Spencer Steer isn’t a classic ‘utilityman’ in that his glove allows his manager to add value to positions all across the diamond. He’s a modern day utilityman, though, in that his bat is good enough to pencil in the lineup regardless of pitcher, and his glove plays just well everywhere to allow other regulars to rest against bad matchups.
Such was the case on Monday, when David Bell opted to give the slumping Jonathan India a day off against St. Louis Cardinals starter Sonny Gray. Steer, who had only started at 2B once all season, moved to the keystone (and the leadoff spot) and promptly swatted a pair of large homers to lead the Reds to a victory in the series opener.