Skip Schumaker (25) Days Until Cincinnati Reds Report to Spring Training

Sep 7, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds left fielder Skip Schumaker (25) hits an RBI single off New York Mets starting pitcher Zach Wheeler (not pictured) in the fifth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

With 25 days left until Spring Training begins, the Cincinnati Reds are hoping to put the ugliness of 2014 behind them and do something big in 2015. It’s curious in a way, then, that the team heads for camp still holding onto the guy who maybe best personifies last year’s club.  Skip Schumaker is that holdover, and he’s Number 25 on our Countdown Team.

The Reds signed Schumaker to a two-year free agent deal last off-season with the hopes that he could be the supersub who could help them juke their way to the World Series.  The thought was that Schumaker could play all three outfield positions and in the infield while providing adequate offense.

Some of that panned out for the Reds and their poor man’s Ben Zobrist, but Schumaker was not the same spark plug that he had been with the St. Louis Cardinals since 2005.

In 83 games, Schumaker managed an OPS of just .595, which left him roughly 30% below league-average at the plate (69 OPS+).  He did manage to get into games all over the outfield and at second base, and he even pitched for an inning, but the Reds may have been better off to put some of their hurlers in the field and at the plate.

Manager Bryan Price’s limited use of Schumaker even in the face of all the slumps and injuries the team faced says a lot about the slide that the 34-year-old experienced, and it’s hard to imagine he will have a larger role in 2015.

Maybe it’s more accurate to say that fans should hope Schumaker doesn’t see more playing time in 2015, because if he does, it probably means the wheels have come off the Red Machine again.

Next: Raisel Iglesias (26) Days Until Cincinnati Reds Report to Spring Training