GOODYEAR Blake Snell Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — of their resurgence.Following an offseason that saw a lot of turnover for the last-place Reds, they’re beginning this year with Schebler in center field, taking over after the departure of Billy Hamilton.Schebler doesn’t have Hamilton’s range or speed. Few players do.But Schebler has played 49 games at the spot over the last three seasons. New manager David Bell has given Schebler the job, eager to see it he can make the transition from right field — by far his most familiar spot — and give Yaisel Puig a chance to settle in somewhere else in the outfield.“Schebler is going to play all over this spring, but I’m interested in seeing him in center field,” Bell said. “It’s valuable that he can play all three positions in the outfield. There’s no question he can play at this level.”The question is how the Reds’ new components fit together. They let Hamilton leave after years of trying unsuccessfully to improve his hitting. They got Puig and outfielder Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade that provided Bell with several new options.“It is kind of like going to a new school,” Schebler said. “The first couple of days I was meeting people for the first time. It was like you’re in a brand new clubhouse. You’ve kind of seen them play. You wonder what they’re like.”The Reds got the 28-year-old Schebler from the Dodgers along with shortstop Jose Peraza after the 2015 season as part of a three-team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox. During his time in LA’s farm system, Schebler got to know starter Alex Wood, who came to the Reds as part of the deal for Puig and Kemp.All the new players have brought as sense of optimism to a team that has lost at least 94 games for four straight seasons.“There is a lot of energy here,” Schebler said.Injuries have slowed Schebler the last two seasons. He missed 43 games last year with two stints on the disabled list. He suffered a bruised right elbow when hit by Sean Doolittle’s pitch in April. He sprained his right shoulder when he ran into the outfield wall in July. He batted .255 with 17 homers and 49 RBIs.“He has the ability to do a lot of damage Rob Refsnyder Jersey ,” Bell said. “We see him as a big part of the team.”The Reds don’t have a prototypical leader off hitter. They spent four seasons trying to get Hamilton to fill that role, without success. Schebler hasn’t stolen more than five bases in a season. Outfielder Jesse Winker didn’t steal a base in 89 games last season, but he batted first Monday in a game against the Cubs.Given all the last-place finishes in recent years, players are willing to try new things under the new manager.“We’re willing to sacrifice all the individual stuff just to win,” Schebler said.Notes: RHP Sonny Gray will throw batting practice on Tuesday. He developed a sore elbow and had to take time off early in camp. He threw in the bullpen over the weekend without problem. Elsa/Getty ImagesAfter enduring the worst year of his MLB career, Matt Holliday will reportedly reunite with the Colorado Rockies after agreeing to a minor league deal on Saturday with the team that drafted him, according to Fancred's Jon Heyman.Although he was an All-Star in 2012 and 2015, the 38-year-old's offense has generally trended downward following the 2011 season. He batted .296, slugged .525 and finished with a .912 OPS then, and almost every year since http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , his OPS fell compared to the year before.Things reached a nadir for Holliday in 2017. In 105 games for the New York Yankees, he had a .231/.316/.432 slash line along with 19 home runs and 64 RBI. And despite logging the third-fewest plate appearances of his career (427), he struck out his third-most times in a single season (114).In particular, Holliday struggled when opposing pitchers attacked him with something other than a fastball. According to Brooks Baseball, he had an 8.72 percent whiff rate on fastballs. That number climbed to 18.38 percent for breaking balls and 22.09 percent for off-speed pitches.Some expected Holliday to have a bounce-back 2017 after he batted .253 on balls in play in 2016, per FanGraphs. Instead, it may be fair to wonder whether the fractured thumb he suffered in August 2016 had had a long-lasting effect on his swing.In the team's press release announcing his signing, the Yankees noted Holliday had an average exit velocity of 94.7 mph, which was third-best among hitters with at least 100 batted balls in play. According to Baseball Savant, his average exit velocity fell to 89.9 mph in 2017.No slugger is immune to the aging curve http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , and the thumb injury may have accelerated his inevitable decline.Holliday's 19 homers illustrate he still boasts plenty of power. The problem is that power came far more inconsistently than it did when he was in his prime with the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals.In September, NJ Advance Media's Brendan Kuty speculated Holliday wouldn't be back in New York in 2018. In addition to the player's underwhelming offense, Kuty noted he is almost exclusively a designated hitter now since he can't regularly play one of the three outfield positions anymore.However, Kuty also wrote that Holliday "has been a huge mentor to Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier and likely other hitters we don't know about." As well as hoping for Holliday to turn things around at the plate in 2018, the Rockies may be counting on him to have a similar impact inside their clubhouse.Stats are courtesy of Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.