SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — The Rockies reassigned seven players to their minor-league camp today, bringing into focus their 25-man opening day roster.
The list of players reassigned included second baseman Eric Young, Jr., catcher Jordan Pacheco and pitchers Matt Daley, Greg Reynolds, John Maine, Rex Brothers and Eric Stults.
None of the names came as a surprise, though there was some consideration to keeping Pacheco for the short term, what with the Rockies potentially not needing a fifth starter until the second week of the season. Another option was to keep Daley as an extra reliever, but that notion ended when manager Jim Tracy announced that Esmil Rogers, the No. 5 starter, would pitch April 6 vs. the Dodgers at Coors Field.
Ubaldo Jimenez could have started that game, but Tracy and his staff decided otherwise.
“We didn’t want to be grinding on Ubaldo from jump street,” said Tracy. “There’s no reason to push the envelope early.”
With Daley and Pacheco gone, the projected 25-man opening day roster looks like this:
Position players: Todd Helton, Jose Lopez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Carlos Gonzalez, Dexter Fowler, Seth Smith, Chris Iannetta, Ryan Spilborghs, Jose Morales, Jonathan Herrera, Ty Wigginton and Jason Giambi.
Pitchers: Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Hammel, Esmil Rogers, Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt, Matt Lindstrom, Matt Belisle, Matt Reynolds, Franklin Morales and Felipe Paulino.
While Jose Morales is expected to be the backup catcher, non-roster invitee Matt Pagnozzi remains in the major league camp. The other invitees still around are Giambi, outfielder Willy Taveras, first baseman Mike Jacobs and utility man Alfredo Amezaga.
Giambi will be a late-inning pinch-hitter, meaning the Rockies will have to remove a player from the 40-man roster to make room for him.
The departure of Daley was a clear indication of the improvement in the Rockies” bullpen. He was 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 51 innings in 2009 and broke out of the gate with a vengeance last season, allowing one run in his first 15 appearances.
But just when it seemed like Daley was going to have a career year, shoulder problems flared up, landing him on the disabled list indefinitely. He made only two appearances in the majors after mid-May.
“Obviously I’m not happy that it’s happening, but I understand the situation,” said Daley. “I told them I disagree with the decision, but I’m going to go down there and do my best and be back up sooner rather than later.”
Daley, 28, spent the offseason in Denver working out in an attempt to re-establish himself in the Rockies’ bullpen. General manager Dan O’Dowd, in fact, said early in camp that no one on the roster had worked harder.
His performance in the Cactus League — no earned runs, seven strikeouts in six innings — normally wouldn’t merit a demotion, but Daley knew the odds of sticking in the pen were slim when Paulino was converted to a reliever.
“You can control what you can control and I feel like I did that,” said Daley. “That’s really all I can tell myself at this point. I know once I get my opportunity, I’ll take advantage of it and I’ll be up the rest of the year. But it just stinks to not be in the clubhouse with the guys.
“I did what I wanted to do. I made them make a tough decision and that’s all I told myself I wanted to do coming into spring training.”
Reynolds and Maine will join the Triple A rotation at Colorado Springs, where Pacheco is expected to catch. Pacheco made a huge impression in his second major league camp and figures to be at Coors Field at some point this season.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
