CINCINNATI -- Brayan Pena hasn't had to pick up a first baseman's mitt this season. He hopes he doesn't have to but if the occasion should arise where Pena has to fill in for Joey Votto, as he did 45 times last season, he'll do so without question. And a smile on his face.
For the second year in a row Pena is being called on to assume a greater role than originally planned, this time as his natural position. While catcher Devin Mesoraco recovers from and attempts to play through a hip impingement, Pena has taken over the every-day duties behind the plate. He knows that once Mesoraco is healthy enough to do more than provide a bat off the bench that the job will again belong to Mesoraco.
Until that time manager Bryan Price is writing Pena's name on the lineup card. That means something to the 33-year-old Cuban native, something he doesn't take for granted.
"I always prepare myself the same way and do my job. I watch film. I hit in the cage. I go to the bullpen and catch the guys. I get involved with everything," said Pena. "I understand my role very well and I accept it. I know this is Devin's team. This is his team and I have no problem with that. That's one of the reasons they signed me because they wanted me to be his backup in case something happened. Hopefully he will come back soon but meanwhile I will just take advantage of the opportunity Bryan Price has given me. He's one of those guys that really trusts me and believes in me and I don't want to let him down."
Pena hasn't let anyone down, handling the pitching staff from behind the plate and providing solid offense in the batter's box. He was on base all four of his plate appearances Monday night in a 9-6 win against Milwaukee that snapped the Reds' three-game losing streak. Pena walked twice and scored once to go along with a single and double that extended his hitting streak to six games and gave him hits in 10 of his 13 appearances this season.
Pena is batting .325 with an on-base percentage of .417 and is slugging at a .400 percentage.
How long Mesoraco will be limited is still to be determined. He can run fine. He can bat without issue. Squatting down to catch, however, is a different story. He still hasn't tested that part of his game out. The Reds called up Tucker Barnhart from Louisville to be Pena's backup.
Pena played in a career-high 115 games last season with 372 plate appearances. He had played in just four games as a first baseman in nine previous seasons in the major leagues, none of them starts. When Votto was hurt last season with a strained distal quad that eventually forced him to miss 99 games, Pena became an answer. Despite his lack of experience at the position, Pena committed just one error in 389 chances.
The word "perspective" comes to Price's mind when he thinks about Pena.
"For a guy who loves to play the game, it's palpable," said Price. "He's a great teammate. People buy into Brayan's sincerity, that he's playing the game for the right reasons. He prepares very well to call a good game. It matters to him that he does his job.
"So being able to plug him in -- I mean for playing first base and making one error last year is phenomenal for a guy who had four appearances and none of them starts previously. He was spectacular over there. That willingness to just do whatever it takes to get the job done appeals to a lot of guys in the clubhouse. It certainly does to the pitching staff. He's a great fit for us."
The pitching staff had a 2.86 ERA with Pena catching last season. For much of the season he caught when Johnny Cueto was starting, such was the rapport the two developed.
"You should be able to learn each other quickly. We're at a level where we should have the ability to interact and know each other a lot quicker than at other levels," said starter Mike Leake. "He's a hard worker. He definitely takes baseball serious and his job serious. That's one thing you can book and know that he's going to be putting his full effort in."
