Tempe, Ariz. – The race to find the 25th man is going down to the wire.
With only five days of spring camp left and one position slot open on the Rockies’ roster, John Mabry and Ryan Spilborghs put on a show Saturday during the Rockies’ 11-1 victory over the Angels.
Mabry, a 36-year-old veteran utility man, went 2-for-3 with a triple and a double, hiking his average to .423. Spilborghs, a 27-year-old outfielder, was 2-for-2 with a homer. He’s hitting .435. The dark horse is outfielder Alexis Gomez, hitting .355.
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said he likely would use the remainder of spring training to make his decision.
“He’s a valuable guy to have around,” Hurdle said of Mabry. “Spilborghs has had a good spring, and Gomez has had a good spring. That’s the competition you want to see.”
Working to Mabry’s advantage is his veteran savvy in a pinch-hitting role and his ability to play third base and first base. Spilborghs has done everything asked of him this spring. But he has one option left, meaning the Rockies could send him down to Triple-A Colorado Springs without the risk of losing him.
Bullpen duty upsets Kim
Byung-Hyun Kim is not pleased with the Rockies’ decision to move him to the bullpen, telling MLB.com on Saturday that “it’s not right” the Rockies had him experimenting with new pitches while he was competing with Josh Fogg for the team’s fifth-starter job.
When told about Kim’s displeasure, Hurdle said: “He needs to get over it. He’s being asked to make an adjustment for the betterment of the team, and that’s something we can’t lose sight of. We need to put the best team out there to win games this year. His record was his record. We asked everybody who was competing for jobs to become better than they were.”
Kim, 8-12 with a 5.27 ERA last season, remains a trade possibility but is expected to begin relief duty as soon as today.
Footnotes
Starter Jeff Francis pitched six strong innings Saturday, allowing one run on seven hits. He struck out two and walked none. He has walked just two batters in 22 2/3 innings. Francis has one spring game left. … Right-hander Brian Lawrence, a candidate for extended spring training, will start for the Rockies today against the Diamondbacks. Rodrigo Lopez will pitch in a “B” game.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
