties to the great history the franchise has. The Castellini goal, of course, is to start creating some legacy of its own.
Two of the big centerpieces of that legacy are De La Cruz and McLain. Larkin realizes that and wants to impart any and all wisdom that helps them appreciate and work toward that.
With De La Cruz, Larkin knows he has special gifts like Eric Davis had when Larkin played with him in the mid-to-late 80s and early 90s. The trick for Larkin is to get Elly to play the game with a little more awareness to the fundamental concepts of position and preparation. Larkin clearly sees what everyone sees – the raw incredible athleticism and gifts. But he also sees untapped potential to play the game at another level once he understands the nuances of the game. That’s the strength of Larkin and why the organization loves having him around.
“It really depends on kind of what’s going on, but for the most part, it’s just get yourself in a good position and control the things that you can control,” Larkin said. “Everyone is fantastically gifted. The question is who is disciplined enough to put themselves in the best position to allow those gifts to work? And so most of the time, if you see me in general, the message is, ‘Hey, you did this, but did you do that because you were in good position, or you were there, but you didn’t quite have your balance. So that throw went a little bit awry.’
“So let’s work a little bit more about getting our feet underneath our body so we can get ourselves in a balanced position. You know? I mean, that’s just a certain example, but those are the conversations that we have. It’s more about, not necessarily like the result, but more about paying attention to the process.”
Larkin also sees something else truly special in De La Cruz – his character.
“He’s humble. “I feel like he’s getting in practice. So far, he’s working from a real good, solid position. And those are the things we can control right now when the games start, and we’ll see how that happens. But in practice, in a controlled atmosphere, he’s controlling what he can control, and that is different than it was, say, last year, because last year was more about, ‘Okay, let me prove to everybody that I have all this talent.’ He’s past that. Now it’s like, let me get myself into this consistent position, position so I can let this talent eat.”
De La Cruz is 23. McLain is 25, and while still young and entering his prime, he already has the feel of a cagey veteran. He has already inspired comparisons from manager Terry Francona to Dustin Pedroia, a “Dirt Dog” second baseman he had with the 2007 World Series champion Red Sox.
McLain’s injury-riddled 2024 is well-documented, coming off shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the whole season. Now, he’s out to prove that he’s not only healthy but can maintain the elite level he demonstrated in his 2023 debut.
“I feel like Matt McLain is an incredibly solid all around (player), offensively, defensively, just a baseball player,” Larkin said. “We do use that term ‘baseball player’ and we use it as a badge of honor, right? Matt McLean is a baseball player. He does everything. He understands his body, and he understands and he’s able to control his body and be very effective and efficient in his movement.
“So I feel like it’s a matter of him just staying healthy. I thought he was on his way last year. Unfortunately, with the shoulder injury, he missed the entire season. But, I mean, you can see it every single day. His at-bats are all competitive, his BPs are all competitive, his ground balls (in infield practice) are all competitive. What’s consistent is all competitive. That’s what Matty McLain is about when you come to work and Matty McLain’s there. It’s going to be competitive, and that’s what you want. And if you compete and you have success, which he has had, there’s an expectation, and he set that level. So I’m really excited about him. But the biggest thing for him to stay healthy.”
To McLain, the way a Hall of Fame shortstop helps him pay attention to small details on the field and at the plate is what stands out the most.
“He’s invaluable, obviously, the player that he was, being able to be around him and pick his brain on anything, and then him coming to us with things, because he sees the game better than anyone,” McLain told me. “Playing it for that long, being that good for that long, being a Hall of Fame player, it’s invaluable to us, and we love him around.”
Then there’s manager Terry Francona, another teammate of Larkin’s for one season in 1987. During that season, Larkin noticed something about his personality that would lead him to be able to lead a diverse group of people one day.
“He’s in front of the front of the group. Tito was always a funny, funny guy, just a loose cannon,” Larkin noted. “And back in ’87 it was the same. I was a young player myself, so I didn’t have the perspective I have now. But I do know he was one of the more loose players, loose cannons, that we had.
“A funny guy. He’s always joking, or whatever. He’s the same guy. And I think that consistency is what you want. That’s who he is. That’s who he was as a player and who he is. I feel like the greatest compliment for any player is, and I said this to a couple guys in our organization, you are who I thought you were as a player and you are who I thought you were as a man, right? It’s genuine when you see a guy and then you see him off the field and he’s the same guy. That’s who Terry Francona is.”
Can Francona pull off the job that one of Larkin’s favorite people in baseball – and in life in general – pulled off in 1990? Lou Piniella led the Reds to their last World Series title, 35 years ago. That drought matches the same drought the Reds experienced in 1975 when they had last won a title in 1940.
“Listen, a manager can’t win a championship, he can set the tone, but the players have to play,” Larkin said. “So, you know, I don’t get too caught up into the fact that we have good coaches and great manager this, that and the other. It is all about the mindset that the manager sets, but the players have to carry it out. In 1990, we won the World Series. Lou Piniella said, ‘I don’t accept losing, and we’re not going to make mental mistakes. And we, as players, went out there and did not make mental mistakes. We went out there certainly we made them during the season, but we limit or minimize the amount of mental mistakes that we had made in the past, and that showed up in wins, right?”
The manager can only do so much leading. All the great coaches and managers in sport realize they need to delegate leadership at some point. And with the Reds, they need to find out who will be that gravitational force?
“We had a clear, defined leader in Eric Davis,” Larkin recalled. “Who’s going to be the clear, defined leader in this clubhouse that guys are going to be able to attach themselves to, that’s going to lead the team? That can’t be the manager, that’s got to be a player. So I’m looking forward. Sometimes it can be a pitcher. He can go out there and Hunter Greene can do his thing, or one of those guys can go out there and be fantastic. But there’s an everyday player that goes out there every single day, if that’s Elly fine, right? And if it’s not, fine. But the responsibility of being that guy means good, bad or indifferent. You are that leader.
“Eric Davis when I’m watching Eric Davis as a 22-year-old rookie, I’m not watching Eric Davis when he’s hitting home runs. I’m watching Eric Davis when he just struck out five times in a row to see how he responds and how he reacts. Because when I strike out five times in a row, if he’s at this certain level, then I at least have to match that level. So it’s going to take some player to be that guy for this team, and maybe not one, maybe a couple different players.”
Before Wednesday’s game against Cleveland, the Reds returned infielder/outfielder Cooper Bowman to the Athletics after selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft in December. In 13 games this spring and 30 plate appearances, he managed just three hits, four walks for a .120 average, including eight strikeouts. The Reds paid the $100,000 cost to take a close look at the 2021 fourth round pick of the Yankees out of Louisville.
26-man roster projection 3.0:
IL: Spencer Steer, Rhett Lowder, Andrew Abbott
With Abbott and Lowder projected to start on IL while both work back to full strength, that opens a slot in the rotation for Ashcraft. That leaves a spot open in the bullpen for a right-handed arm. Gibaut makes for a terrific comeback story, returning as a non-roster invitee. Jacob Hurtubise edges out Will Benson. Stuart Fairchild’s speed is still a big weapon on offense and defense.
