The Colorado Rockies show they have no plan with signing of Mark Reynolds

 

The Colorado Rockies have been down this road before and should know better by now.

On Thursday, the Rockies signed first baseman Mark Reynolds to platoon with Ben Paulsen. Reynolds is a veteran who is known for his unbelievable power and his ability to strike out a lot. He doesn’t bring much more to the table at this point in his career.

Reynolds’ stats are what they are. He can mash for sure as he hit 237 home runs in his eight-year career but he has also led the Major Leagues in strikeouts in four seasons and has over 120 punch outs in seven of his eight years. He strikes out 28 percent of his plate appearances.

The root of the Rockies’ problem is not what Reynolds brings to the team but what he represents. He is a stopgap. He has no future with the Rockies. Much like Ty Wigginton was or Justin Morneau was or even Jeromy Burnitz was. These guys are veterans that come to Colorado and hit home runs but do not really provide any kind of long-term success.

There needs to be a rebuild/youth movement at 20^th and Blake and Paulsen should be part of that. Paulsen, who is not young player at the age of 28, played in 116 games and hit 11 homers and drove in 49. He doesn’t really bring the power that teams look for in a first baseman but he shows promise.

One reason that Reynolds may have been brought in is Paulsen struggled against left-handed pitching. Paulsen had a .554 on-base plus slugging percentage against left-handers, but .815 against right-handers. It could end up being a true platoon between the two.

Reynolds, while he only committed six errors during his 100 games at first in 2015, seems like a bit of defensive liability. He is a big guy without a ton of range. The Rockies have preached strong defense for several years now which makes him seem like an odd fit. Paulsen made just three errors in 91 games at first base.

Teams are making waves in the National League West during the winter meetings. The Arizona Diamondbacks made a giant upgrade to their rotation with Zack Grienke and Shelby Miller. The San Francisco Giants added Jeff Samardzija to slot behind Madison Bumgarner. The Los Angeles Dodgers have too much money to be quiet the whole offseason and the Padres while they made giant moves last season, still have talent.

Then there are the Rockies who have no identity. General manager Jeff Bridich needs to decide the path the team is headed. If they still want a team that hits big at home and struggles on the road then Reynolds is a good call. But if Bridich wants a team built on power arms, good defense and a strong lineup that can produce runs, a younger route makes more sense.

So the winter meetings come to a close and the Rockies leave people scratching their heads. That has become par for the course in Colorado. They didn’t make any kind of move to bolster their weak rotation. The Rockies did address some needs in the bullpen with the addition of Chad Qualls and Jason Motte but again those players are more-veteran guys who will be here for a year or so.

When going with a youth movement, it will take time for a team to grow. There will still be more losing on the horizon but seeing what some of these prospects have is good for the long haul. The Rockies say they want to build from within but then make moves like this. They are a conflicted team that doesn’t seem to know what they want to be.

One day the Rockies and Bridich will have plan but it seems like the wait just got a little longer.