Super utility Pinder brings flexibility to bench

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Amid an offseason in which many teams were signing players to nine-figure deals, the Reds' Feb. 1 move to sign former A's utility player Chad Pinder to a Minor League contract didn't register as big news.

That didn't stop people in manager David Bell's orbit from contacting him to offer rave reviews.

"I think it was a record of people reaching out on his behalf when we acquired him," Bell said on Saturday. "Just people I hadn’t heard from in a long time who had crossed paths with Chad or spent a lot of time with him in Oakland. They just had great things to say about him. That matters. Obviously, you have to play well and all that, and that’s very important, but those other things matter. It only helps his chances to play a big role on this team.”

Pinder, who turns 31 on March 29, is in camp as a non-roster player competing for a role on Cincinnati's bench. During Saturday's Cactus League opener against the Guardians, he started at third base and went 0-for-2 in the Reds' 4-3 win.

During his seven-year big league career with Oakland, Pinder appeared at every position on the field except catcher. So it’s not surprising he shows an affinity for other utility players, especially those who've been lineup fixtures.

"For me [coming] up, the first guys I’d see doing it was [Ben] Zobrist and Kiké [Hernández] and Chris Taylor and Marwin Gonzalez. You see the value in that," Pinder said. "I think a lot of systems are pushing their more athletic guys to do that so they are ready."

In 111 games for the A's in 2022, Pinder batted .235 with a .648 OPS, 12 home runs and 42 RBIs. He primarily played corner outfield spots for Oakland last season and first played in the outfield in 2017 -- one year after he’d reached the big leagues.

Pinder never said no to playing a less familiar position.

"I said, 'play me wherever you want.' It’s important to have that type of thing on a team," Pinder said. "It’s the flexibility I give myself, flexibility I give to the organization, flexibility that it gives your teammates most importantly. The ability to give your starting third baseman, starting second baseman, starting right fielder days off when they need it and do that job at a level where it doesn’t seem like you’re missing much that day.

"If you can do it, you make all the routine plays. You take care of the baseball. No one is asking you to be a Gold Glover at every single position.”

With the Reds expected to carry two backup catchers this season, their five-man bench will feel smaller. Having their other role players able to play multiple spots is more of a priority. Pinder is competing with newly acquired second baseman Nick Solak, multiple outfielders and fellow non-roster invites Alejo Lopez, Matt Reynolds and Jason Vosler for the chance to break camp with the team.

Last season, Pinder logged only 13 games at infield positions with four starts while he played 91 games in the outfield. Getting more comfortable in the infield again has been a priority for him in camp.

"That’s my goal for 2023, to regain my versatility," he said. "Obviously, it’s a coveted thing in baseball."

Pinder experienced winning with the A's and also endured the start of a rebuild. Oakland had four straight winning seasons and made the playoffs three times from 2018-21 before it purged its roster in '22. Pinder was one of the few veterans who remained the whole season and was viewed as a team leader.

The Reds are coming off a 100-loss season and have few expectations of contention in 2023. Pinder, who is already enjoying his new teammates, believed that there is an opportunity to make more progress as a team.

"It’s kind of the same situation in Oakland in ’18. They picked us to come in last in the division and we won 97 games," Pinder said. "The people in this clubhouse, whoever the 26 people that go to Cincinnati, if there’s a belief that you hold people accountable -- because the talent is in this clubhouse -- there is no doubt about it. It’s a special group of guys, a good mix between veterans and guys that are on their way up. That’s all it takes and a belief.

"It will be really cool to see how it shakes out."