Stephenson spent a good part of his offseason working on improving against opposing baserunners, who were six of seven in stolen-base attempts against him, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
After struggling to gain a foothold in the majors, Stephenson took a major step forward in the bullpen in 2019 and can now afford to refine certain weaknesses, like his ability to hold runners. He'll likely be deployed in a higher-leverage role than he was last season.