DENVER — A year ago, Daniel Descalso was a utility infielder who amounted to little more than an unexciting bench piece, failing to show the fans in Colorado what those in St. Louis had seen from him for years.
Now, Descalso is a super-utility player who has found himself playing positions he never has before in his professional career all as a way to get his bat into the lineup.
In fact, he has moved around so much that Mark Reynolds — who was nearby during BSN Denver’s exclusive interview with Descalso — says he needs to keep lending his teammate some appropriate leather to match whatever task he has been given that day.
“He has the gloves that I would have, what I need,” says Descalso.
I ask if he has picked Reynolds brain over the topic of switching positions, something the Rockies everyday first baseman would know something about, coming up in the Majors at third.
“Not much to pick!” jokes Tyler Chatwood from a few lockers down.
Descalso laughs: “Just about first base,” he says. “He’s pretty good over there.”
He may be using Reynolds’ gloves on a near daily basis now, but make no mistake that Daniel Descalso bring his own bat to the ballpark. Going into last night’s contest against the Atlanta Braves, Descalso was hitting .346/.438/.494 over 41 games. According to his 135 wRC+, he has been 35 percent better that the MLB average at the plate.
“I feel good,” he says. “Just trying to go up there and have good at-bats, not trying to do anything more than that.”
But it was frustrating, he admits, coming to a new town and not properly showcasing himself — and more importantly contributing to his team — to the best of his ability.
“I always knew the type of player I am,” he says. “I know I struggled last year. And I think that drives me more than anything. You want to be a good player for your team and help your team win ballgames and if you’re struggling, you aren’t doing that. For me, I just wanted to come into this year ready to help the team any way I could.”
All of that made it all the more aggravating for him that Descalso then had to begin this season on the Disabled List.
“Anytime you’re hurt and can’t play, it’s frustrating,” he says. “You work hard all offseason to get ready for the season and all of a sudden I found myself injured. But I just took the time to do whatever I was physically able to do whether that was working out or hitting one-handed off the tee and just trying to stay in as good a baseball shape as I could. So, when I got cleared to get back I was ready to go.”
It appears he was ready, indeed.
