ST. LOUIS − When Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Franconadecided to lift Spencer Steer mid-game due to injury concerns in his team's series finaleagainst the St. Louis Cardinals, Francona became doubly concerned when Steer didn't resist the command.
Steer, a model of reliability and versatility this year, left the Reds-Cardinals game July 26 at Busch Stadium mid-at-bat in the fifth inning with what the team called "right wrist pain." He departed after fouling off a pitch, and Edwin Arroyo took over for Steer in the at-bat.
Francona said afterward the injury might
have resulted from an earlier swing in the game. Whatever the case, Steer will undergo further medical evaluation on July 27 in Cincinnati, Francona told reporters after Cincinnati's 5-3 win at Busch Stadium.
"The concern is he doesn't say anything, like in Seattle when he got hit in the ribs," Francona said. "He doesn't ever complain, so you worry when he comes out of a game. Like, he didn't fight me to come out of the game. That makes me nervous but we'll get him looked at, get him imaged and they're setting up an appointment with the hand specialist."
There's still more to understand about Steer's injury, but the prospect of potentially losing him to injury at this particular juncture in the season would be inopportune to say the least.
As long as he's playing for the Reds, Steer is a clear asset in a clubhouse full of players still fighting to avoid being broken up ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. If the club does end up selling in some fashion at the deadline, Steer is also one of the club's most-discussed players relative to media reporting and speculation regarding trades.
Entering play July 26, Steer was hitting .240 with a .743 OPS and 16 home runs. He'd played six different positions defensively for Cincinnati and was a National League Gold Glove finalist at first base in 2025.
More than half of the 48 appearances he'd made at first base in 2026 were as a substitute, and he played 53 games in the outfield positions, plus 17 combined games at second base and third base.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Terry Francona said Spencer Steer's injury scare made him nervous
