Desmond in no rush to play first base
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.» Looking for intrigue at Rockies spring training? Look to first base.
As position players gather for their first official workout Monday at Salt River Fields, the question about who will play first remains unanswered. The issue became even more cloudy Sunday when veteran Ian Desmond spoke about the upcoming season.
“Honestly, I haven’t really been focusing a lot on first base,” Desmond said after arriving at camp and taking his physical. “I have spent a lot of time in left field, just
getting my legs ready to play out there. I will be ready to play first base if they need me to, but right now, from what I understand, it’s going to be mostly left field.”
That means rookie Ryan McMahon, 23, is the clear front-runner for the job as camp opens. However, McMahon has not been told much by manager Bud Black.
“I have no idea what’s happening, but I’m sure I’ll find out,” McMahon said Sunday. “I expect to bounce around at first, second and third base. So I haven’t heard anything definitive. Buddy only told me to brush up on my bunt plays at all three positions.”
McMahon played in only 17 games (batting 3-for-19) after making his big-league debut Aug. 12, but he crushed Triple-A pitching, hitting .374 with 39 extra-base hits, including 14 homers, in 70 games. Last year, at Double-A and Triple-A combined, McMahon split time between first base (61 games), second (36) and third (26).
Earlier this winter, general manager Jeff Bridich said: “Does he have the tools and the talent to be thought of as our starting first baseman? I think so.”
Another option at first, in a part-time role, is utility man Pat Valaika, who started one game there last season. He has been preparing for multiple roles.
“We haven’t had a formal sit-down to talk about first base,” Valaika said. “They have made it known to me that I have to be able to move around the diamond and play every position, and first base is one of those.
“Not that they have made it a priority, but since first base is one of my newer positions, they told me to get some work in there.”
Colorado might, at some point, consider bringing back veteran Mark Reynolds, who remains a free agent. However, there have been no recent talks between Reynolds and the Rockies. Reynolds hit 30 homers and drove in 97 runs for Colorado last season, but hit just .243 with 11 homers after the allstar break.
Desmond, who will make a team-high $22 million this season, wants to put a trying 2017 season in the rearview mirror. After signing a five-year, $70 million deal, he opened the season on the disabled list after breaking his left hand late in spring training. Then a painful and nagging right calf strain landed him on the disabled list twice during the season. Desmond, 32, played in just 95 games and hit .274 with seven home runs and a middling .375 slugging percentage.
“I am kind of at the point now where I have moved past last year,” said Desmond, who tweaked his hitting approach during the offseason by dropping his hands to a more comfortable position. “I’m ready for this year. I’m healthy, I feel good. Last year is what it is. It was a year full of experience and now I feel better and I’m getting ready for this one.”
Black has repeatedly said that Desmond can adequately handle first base. He also made it clear that Desmond will see a lot of playing time, whether that’s at first base or left field. Black also thinks Desmond is primed for a revival.
“(Last year) was a frustrating year for Ian,” Black said. “He’s such a competitor and coming into a new ball club, the thing you want to do more than anything is play. All the years in Washington, (he was) very durable. And then to have spring training interrupted, and then when he did come back to be injured again with the calf, it was just really frustrating.
“Every year is different. And I know that Ian’s goal is to play his game and do what he’s very capable of doing, (which is being) a very productive big-league player.”