Rockies GM Jeff Bridich says that the organization has not entertained any thoughts of a full-blown rebuild, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. “We’re always trying to win,” Bridich said. “People are questioning us, or they’re confused. ’Why aren’t you trying some sort of nuclear rebuild?’ Those things have to happen when you feel like you don’t have talent on the field to compete or a system of depth to add to it. Our belief is that we have talent on this level to compete.” Though the payroll is down a bit over prior years, the club certainly acted as a team with intentions of winning this winter — dedicating assets to the bullpen and then setting aside service-time considerations with the Opening Day promotion of shortstop Trevor Story. Needless to say, the 23-year-old has rewarded that decision early, swatting three home runs in his first two major league games.
Here’s more from out west:
- MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says that a decision on Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes — currently on administrative leave in the wake of domestic violence allegations — will likely come “in days as opposed to weeks,” as Neil Best of Newsday reports. While Manfred emphasized that he hopes to move along quickly now that the charges against Reyes have been dropped, he also expressed hope that he’ll be able to acquire new information before making a final call on whether (and for how long) to suspend the veteran infielder. “The ability of law enforcement to provide us with information, that only goes up,” said Manfred. “They have more flexibility to provide us with information once the criminal process comes to an end, one way or the other . . . We’re trying to take advantage of that additional flexibility to get all of the information that’s available as quickly as possible.”
- There have been complaints in some quarters about the Dodgers’ offseason — which we just reviewed this morning — because it featured numerous smaller signings rather than a big splash or two. While there’s “skepticism” in “some parts of the clubhouse,” writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Adrian Gonzalez remains a believer. The veteran first baseman says the organization is well-equipped to deal with injuries with “the best [40-man roster] and the best farm system in baseball,” and predicts that a major mid-season addition would go down if there’s a need. Gonzalez obviously isn’t responsible for any of these decisions, but it’s an interesting perspective.
- Rangers ace Yu Darvish has worked his way up to throwing fifty pitches in his most recent bullpen workout, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Though a return to the Texas staff is still a ways off, it’s certainly encouraging that Darvish continues to tick past various milestones as he works back from Tommy John surgery.
