SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — New Rockies manager Bud Black has no plans to tinker with the club’s outfield alignment. That means Charlie Blackmon will be Colorado’s primary center fielder, Carlos Gonzalez will prowl right field and David Dahl and Gerardo Parra are expected to share time in left field.
Coors Field’s vast acreage, coupled with Blackmon’s experience playing center field, are Black’s primary reasons for standing pat.
“Left field, at Coors, is a big space, and left-center is a big space,” Black said. “Actually, it will be nice to have a guy like Dahl, or a guy like Parra, who has played center and can cover all of that ground in left. I think with Charlie, where he is in his career, the leadership ability and take-charge ability, all of those things … it makes sense to keep it as it is for right now.”
Blackmon is coming off a season in which he set career highs in batting average (.324), runs (111), doubles (35), home runs (29), RBIs (82) and OPS (.933). His defensive range factor of 2.26, according to Baseball-Reference.com, ranked sixth in the National League.
Dahl and Parra will battle it out for the starting left field job during camp. Dahl made a strong impression last season as a rookie, hitting .315 with seven home runs in 63 games (222 at-bats). Para, slowed by an ankle injury, had a disappointing season after signing a three-year, $27.5 million contract. He hit .253 with a .271 on-base percentage, both career lows, and drew only nine walks in 381 at-bats.
“We will let it play out,” Black said when asked how he’ll split time in left. “Dahl proved last year, in a smaller sample size really, that he produced. The guy can run, he’s got some power and he hit for average. He’s a very good defender. He has a skill set that is exciting.
“Gerardo has a skill set at the big-league level and he’s been a productive player. Last year, he wasn’t at the top of his game. But (with his) pride factor, I’m sure he wants to prove to everyone the player that he can be.”
Catching up
Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy, the Rockies’ two primary catchers, will both get plenty of time behind the plate but Black isn’t using the word “platoon” to describe the situation. Rather, he prefers the term “shared duties.”
“A lot of that will be determined by performance and production, on both sides of the plate,” Black said. “That means both offensively and how it’s going defensively with our pitching staff.”
The 24-year-old Wolters, a converted infielder, has started 58 major-league games as a catcher. Murphy, 25, has started just 19. Black said their inexperience will play a factor in playing time: “I think where these guys are in their careers, it’s probably not realistic to think that either one of those guys is a 130-game catcher, even though I’m sure if you asked both of them, they’d say, ‘Yes, that’s what I want to do.’ “
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