FEBRUARY 14: Reynolds would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster, and can add up to $2MM via incentives, per Heyman (via Twitter).
FEBRUARY 1, 7:50pm: Colorado has announced the deal, noting that it unsurprisingly includes an invitation to MLB camp.
7:05pm: The Rockies have agreed to a minor-league deal with first baseman Mark Reynolds, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. His potential salary and opt-out opportunities remain unreported at this time.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, at this stage at least, that Reynolds couldn’t find a 40-man spot. There just wasn’t enough demand to account for all of the available power-hitting, first base/DH types that were on the market. Righty sluggers Mike Napoli and Chris Carter remain unsigned, as do a variety of lefty bats.
That said, Reynolds has also put together a string of relatively disappointing seasons. He hit at an approximately league-average rate in his 441 plate appearances for Colorado — the .282/.356/.450 batting line was obviously influenced by the altitude — but launched only 14 long balls and didn’t quite capitalize on his opportunity at regular playing time. It was an improvement, at least, over the prior two seasons, when Reynolds combined for a .213/.301/.396 slash over 865 plate appearances with the Cardinals and Brewers.
[RELATED: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]
For the Rockies, the low-risk addition creates some interesting possibilities. When a southpaw takes the hill, the club can now utilize Reynolds at first while bumping Ian Desmond into the outfield in place of one of the team’s many lefty-swinging outfielders. (It should be noted, though, that Reynolds carries minimal lifetime platoon splits and actually struggled against southpaws last year.)
Of course, Reynolds will need to make the roster first. Though he’s no longer the prolific home run hitter he once was, Reynolds still packs some punch. And he does typically draw solid defensive ratings for his glovework at first base. But he also offers nothing in the way of defensive versatility, meaning that the organization may have to decide between carrying a bench bat or an extra reliever as camp draws to a close.
League avg guy on a minors deal seems pretty good to me.
Slide Desmond to the outfield, Reynolds at first. Shocked he couldn’t secure a big league deal.
Only in Coors can you post a .806OPS and have that amount to a 101OPS+.
So could they possibly gear up for a Blackmon trade? Have Desmond move to the outfield and Reynolds at first? Or is trading Blackmon out at this point ?
Quintana ends up in CO, Blackmon ends up in Baltimore, and Schoop in Chicago.
Why would that happen? lol
So AdamJones can play 2B…duh!
Stop smoking
Pretty sure Baltimore would just do schoop for q, they don’t need of. Of course that trade wouldn’t happen lol.
Guys, are you serious? The Rockies got Mark Reynolds.This does not mean they have to trade Charlie Blackmon.
Bridich: Hey Charlie, we are going to trade you. We just made a big acquisition.
Blackmon:Who?
Bridich:Mark Reynolds.