SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Charlie Blackmon did a lot of running last season.
He played in 147 games in center field (138 as a starter), stole a career-high 43 bases, smashed 31 doubles and legged out nine triples.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss would like to reduce some of that wear and tear, so he’s planning to use new outfielder Gerardo Parra in center field in 2016.
“Parra is going to play some center,” Weiss said Saturday. “Charlie has been in center field for a couple of years now, and he’s done a nice job, but there are opportunities to lighten the load for Charlie. Because playing center field at (Coors Field) and leading off and getting (614) at-bats in a season is a load.
“I might look for opportunities to lighten Charlie’s load. He’s turned into a pretty elite base stealer, also, so that’s a pounding that he’s taking for seven months.”
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Blackmon also could get a full day off from time to time, and could also start games in left field.
“I do know that Parra can play all three (outfield positions) and play them well,” Weiss said.
Parra signed a three-year, $27.5 million deal to join the Rockies during the offseason.
Reyes watch
The Rockies continue to say they don’t know anything about a possible suspension for shortstop Jose Reyes under Major League Baseball’s new domestic violence policy.
However, a possible resolution appears to be getting closer.
Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters Friday in Florida that he expects to have a decision within a few days on two of the first three cases covered by the sport’s new policy. MLB has been investigating cases involving New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, as well as Reyes. Manfred did not specify which cases he hopes to decide soon.
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Reyes — part of the trade last July that sent Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto — is alleged to have assaulted his wife on Halloween in a Hawaii hotel. He is scheduled to go on trial April 4, the day of the Rockies’ regular-season opener. The fact that Reyes still faces a criminal trial could play a part in Manfred’s decision. Reyes, slated to earn $22 million this season, is the Rockies’ highest-paid player.
However, the new policy states that the commissioner can hand out discipline for “just cause,” so Reyes’ appearance in criminal court is not necessarily the deciding factor. In addition, Reyes could appeal any suspension to baseball’s arbitrator.
“The standards of proof in a labor arbitration and a criminal case are very different,” Manfred told reporters during his first spring-training media availability. “My strong preference would have been to have them decided by this point in the calendar.
“More important than the calendar, however, is making sure that we know all the facts before I make a decision. The worst thing that can happen from our perspective is to make a decision and then find out that we decided without knowing everything that happened.”
Most of Colorado’s position players have already reported to spring training, although the first full-squad workout isn’t scheduled until Thursday.
