Tucson It’s decision time in the desert. With just 10 Cactus League games remaining and opening day a mere 13 days away, the Rockies stand face to face with some major choices.
Start with the rotation. Aaron
Cook is No. 1, followed by Jeff
Francis, Rodrigo Lopez and rookie
Jason Hirsh. The final spot remains
in flux, with potential
trades muddying the picture.
With his bulldog nature, Josh
Fogg seems a safer bet to keep on
staff than the talented but erratic
Byung-Hyun Kim. Fogg might
not have dynamic stuff, but he
has double-digit wins in four of
his five big-league seasons.
The Rockies are exploring
trades for both pitchers, with Baltimore
keeping its eye on Fogg and
Oakland expressing interest in
Kim.Awild-card possibility could
be Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander
Mark Hendrickson. The Rockies
like him and are open to trade possibilities. If the Rockies were to release
Fogg, it would cost them $906,000. If they
release Kim, they would have to eat all of
his $2.5 million contract.
The bullpen
The Rockies will keep seven relievers.
Closer Brian Fuentes, setup right-hander
LaTroy Hawkins, long reliever Taylor
Buchholz and left-hander Jeremy Affeldt
are locks. The third lefty likely will be Tom
Martin, although nonroster reliever Mike
Gallo has created competition for the spot.
Martin has struggled this spring, but he has
a guaranteed $800,000 contract, giving
him the edge over Gallo.
That means the Rockies must decide
among Manny Corpas, Ramon Ramirez
and Matt Herges (a nonroster player) for
two spots from the right side. Ramirez and
Corpas who has been impressive
have options, so the club has some wiggle
room. Corpas has electric stuff, but the
club might want to get him more seasoning
in Colorado Springs.
Shortstop
Clint Barmes and rookie Troy Tulowitzki
were supposed to stage a battle royal for
the starting job, but Tulowitzki won easily
as Barmes struggled at the plate. The Chicago
Cubs and Texas Rangers are among
those interested in Barmes as a super-utility
player.
Center field
At age 42, Steve Finley is certain he still
has the skills to be an everyday player, but
the starting job belongs to speedster Willy
Taveras. That means for the first time in
his long career, Finley starts the season as
a part-time player. The odd man out in center
is Cory Sullivan.
Catcher
Rookie Chris Iannetta developed faster
than anyone expected, and he has moved
past Yorvit Torrealba for the starting job.
But Iannetta s inexperience means Torrealba
will catch two or three games a week.
Utility players
The Rockies like Alexis Gomez, but it s
impossible to ignore how John Mabry has
hit this spring. Although he s 36, Mabry is
healthy again and gives the Rockies a proven
left-handed bat off the bench. Plus, he
can play first, third or the outfield and provides
a veteran presence, which could give
him the edge over Gomez for the last spot
on the roster.
The other utility men are Jamey Carroll
and Jeff Baker.
Footnotes
While the rest of the Rockies had Monday
off, starter Lopez pitched a camp game
for Double-A Tulsa against Triple-A Colorado
Springs. Lopez threw six innings, allowing
seven runs on nine hits, including a
homer. He walked two and struck out two. … Hirsh pitches today against the Cubs and
Ted Lilly.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
