The Colorado Rockies have agreed to a one-year, $7.75 million contract with veteran utility man Jurickson Profar, according to multiple reports.
The deal is pending a physical, according to reports. Profar was not in the U.S. as of Sunday morning, according to the Denver Gazette, and his availability for Opening Day is uncertain.
Profar can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses, getting the full amount for 400 plate appearances, according to The Associated Press.
The Rockies signed veteran designated hitter-corner infielder Mike Moustakas to a Minor League contract on Sunday as an option at third base if Elehuris Montero is not fully ready to step into the position.
Second baseman Brendan Rodgers will have surgery to repair a dislocated and damaged left shoulder and could miss the entire season. The club’s immediate reaction was to move third baseman Ryan McMahon to second, where he played earlier in his career.
Montero, 24, who batted .233 with six home runs in a 53-game debut last year, has plenty of power potential but is working on his defense. That’s where the 34-year-old Moustakas, who was released by the Reds in January with one year left on his four-year, $64 million contract, gets a nothing-to-lose opportunity.
Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black agreed to a one-year contract extension on Wednesday that goes through the 2024 season.
Black is 417-453 with Colorado since he was hired before the 2017 season. He’s third in franchise wins behind Clint Hurdle (534) and Don Baylor (440).
The team has made the postseason twice under Black’s leadership.
Colorado was 68-94 last season, 43 games behind the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies added Hensley Meulens as hitting coach and Warren Schaeffer as third base and infield coach.
While Diamond Sports Group appears set to default on $140 million in interest payments, a move which is expected to trigger a bankruptcy filing in the coming weeks, its 19 Bally Sports properties aren’t the only RSNs feeling a financial pinch. According to multiple league, finance and network sources, the three AT&T SportsNet brands in recent weeks have handed over lighter-than-expected envelopes to their respective MLB franchise partners.
An executive with direct knowledge of the RSNs’ financial dealings confirmed to Sportico that the AT&T outlets in Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh submitted their most recent rights payments to their MLB clubs in a timely fashion, although the disbursements were not commensurate with the contracted rates. The teams impacted by the shortfall are the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The precise amount of the funds withheld is not known but is said to be significant enough to have catalyzed concerns about the long-term viability of the three networks. According to one insider, the partial payments may be interpreted as a signal that new-ish owners Warner Bros. Discovery are eager to get out of the RSN business.
It was June 30, 1996. The Rockies beat the Dodgers, 16-15, capping a four-game series in which 85 runs were scored between the two teams. That doesn’t begin to describe it.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Dodgers third baseman Mike Blowers to the Los Angeles Times.
“As much as I’d like to hit here,” said Dodger first baseman Eric Karros, who’d just popped two home runs, “I don’t know I’d want to play 81 games here. I’d probably have a nervous breakdown. I’d have an ulcer. I couldn’t take it.”
He wasn’t the only one with health concerns.
“Hopefully,” wrote the Associated Press, “Tommy Lasorda’s doctors didn’t let him watch this one.”
Just a week earlier, the long-time Dodger skipper had suffered a coronary issue that ultimately ended his managerial career a month later, leaving Bill Russell on his first road trip as the team’s interim manager. Welcome to the job, Bill.
Is this all hyperbole? Sure, perhaps. But all these years later, when we attempted to answer the question of “what was the wildest game in baseball history,” this is what topped the list. Those who were there that day couldn’t have known about the historical relevance, or even the metrics we’ll use. But just listen to them talk. They could feel it.
“What the Padres are doing, I don’t 100% agree with, though I know that our fans probably agree with it. We’ll see how it works out,” Monfort said Saturday, according to the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.
The Padres are projected to have the third-highest payroll in the league in 2023 at a whopping $251 million. Monfort believes the lucrative contracts handed out by teams this offseason increases the pressure on Colorado to spend.
“That puts a lot of pressure (on us),” Monfort said. “But it’s not just the Padres, it’s the Mets, it’s the Phillies. This has been an interesting year.”
The Pirates have acquired outfielder Connor Joe from the Rockies in exchange for Minor League right-hander Nick Garcia, the team announced Sunday.
Joe slashed .238/.338/.359 with seven home runs and six steals in 111 games with Colorado last season. The 30-year-old played both corner outfield positions last season, spending 375 1/3 innings in left and 132 innings in right. He played 162 innings at first base as well.
The Colorado Rockies have claimed left-hander Brent Suter off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 33-year-old Suter went 5-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 54 appearances last season. He struck out 53 and walked 22 in 66⅔ innings.
Suter had spent his entire big league career with Milwaukee, making his debut in 2016. He was the longest-tenured Brewers player and had served as the team’s union representative.
He owns a 36-19 record and 3.51 ERA in 196 career appearances, including 39 starts. He has 338 strikeouts and 98 walks in 394⅔ innings.
The Rockies have agreed in principle on a deal to acquire Boston infielder Marco Scutaro for pitcher Clayton Mortensen, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks.
The Rockies’ earmarked Scutaro as a target when the offseason began, seeing him as a starting second baseman and potential No. 2 hitter in the lineup. The deal went on life support Friday, but was revived today when the Rockies were able to work through some financial issues to take on Scutaro’s $6 million contract.
It will become official shortly as the players involved are notified.
...Mortensen is an extreme groundball pitcher, relying heavily on a sinker. He went 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA, splitting between between the bullpen and rotation.
With Scutaro in the fold, the Rockies will enter spring training with one of their deepest lineups in franchise history. He will join outfielder Michael Cuddyer and catcher Ramon Hernandez as key acquisitions, completely reshaping the lineup around Carlos Gonzalez and all-star cleanup hitter Troy Tulowitzki.
An interesting analysis of signing ages, signing bonuses, and success rates in the Dominican Republic, by Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated ...
Teams pay premiums for 16-year-olds for two primary reasons: One, because teams often want to be the first to sign a promising player and, thus, avoid bidding wars with other teams; and two, clubs prefer to develop their players’ skills under the watchful eyes of their own club personnel rather than under those of unqualified and unaffiliated coaches or trainers.
But are 18-year-old Latin American players really worth 70 percent less than their 16-year-old counterparts? Here’s another data analysis that calls into question the industry practice of placing a premium on youth. Let’s assume the most basic marker of a successful signing is making it to the majors. We’ll make it simple and look at the 79 players who have made their major league debuts from 2008-2011 from Carmona’s Dominican Republic. Of those 79, only six were signed as 16-year-olds. The debuts suggest older players were more likely to advance to the majors. ...
[...]
What’s more, SI tracked down the bonus data for 60 of the 79 players. Fernando Martinez, signed by the Mets in 2005 for $1.3 million, was the only one to receive a seven-figure bonus. Only nine others signed for six figures and one — the Rockies’ Juan Nicasio — received nada to sign, according to the data obtained by SI. The median signing bonus among them tallied a paltry $35,000.
“Mr. Walker is not a suspect…We don’t know if the person was killed at the site or if his body was dumped there.”
CBCSports.ca: Who’s more upset about your low vote total in the second year of your 15 years of eligibility: you or your family, friends and former teammates with Colorado and Montreal?
LW: I don’t think it bothers me a lot. Why am I going to get my feathers all ruffled over something that’s out of my control? Obviously, it would be an amazing honour.
Some people have pointed some things out to me that made me wonder. [Designated hitter] Edgar Martinez [only played 592 of his 2,055 career games in the field] and he’s getting twice as many votes as me [36.5 per cent to Walker’s 22.9 per cent]. Is Edgar Martinez twice the better player than me?
Not to pat myself on the back but I think I was as good as Edgar Martinez.
But I’m not going to rack my brain. I’m sure there’s people that are in the Hall of Fame that a lot people think shouldn’t be there or some that should be there and aren’t.
CBCSports.ca: The knock against you when people say Larry Walker shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame is that you played 10 of your 17 seasons at hitter-friendly Coors Field in Colorado. But a lot of times players can’t control where they play, right?
LW: I was in the big leagues, man. Are you she—-in me? You can’t always pick where you go or what happens. You just roll with the friggin’ punches. I was in the dugout trying to beat the other 25 guys in the dugout beside us. That’s all I tried to do. I can’t control where I’m at and the numbers that go up. Every ballpark has its quirks.
If you read something in the paper or a magazine or hear something on TV, whether it’s negative or positive, people tend to want to go that way with it. If what was being printed all this time was ‘Walker deserves the [Hall of Fame nod], he’s going to make it,’ I bet my percentage would be a lot higher. But all you hear about is Coors Field. That’s all I’ve heard since my first game in Denver [in 1995].
Fun fact: When the Rockies came into existence, Jaime Moyer was in his eighth Major League season.
The Rockies’ search for a veteran for the starting rotation could take them to the ultimate veteran, 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer.
Colorado and Moyer have agreed to a Minor League deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the club announced on Wednesday. The agreement is pending a physical.
Moyer underwent Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow in 2010 and didn’t pitch last season. The lefty worked as an analyst for ESPN in 2011 but stated that he intended to try to pitch again in ‘12.
Moyer went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA for the Phillies in 2010.
Kershaw is a devout Christian, though unlike Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, he is hardly in your face about it. Kershaw and Tebow are two highly famous young professional athletes who outwardly approach their strong faith in markedly different ways.
If there is a showy, look-at-me aspect to Tebow and his kneeling in prayer on the football field and near zeal off it, Kershaw is more understated in his approach, if no less sincere.
I’ve never heard him bring up God in postgame interviews or seen him point to the sky after a big strikeout. Yet, I still have a clear understanding of his commitment.
“I think everybody has different approaches to it,” Kershaw said. “For me, everything I do has a purpose to it beyond what’s in this lifetime. At the same time, on the field I have a job to do and that’s what I’m focused on.
“I guess you could say I’m a little more understated than Tim is. Not to say either one is wrong, that’s just kind of my personality a little bit.”
Indeed, even if it’s not exactly his way, Kershaw admires Tebow for using his high-profile platform to bring attention to his faith.
“I have a lot of respect for Tim,” Kershaw said. “I don’t know him personally, but I think what he’s doing is special. I think what he’s trying to do should be recognized, in whatever way that you try to do it. He’s playing football but I think there’s more to it than that.
Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s continued their extreme offseason makeover Monday with yet another trade. This time Beane shipped pitchers Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscoso to the Rockies for outfielder Seth Smith—who has been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason.
Smith, 29, has served mostly as a fourth outfielder type for the Rockies since 2008, but he got a career high 533 plate appearances last season. He hit .284/.347/.483 with 15 homers, 32 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He hasn’t played center field since 2008, so he’s best used as a corner outfielder. He’ll likely be the starter in left field with Coco Crisp in center and Josh Reddick in right. Of course, prospect Michael Taylor is going to figure in the mix at some point.
One item of note: Smith’s career splits indicate he was hugely helped by Coors Field. He’s hit .296/.366/.559 at home and .257/.332/.418 on the road. And Oakland plays in one of the worst hitters’ parks in the majors.
Moscoso, 28, was 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 128 innings last season. Outman, 27, was 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. And, again, we’ll note that these two pitchers are going from having a very pitcher-friendly home park to one of the most hitter-friendly yards in the bigs.
ST. LOUIS—Hours before taking the field against the New England Patriots on Saturday night, Tim Tebow found himself the center of discussion in the Cardinals’ interview room. Yes, these days it seems as if there is no setting that the Broncos quarterback can’t effectively infiltrate.
Putting his Southeastern Conference allegiance aside, Adam Wainwright spent several minutes expressing his admiration for Tebow, particularly for the fearless the University of Florida product shows in expressing his religious faith in a public forum.
“I am obsessed with Tim Tebow,” Wainwright said. “I’m not afraid to say it. It’s almost embarrassing to us athletes that this much emphasis is put on Tim Tebow because that means we aren’t living our lives as we should. If we did that more often, the way he is living wouldn’t be as big a story. I’m so proud of him for living out his faith.”
Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.
Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.
Who could have known? Who could have known that a player some considered a potential Hall of Fame catcher [...] would have his future stolen from him by an incurable disease that rarely afflicts people as young as 22?
How good was Petrick? Go back and look at his stats. In those 240 games for the Rockies and Tigers, he hit .257 with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs while trying to control the symptoms of Parkinson’s, which include tremors, rigidity and slow movements. He was not only tough enough to be a catcher, the most demanding position on the field, but also athletic enough to play centerfield when he wasn’t behind the plate.
“Looking back, I am amazed at what he accomplished,” says Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who was Colorado’s first pick in the 1995 draft, the year Petrick was taken in the second round. “It’s hard enough performing at the highest level of this game, which he did. On top of that, he had to fight off a disease that robbed him of his physical ability. And on top of that, he had to play under the tremendous pressure of hiding the effects of that disease.”
Helton pauses. “You know what, though?” he says. “I’m more impressed by what he’s done with his life since.”
When I was a kid…we had a daffy WWII vet who sold the “number”-fueled Daily News outside a wonderfully filthy go-go bar. One night a drunk cabbie ran him over flatline. He was never replaced.
As a kid one of my daily destinations was the entry into our subdivision at the corner of Hoover Avenue and whatever that length of Cherry Street was called that week (Bella Vista?). There, every morning, no matter the weather — rain, snow, sleet or sun-drenched — I found a new gift to unwrap. I could count on it being something different every time I went. Sometimes it would contain a surprise or two. And, as I opened this present each day, I knew it would contain exactly what I wanted.
On that corner was, of course, a street box with that day’s newspaper.
...The box scores were better.
As a boy, I clipped box scores — mostly just Yankees box scores — and pasted them into a spiral notebook, one for each season. I would also clip the standings and jot little notes in the margins about the schedule ahead (“Need to win in LA!”) or hitting streaks (“Kevin Maas homers again!”). My diligent clipping lost its zeal each season as the Yankees faded from the race, and it was rare that I clipped a box score after the standings showed they were “eliminated.”
...The newspapers that stood sentry here have retreated, surrendering the corner.
We’ll begin with the biggie. Reynolds, of course, was selected second overall by the Rockies in 2006. He was selected right after Luke Hochevar, and right before Evan Longoria. The Rockies’ selection of Reynolds was thought to be a reach, and it took the Rays by surprise. The Rays had another plan, assuming the Rockies would take Longoria. That plan? Andrew Friedman:
We had Evan Longoria first on our board…We thought Longoria was going to go two to Colorado, and we had cut a deal with Tim Lincecum, to take three….
Reynolds’ failures were magnified because the Rockies nearly drafted Long Beach State third baseman Evan Longoria before turning to the Stanford pitcher. At the time, the Rockies felt starting pitching was more of a priority with Garrett Atkins and [Ian] Stewart both in the fold.
System In 20 Words Or Less: There’s a good combination of near big league-ready talent and youngsters to dream on.
Five-Star Prospects
1. Nolan Arenado, 3B
2. Drew Pomeranz, LHP
Four-Star Prospects
3. Wilin Rosario, C
4. Chad Bettis, RHP
5. Tim Wheeler, OF
Three-Star Prospects
6. Tyler Matzek, RHP
7. Rosell Herrera, SS/3B
8. Trevor Story, SS
9. Josh Rutledge, SS
10. Tyler Anderson, LHP
11. Kent Matthes, OF
Nine More:
12. Charlie Blackmon, OF: He reached the majors and got hurt. Scouts wobble between him being a good fourth outfielder and second-division starter.
13. Christian Adames, SS: He has the potential for well above-average defense, but will he hit enough?
14. Edwar Cabrera, LHP: He put up incredible numbers thanks to an outstanding changeup, but he’s a bit of a trick pitcher.
15. Kyle Parker, OF: This first-round pick didn’t mash at Low-A, especially away from Asheville.
16. Christian Friedrich, LHP: His dominance in 2009 is in the rearview mirror with no great explanation for his decline.
17. Corey Dickerson, OF: Last year’s sleeper slugged 32 home runs, but he also had baseball’s most extreme splits; he had a .354/.417/.844 line at home, and .193/.280/.363 mark on the road.
18. DJ LeMahieu, INF: This future utility player offers some hitting skills and positional flexibility.
19. Will Swanner, C: He’s a catcher with plus power who needs to improve behind the plate.
20. Rafael Ortega, OF: Ortega is an athletic center fielder with tools in a small package, but his approach is a mess.
Including the first vote for Vinny Castilla-.260 hitter…no matter how you look at it!
The Rockies and the steroid abusers have one thing in common — baseball traditionalists, most of them back East, don’t believe the numbers of either group are legitimate.
This is not a particularly contentious issue with respect to the Rocks on the ballot because none is a threat to be the first member of the Colorado franchise enshrined at Cooperstown — at least, not yet.
...Indeed, Ellis Burks got only two votes before being dismissed from further consideration, an unremarkable outcome until you consider how closely his career numbers resemble those of Bernie Williams?, the former Yankee who makes his ballot debut this year. Williams isn’t likely to be elected, but you can bet he’ll be on the ballot longer than Burks was.
...Anyway, in the year before the great accounting, I’m voting for Bagwell, Walker, Barry Larkin?, Jack Morris?, Tim Raines? and Alan Trammell? on merit. I’m voting for Castilla because I don’t believe he deserves to be knocked off the ballot after one year, as Bichette and Galarraga were.
Purists may not like that rationale, but that’s OK. Considering the national bias against Rocky Mountain baseball, a little bias for it seems only sporting.
Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has been one of the most fascinating stories in the National Football League (NFL) this season. His success has been surprising and strangely similar to the 2011 baseball movie Moneyball.
Moneyball is based on a true story about the Oakland Athletics baseball team. In 2002, Athletics General Manager Billy Beane struggled to assemble a competitive team. Without the payroll to sign high-priced homerun hitters, Beane turned to undervalued and overlooked statistics. He believed that on-base percentage and slugging percentage could be better statistical indicators for success in baseball. Beane boldly signed no-name players that met these criteria. The results were astounding. Rent the movie and see for yourself.
Tebow is the NFL version of a moneyball player. He has been criticized for his lack of accuracy, poor passing mechanics and horrendous footwork. He does not throw for yardage like Peyton Manning or touchdowns like Tom Brady. But Tebow wins. He may change the way NFL coaches view the quarterback position.
An article by Kerry J. Byrne at SI.com offers an explanation as to why Tebow is winning. In the article, Byrne shows that Tebow is actually outplaying opposing quarterbacks without compiling traditional passing numbers. Like the moneyball players in baseball, Tebow has excelled in undervalued statistics. He protects the ball better and finds the end zone more often than any quarterback in the game.
Like the players in Moneyball, Tebow is changing the game. How far can Tebow and the Broncos go? We will soon find out. By the time the skeptics recognize what Tebow is doing, he may be wearing a Super Bowl ring.
Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd continued a busy offseason today by making his biggest move yet. The Rockies have agreed to sign Michael Cuddyer to a three-year, $31.5MM deal.
Cuddyer, 32, hit 20 homers and posted a .284/.346/.459 line in 584 plate appearances for the Twins this past season. After 11 seasons in Minnesota, the Excel Sports Management client has a career line of .272/.343/.451. Cuddyer spent considerable time at three positions in 2011: right field, first base and second base. He has also played third base and left field at the Major League level, so Rockies manager Jim Tracy will have lots of places to pencil his new player into the lineup.
According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have traded third baseman Ian Stewart and right-hander Casey Weathers to the Cubs for outfielder Tyler Colvin and infielder DJ LeMahieu.
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