How Reds outfielder Tyler Naquin approaches a change in his role in the lineup

PITTSBURGH – In the Cincinnati Reds dugout on Monday night, Reds outfielder Tyler Naquin was hoping that he was on the verge of a breakthrough at the plate.

Naquin entered the game with a .197 batting average, and he had just made a “super tiny” adjustment with his timing. He went up to Reds manager David Bell and told him, “It’s coming. I’m going to get hot.”

Then over the next three games, Naquin went 5-for-11 at the plate, including a three-RBI triple in Wednesday’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Naquin’s good week at the plate came at a point when he knew he needed to turn around his season.

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“I’m going through it a little bit, but that’s part of the game,” Naquin said. “I know what I’m capable of and they know what I’m capable of. It’s just about keeping getting those at-bats. It’s still early. I don’t even have 100 at-bats.”

On Sunday, Naquin moved from the bottom of the Reds order to the bottom-half of the Reds order. He had been their No. 2 hitter for most of the season, and Naquin hit leadoff when Jonathan India was injured.

But Naquin wasn’t making the consistent hard contact that led to him becoming a full-time starter last season. In 2021, Naquin hit .270 with 45 extra-base hits and 70 RBI in 127 games. In 2022, Naquin has been swinging and missing a lot more often, and he only had 10 extra-base hits entering Thursday’s game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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As a result, Bell moved Naquin down to fifth in the order on Sunday. On Monday, Naquin hit sixth. Then on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday he was down to seventh in the lineup.

“I need to keep being me, I need to hammer that home,” Naquin said. “I can’t give any pitch or any at-bat away. It’s frustrating, but you’ve got to keep believing. Even after you’ve already proved yourself. This game will humble you. You’ve got to believe it.”

At the start of the season, when it became clear that Naquin would hit second for the Reds, he said he never put too much stock into where he hit in the lineup. Naquin usually wasn’t a full-time player when he was with the Cleveland Guardians between 2016 and 2020. He had gotten used to bouncing around the lineup, and Naquin said the most important factor to him was the opportunity to be on the field.

Even though he’s now hitting lower in the order, Naquin is still one of the Reds’ most important power hitters.

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“We know him well, we know what he’s capable of,” Bell said. “It’s a long year, you go through ups and downs. You can see when he’s starting to come out of it. You gain confidence and your at-bats get better. It’s what we saw a few days ago. It’s come up over the last couple games.”

Naquin responded to moving down in the order with his best week of the season. In Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss against the Brewers, Naquin would have hit the game-tying double in the eighth inning if it weren’t for a highlight play by Brewers outfielder Tyrone Taylor.

The next day, Naquin broke through with a triple off the wall in right field.

“It’s a confidence builder every time you produce and do your job,” Naquin said. “When you feel like yourself, everyone feels good about you in big situations. That’s a good feeling to have.”

ROSTER MOVES: Reds reliever Lucas Sims missed the start of the season with back spasms listed as the injury designation, and he went on the injured list on Thursday due to back spasms. Sims last pitched on Tuesday, and he’s one of the Reds’ most-trusted relievers in high-leverage situations.

The Reds optioned reliever Dauri Moreta to Triple-A. On Wednesday, Moreta allowed five runs in the ninth inning as the Reds nearly blew a nine-run lead.

The Reds called up Robert Dugger, who’s available to be a long reliever and fill innings for a taxed Reds bullpen. The Reds also called back prospect Jared Solomon, who made his big league debut last week. The Reds added Solomon to the 40-man roster during the offseason, and he has pitched 11 ⅔ scoreless innings between Double-A, Triple-A and MLB this season.

STACKING WINS: In April, the Reds didn’t win a single series. In May, the Reds have already won two.

The Reds entered Thursday night with a 4-2 record in their previous six games, including series wins over the Pirates and the Brewers.

“It’s all about wins,” Bell said. “With wins comes confidence. With success comes confidence. It’s not that, all of a sudden, the effort was better or anything like that. That’s been going on all year. Once you have success and win a couple games, you can definitely build on that.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Reds' Tyler Naquin approaches a change in his role in the lineup