Colorado Rockies news and links for Wednesday, December 18, 2024
When the San Francisco Giants introduced their new shortstop Willy Adames, the 29-year-old from the Dominican Republic quickly made it clear he wants to play all 162 games in 2025.
“If he lets me,” Adames said jokingly about manager Bob Melvin.
The Giants are likely to incline his offer, as the $182 million man is now one of their top players and key in helping the team build back up to contention.
The Rockies have been taking a different approach for the 2025 season with some of their top players it would seem.
A common talking point for general manager Bill Schmidt this offseason has been a desire to build depth and versatility for the roster. A few weeks ago, the Rockies non-tendered Brendan Rodgers and immediately signed veteran infielder Kyle Farmer, who can play every infield position, intending to use him as a utility man while they signed former Giant Thairo Estrada to serve as the primary second baseman but has defensive versatility.
Additionally, the Rockies have talked about the intent of using Kris Bryant as a designated hitter while hoping he can play in right field and make the occasional start at first base to give Toglia a day off. The team has discussed ad nauseam over the years the need for a better bench and the great value of defensive versatility but their talking points this winter have centered around the idea they hope to be able to rest their starting players more.
This has had me thinking recently: how often are the Rockies planning to rest their top players?
162 games is a grind and it’s understandable to want to manage the wear and tear. Guys certainly need rest from time to time, especially regarding altitude’s effects on recovery for Colorado players. So, the Rockies’ intentions are well-meaning, but I fear that they could be trying to force an issue that doesn’t necessarily exist in the first place.
The best ability is availability.
In any sport, teams strive to have their best players on the field as often as possible. Out of the top 30 players in terms of fWAR in baseball for the 2024 season, only five players played in less than 140 games, all missing time due to injury. The top five players played in at least 156 games, including 2024 MVPs Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
After back-to-back 100-loss seasons, the Rockies certainly should not be planning for opportunities to rest their top players at this moment just for the sake of it, specifically when it comes to Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar.
The left side of the infield has been an iron wall of durability. Since taking over an everyday role in 2021, McMahon has played in at least 150 games every season while Tovar has played in at least 150 games in both of his first two seasons. The availability on the field has certainly translated to their worth on the field as they finished in the top three in rWAR for the team during the 2024 season.
The two combined for 46 home runs last season while they endured their own slumps and struggles throughout the year, the Rockies were still better overall by having them on the field as often as possible. The value they bring defensively alone is instrumental in winning games.
How much playing time is a utility bench piece like Farmer actually going to get in the infield in 2025? Anything over 100 games seems concerning when you start to think about where the at-bats are coming from.
The Rockies claim that resting their players more often is instrumental in the development of their young players but the flaw in that line of thinking is that it becomes disjointed and inconsistent. As it stands the only truly young player who would truly benefit from the resting of players on the projected roster would be someone like Aaron Schunk who has already been designated as a utility infielder.
The use of the DH spot will play a key role in the process of trying to get players off their feet. However, that remains contingent on Bryant being able to play a defensive position which he’s proven not able to do over the past three seasons due to injury risk. Making $27 million a year for the next four seasons, we can expect Bryant to be in the lineup more often than not while healthy and ideally it would just be as the DH. The Rockies have used the DH spot as a rotating door in the past since it came to the NL and that appears more the plan in 2025, using it as a way to rest guys from the field but keep their bat in the lineup.
The only player that would truly benefit from that plan of attack is Brenton Doyle who plays one of the most demanding positions in the game. Center field for the Rockies is no easy task and Doyle has made it look quite easy, at the cost of his own body. Playing in 149 games, including 142 starts in center field, Doyle became instrumental for the Rockies lineup last season en route to his second Gold Glove and becoming the Rockies’ most valuable player in 2024. He will certainly be in center field at least six games a week, so where does the benefit of resting him come from?
The Rockies’ refusal to pick a lane and stick to it is what is most frustrating when we hear comments like the ones we heard at the Winter Meetings. When do they move on from stop-gap years to the actual transition year? Resting McMahon more isn’t going to change their pre-determined destiny of what could be another 100-loss season, so why keep him around instead of trying to trade him?
Rest is important, but how they go about constructing and procuring that rest for players is what already has me asking some questions and instilling doubt about where the club is heading in 2025.
There are likely plenty of Rockies players that have the same sentiment as Adames’s desire to play every game. The question is, will the Rockies allow anyone to do so?
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This week Evan Lang and I are joined by DNVR’s Christan Saez to talk about the Winter Meetings, specifically about the Rockies’ plans to rest players.
This pitcher’s strikeout celebrations defy gravity | MLB.com
Manny Randhawa gives a quick recap about Jefry Yan signing with the Rockies and his professional baseball journey.
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