5:20pm: The deal comes with a $1MM base salary and another $1MM worth of incentives, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.
4:53pm: The Rockies and first baseman Mark Reynolds are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, Reynolds himself tells Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Ballengee Group client previously spent the 2016-17 seasons with the Rox.
Reynolds, 35, has turned in three straight solid efforts at the plate but has not found much in the way of rewards in free agency as teams continue to put less emphasis on bat-first players with limited defensive value. Most recently, he turned in a .248/.328/.476 line with 13 home runs and eight doubles over the life of 235 players in a reserve role with the Nationals in 2018. Overall, he’s batted .269/.349/.472 with 57 home runs in 1269 PAs dating back to 2016.
While he’ll obviously have to earn his way onto the roster, Reynolds will head to camp as a potential right-handed bat off a bench that currently is lacking in terms of established big league pop. Players like Raimel Tapia, Noel Cuevas, Ryan McMahon, Pat Valaika and Mike Tauchman are all on the 40-man roster and will be in the mix for bench gigs.
At least one of Tapia, Cuevas or Tauchman seems likely to make the club as an outfield reserve option behind Charlie Blackmon, David Dahl and Ian Desmond. Either McMahon or Valaika could well factor into the mix at multiple infield spots (assuming Garrett Hampson claims the second base job to begin the season), and the Rox will of course need to roster a backup to catcher Chris Iannetta (either Tony Wolters or the out-of-options Tom Murphy). Reynolds doesn’t offer much in the way of defensive versatility but has more pop than the rest of the bunch and is a known commodity to organizational decision-makers following his previous two-year run in Denver, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him win a spot on the Opening Day roster.
The sheriff!!
Good deal! Little to lose.
Anyone who comments on these threads saying otherwise is just flat out wrong lol. Minor league deals usually pay the best reward compared to cost of all offseason signings. Just have to figure out who can rebound or who has a little bit left
They should’ve signed him last year, his home/away splits in Coors has been ridiculous in the 2 years he’s been there but he’s a clear improvement over the other guys they’ve trotted out.
I swear that it seems to me like Mark Reynolds has been in the major leagues since 1995. And I mean that as a compliment: he keeps on finding work and producing.
Maybe it’s because he killed a bunch of fellow players last year?
I mean, he DID do his batting, per this piece, “over the life of 235 players.”
Specifically:
“Most recently, he turned in a .248/.328/.476 line with 13 home runs and eight doubles over the life of 235 players in a reserve role with the Nationals in 2018.”
Maybe you’re thinking of Russel Branyan
And he’s doing so being legally blind…
Yessss!!!
Made sure it didn’t say “Matt Reynolds” but he was signed.
We all got those players you root for, you know? 😉
hmm, cant argue with this. he hit nicely at Coors before, might be able to do so again.
Was hoping the braves would add him for power off the bench
Let us not forget his 10–RBI game against Miami last year… Nats made a similar move last year and it paid off big time. Smart move by Rox.
Such an epic game. He proved he belonged on the big league roster
He has been very productive in the few games i saw him in a Rockies uniform. Minor league deals are always good.
What the actual f***
Breaking news….there’s much more to life than your useless remarks. Aw man….just realized I’m a hypocrite.
1st step to recovery. now get of the rumors and please ur wife before she says ” I love u to me.
Just six taters shy of 300 for his career. Colorado looks promising.
If nothing else, he’s a good depth and a bench piece with good pop and excellent numbers at Coors Field. It wasn’t that long ago that he stepped up big time for the Rox at 1B. Good signing.
Up to only 2 million for a 800+ ops player, not bad
700 strikeouts shy of Reggie’s record. I hope he gets there.
If he is only part time he might retire before getting there. He is 35 after all
I guess Holliday didn’t work out as the team mascot.
Every 4th hit is a Homeric
Homerun
You shouldn’t have corrected yourself. Autocorrect made you seem very poetic.
Lol
Pretty sure this guy mashes at Coors
He’s going to end up hitting like 40 homers out of nowhere this year somehow.
Would be something if he could somehow get to 400 hr.
Why are they signing guys like this when their catchers are crappy at best?
What does a 1 mil signing like this have to do with their cathcers?
Getting the band back together.
Pretty certain he’ll outhit Desmond
“he turned in a .248/.328/.476 line with 13 home runs and eight doubles over the life of 235 players”.
Do you mean plate appearances instead of players? Sorry, the editor in me had to point that out.
“he turned in a .248/.328/.476 line with 13 home runs and eight doubles over the life of 235 players”.
Do you mean plate appearances instead of players?
235 players seems like quite the sacrifice for 13 hr.
Boras would turn that into an extra 20mil AAV
Reynolds may not be Keith Hernandez but he is definitely not defensively challenged. A good signing at twice the price
Why cant he get a MLB deal? Hes not a super star but hes worth a guaranteed spot.
He plays 1B.
“Why cant he get a MLB deal?”
He is incredibly inconsistent. I was watching the game when Mark Grace tagged him with the nickname “The Sheriff” but The Streak would have been better. He has short bursts of excellence followed by longer streaks of abysmal.Those short bursts buoy his season stats like last year
His first 12 games last year (40 PA) .432/.475/.946…
the next 19 games (61 PA) .094/.180/.151…
then his player of the week week 7 games (19 PA) .625/.684/1.250… followed by 24 games (47 PA) .128/.255/.205…
then 9 games (24 PA) of .368/.400/.789…
and ends the season with 15 games (48 PA) of .158/.256/.237
The same could be said then that slumps tank his stats… the fact of the matter is….All that you care about is overall production no matter how you get it. This guy brings something to the table bottom line.
Oh what I wouldn’t have given to see a late 2000’s Mark Reynolds play half his games at Coors Field. Best of luck to him.
Perfect DH for the Rockies, oh wait…
This is a perfectly fine deal for Colorado, but I’m curious what this means for Josh Fuentes.
He’s done everything asked of him and ended up being the PCL MVP; plays stellar 3B and 1B. He has nothing left to really learn in AAA, and though there’s value in depth, it’s a shame to think he might be forced to spend another season in the minors. And then there’s Colton Welker coming off a great season in A+. He’s likely to start in AA and could find his way up to AAA this season.
I understand that Colorado has at least one more legitimate shot at the postseason and would prefer to lean on veterans. But if they’re not going to use Fuentes, they might be better off trading him for some outfield help, which is a greater area of need right now than 1B.
Perhaps Jay Bruce and cash to Colorado would make sense as Seattle could use a third base prospect to integrate into the fold while they phase out Seager. The Rockies would be getting an experience leader for an outfield corner who can also back up Murphy at 1B if Reynolds doesn’t make the active roster.
Just my two cents…
Mark V. P. Reynolds is very poor man’s Jim Thome. I love Rox signing. However, I have hopes for him on DH AL team. More at bats.
Next up, Jose Iglesias, very poor man’s Omar Visquel. Sign for a backup on a borderline contender. Maybe we like Jose for a Dodger. More insurance for Seager and Turner health?
It’s kinda sad that Iglesies hasn’t found a starting role. Weak bat, but he’s a terrific defender. I know some advanced metrics have been down on his fielding in the past, but he passes every eye test, and he’s flashy as all get out.
I buy MLB package always to watch my Tigers but last two years most only excitement came watching Iglesias flash leather.
The Rockies hate their young players! But….Mark can still hit.
He had 30 HR the last year he played in Colorado.
Good pickup. He adds depth. He has good power and could start as needed.
Mark Reynolds gets one million and Chris Davis makes 25. Wow
Chris Davis agent is Scott Boras, enough said.
Mark is almost to 300 home runs…..
I remember when he had that monster 40+ HR year way back when in ARI.
The breeze just picked up in Coors. Let’s see umm 200 strikeouts in 300 at bats?
Still better than your accurate comment percentage.
now a sleeper in fantasy leagues
At that price I’m surprised the Rays didn’t go for him (or maybe they did). They were looking for a right handed power bat, DH type player. He would have mashed at the plate at Tropicana.
Rockies will bring back Cargo., they still need to get a catcher, those stiffs can’t hit their weight.