Reds Players Report To Camp In Great Shape With Good Meeting With Francona

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

The position players reported today. All of them had intense physicals and a face-to-face meeting with the manager, Terry Francona and the general manager, Brad Meador.

"We went through all our meetings. These guys are just good kids. They are really fun to be around. This usually a longer day for me but you will the obligation to go beyond. I end up feeling better," Francona said.

The Reds are young still but now have more players that had the experience to discover what it takes to go into the post season.

"I told them after that loss in LA. Remember how good it felt when we popped champagne. Now remember how shitty this feels," Francona recalled. "I think they took that mentality and thought, hey this might be fun and let's go."

"We might be younger than some of the teams we're competing against but we've got to go toe-to-toe with them. These guys have a few years under their belt now. It's time. Let's go."

Francona told them he was proud of them for showing up in shape ready to go.

"Elly (De La Cruz) tested out so good; (Noelvi) Marte, they all did. (Spencer) Steer didn't show up by luck feeling good."

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is an exception. He strained a hamstring working out in January. He is on a running program and may miss the early Cactus League games.

Left-handed minor league pitcher Joel Valdez will be shut down for a few weeks with a shoulder strain and will be shut down for a few weeks.

Those so far are the only players  among the 56, that start full workouts on Monday (2-16-26).

A couple of players, coming off injuries from last season are healthy again.

Tyler Callihan, who fractured his left forearm in an ugly incident in Atlanta last season, has been cleared.

"Callihan was technically cleared today because he went through his physical," Francona said. "He's been doing everything but he had to be okayed. He's fine. He missed a year of development. I told him not to back him off, just compete. We have to keep an eye on him."

Cam Collier broke his left thumb in spring training. He recovered to have a decent minor league season. His power showed a dip with just four home runs in 74 games after hitting 20 in 119 games in Dayton in 2024. Collier hit 21 doubles for the third year in a row.

"He is good really good," Francona said. "We talked to him last year when it happened and told him let's take a negative and turn it into a positive, so work on your body. He did it, man. He put himself in a good position. He is still young as hell. He is still one of the younger guys in Double A. There's a lot to like."

Collier will be 22 on November 20. He played third base the majority of his career and is still learning first base but Francona thinks it will be helpful if he can play both.

"It is going to be crowded for those younger guys but we'll figure it out," Francona concluded. "The more we can get players playing multiple positions is good. There is going to be a balance there."