CCIINNCCIINNNNAATTII RREEDDSS PPRREESSSS CCLLIIPPPPIINNGGSS NOVEMBER 26, 2014 CINCINNATI ENQUIRER This is another in a periodic series of looks at the Reds position-by-position. Today we look at center field: Billy Hamilton was one of the feel-good stories of the 2014 Reds. He's going to be the center fielder for a long time. He exceeded expectations this year -- particularly until his numbers fell off toward the end. Hamilton hit .250 with 25 doubles, eight triples, six home runs, 48 RBI and 56 stolen bases. He finished second on the team with 72 runs scored. CINCINNATI Billy Hamilton sets Reds' rookie record His defense was among the best in baseball. His range is incredible, his arm well-above average and he showed no fear around the outfield wall. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote and was a finalist for Gold Glove. The downside: He got caught stealing a league-high 23 times and his on-base percentage was a below-league average .292. Hamilton simply did not hit in the second half. He hit .285/.319/.423 in the first half and .200/.254/.257 in the second half. Some of that can be attributed to teams figuring Hamilton out. But a large part of it was likely fatigue -- although Hamilton insisted he wasn't playing tired. He hit .123 in September and stole two bases in five attempts. The rough ending is understandable. Hamilton played full-time in September for the first time. He plays a defensively demanding position. His speed is his main weapon. And Hamilton only carries 160 pounds on his 6-foot frame. Despite all the slides and crashes into the wall, Hamilton proved durable. He started 136 games and played in 152. Four of the games he missed were the last four of the season. Those came as a result of a collision with the fence in left-center. Hamilton is not playing any Winter Ball for the first time as a professional. The Reds also vetoed a trip with Major League Baseball to Japan. So he'll have a chance to heal and get stronger. For Hamilton to be an effective leadoff man, he's got to figure out how to get on base more. He did that in the minors. He had on- base percentages of .383., 340 and .410 from 2010 to '12. If Hamilton can get his OBP to .330 or so in 2015, it will go a long way toward turning the Reds' offense around. Hamilton's main backup will likely be Chris Heisey again. Heisey made 11 starts in center -- second most on the team. Heisey is a good defender and offers added pop when in the lineup. But Heisey is not an absolute lock to be tendered a contract. He's arbitration-eligible for the third time. He made $1.76 million this year. He'd probably make at least $2.5 million if the Reds tender him. That's a little steep in a budget that is very tight. But pinch-hit power -- an MLB-leading four PH home runs this year -- is hard to replace. Skip Schumaker made seven starts in center, but he's coming off shoulder surgery. Jason Bourgeois is also on the roster. He made one start in center. Kevin Towers hire among Reds' front-office changes David Clark The Reds officially announced the hirings of Kevin Towers as Special Assistant/Player Personnel and veteran scout Jeff Schugel as Special Assistant/Pro Scout. Late last month, John Fay reported that the Reds were trying to hire Towers, the former Arizona GM, for a front office position. "It hasn't been finalized," Jocketty told Fay at the time. "He's still trying to decide what to do." Last week, C. Trent Rosecrans confirmed that Bill Bavasi, an assistant to Reds GM Walt Jocketty and former general manager of the Angels and the Mariners, accepted a job as head of Major League Scouting Bureau. Assistant GM Bob Miller left the Reds recently. Miller was hired by the Nationals earlier this month. More from the Reds in a release: Towers, 53, spent the last 4 years as Executive Vice President and General Manager at Arizona and led the Diamondbacks to the National League West Division championship in 2011. Towers has 18 years' experience as a Major League general manager. He spent 14 of those seasons as the GM for the San Diego Padres from 1996-2009. During that period, the Padres won NL West Division championships in 1996, 1998, 2005 and 2006 and advanced to the World Series in 1998. Towers' 2007 club fell just shy of advancing to the Postseason for the third straight year after losing a tie-breaker game to the Colorado Rockies. Schugel, 53, spent last season, his 31st in professional baseball, as Special Assistant to Atlanta Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren. Before joining the Braves in 2014, Schugel spent 9 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as a Major League scout and then special assignment scout. He also worked in various scouting capacities for the Minnesota Twins (1987-91), Colorado Rockies (1993-2000) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2000-04). In other front office news, Vice President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams was named Vice President, Assistant General Manager; Director of Baseball Operations Nick Krallwas named Senior Director of Baseball Operations; Director of Baseball Research and Analysis Sam Grossman was named Senior Director of Baseball Analytics; Eric Lee was named Manager of Baseball Operations; and Bo Thompson was named Baseball Operations Analyst. In the international scouting department, Director of Latin American Scouting Tony Arias was named Director, International Scouting; Assistant Director of Latin American Scouting Miguel Machado was named Assistant Director, International Scouting; Coordinator of Global Scouting Jim Stoeckel was named Director, Global Scouting; International Scout and Dominican Republic Scouting Coordinator Richard Jimenez was named Director, Latin American Scouting; and Dominican Republic scout Emmanuel Cartagena was named Scouting Coordinator, Dominican Republic. Todd Frazier's price just went up John Fay I've been saying all along that it makes sense for the Reds to try to extend the contracts of Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco. We got an idea of how expensive that will be in the case of Frazier. Kyle Seager and the Seattle Mariners agreed to a seven-year, $100 million extension Monday, according to multiple reports. Yahoo! Sports had the news first. Salaries in MLB are largely based on "comparables." Frazier and Seager are about as comparable as they get. Both are third basemen. Seager is 27; Frazier's 28. Both are arbitration-eligible for the first time. Seager hit .268/.334/.454 this season with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. Frazier hit .273/.336/.459 with 29 home runs and 80 RBI this year. Seager's WAR (wins above replacement) was 5.8. Frazier's WAR was 5.3. Contracts for players like Seager and Frazier tend to be back-loaded. When Jay Bruce signed a six-year, $51 million deal in 2011, it was for $2.75 million, $5 million, $7.5 million, $10 million, $12 million and $12.5 million per year, with $13 million and a $1 million buyout for a seventh year. So the Reds could probably swing it with Frazier for the first four years of a six- or seven-year deal, but those last years will be expensive. MLB.COM Reds have left-field options on free-agent market Aoki, Hunter, Morse, Rios among those available By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com CINCINNATI -- With Thanksgiving days away, the Reds appear no closer to being able to say thanks for having more offense or a new left fielder to help the club in 2015. There has been no significant movement in the low-to-mid-range free-agent market for left field, where Cincinnati and general manager Walt Jocketty are searching. Last week, we took a look at various left fielders that were available for trades. This week, it's time to take a closer look at free- agent left fielders that are or should be on the Reds' radar. Nori Aoki Pros: During his one season in Kansas City, Aoki helped the Royals reach the World Series as their primary leadoff hitter. Turning 33 in January, he brings the high OBP and consistent hitting the Reds need after he batted .285/.349/.360 in 2014. He could even potentially move ahead of speedster Billy Hamilton (.292 OBP last season) in the order as the table setter. Aoki is a left-handed hitter, but he has historically better offensive numbers vs. lefty pitchers. Cons: Although never viewed as a power hitter, Aoki had 18 home runs in two seasons with the Brewers in 2012-13 and just one homer last season. His wins above replacement dropped from 3.4 in 2012 to just 1.0 in '14, a number often on the level of bench players. Normally a right fielder, he also has limited left-field experience. An above-average defensive player throughout his career, that shouldn't be as big of an issue at Great American Ball Park. Torii Hunter Pros: Sources say the Reds have not reached out to Hunter yet, but he could be an intriguing addition because he brings both his bat and significant leadership potential. Hunter hit .286/.319/.446 with 17 homers and 83 RBIs last season for the Tigers, after batting over .300 the two previous seasons. In the clubhouse, he's been praised in Minnesota, Anaheim and Detroit for his leadership skills, helping with younger players and not being afraid to speak his mind.