With another potentially season-ending injury, who can slide in for the Colorado Rockies?
Mar. 10—The Rockies' training room is getting crowded.
Colorado got hit with more bad injury news this week when outfielder Sean Bouchard suffered a left distal biceps rupture. He needs surgery and will miss a good chunk, if not all, of the season.
That means the Rockies have another Opening Day spot to fill. Charlie Blackmon, Kris Bryant and Yonathan Daza have their spots all but secured. Who will join them?
A look at their options:
Jones already had a spot on The Denver Gazette's Opening Day roster prediction. But now, he has an even better chance to take the field on March 30. He played only right field during his 28 major league games with the Guardians last year and could slot easily in there for the Rockies with Bryant in left, Daza in center and Blackmon as the designated hitter.
or...
Michael Toglia
He's got gold glove-caliber defense at first base and can make his share of great plays in the outfield as well. He still has things to work on at the plate — mainly that 39 percent strikeout rate — and was on the outside looking in before this slew of injuries occurred. Now, he has a chance to crack that Opening Day roster and could stick if he can straighten things out at the plate.
or...
Brenton Doyle
Similar to Toglia, the Rockies love Doyle's defense but aren't quite as confident with where he is offensively yet. He won a minor league gold glove in 2021 and was hot at the end of the 2022 season — hitting .389 with three home runs in nine games with Albuquerque. A recent swing adjustment could help him replicate that success for a longer period of time. Neither Doyle or Toglia have shown power so far in spring training, but there's still time to bring that out before decisions need to be made.
or...
A spot opens up for someone elsewhere
The Rockies don't necessarily need to add just an outfielder to their opening day roster. They do have utility man Harold Castro who he can play every spot on the field. He even played some centerfield during his time in Venezuela, enough, the Rockies think, to show he could handle that duty at Coors Field too. Randal Grichuk (sports hernia) is slated to be out for only a few weeks of the regular season, meaning, if they go this route, they won't be shorthanded in the outfield for long.
Cole Tucker, a non roster invite, also has versatility. He's shown well during spring training, hitting .273 with a double, triple and home run. He has speed and played first base, shortstop, third base, right field and center field during his time with the Pirates.
