SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With their shaved heads and grinder frames, Ryan Raburn and Walt Weiss look a lot alike. As the Rockies’ newest outfielder, and a late addition to spring training, Raburn fit in quickly.
“Don’t tell him that,” said Weiss. Colorado’s manager, 18 years older than Raburn, doesn’t want to offend a guy he so desperately needs on his roster.
The Rockies, and their lefty-heavy batting order, got beat down last season against left-handed pitching. Despite playing in hitter-friendly Coors Field, the Rockies ranked 19th in runs scored against lefties. They were 23rd in team OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage), at .677.
“We really struggled against lefties last year. I mean, we were awful,” Weiss said.
And the National League West is loaded with ace lefties, topped by the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw and the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner.
So Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich set out to plug the bleeding. He signed former St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Mark Reynolds to platoon at first base with lefty Ben Paulsen. And last week he chased down Raburn, a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians.
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Between Reynolds and Raburn, the Rockies have some righties to right the ship against lefties.
“I made a career having some success against lefties,” Raburn said. “But it all comes down to me doing the job. Hopefully I earn more at-bats against righties, because I know I can hit them too. But my job is to do whatever they ask when they call my name.”
Raburn on Thursday made his Cactus League debut with the Rockies, as a designated hitter in the fifth spot behind Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado. He went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Cleveland declined a $3 million team option on Raburn’s contract for this season, making him a free agent. Bridich called about him through the winter, finally settling on a minor-league deal after spring training started worth $1.5 million if Raburn is on the major-league roster by March 28.
“Every player should feel like they have a chip on their shoulder. And I do,” Raburn said. “The offseason didn’t go the way I’d hoped. But I’m still playing baseball. And I’m grateful for that. My chip is that I want to show this team I can help them.”
He can help by boosting the Rockies against Kershaw and Bumgarner and their southpaw brethren. Raburn is a career .264 hitter against lefties, but with a healthy .827 OPS (compared with .693 against righties). In 2015 with Cleveland, he inflated those numbers to .325/1.004 against left-handers.
Reynolds has been similarly strong against lefties, with an .804 career OPS against them. He also as a home run history, hitting 44 in 2009 with Arizona.
Raburn is fighting for the fourth spot in the Rockies’ outfield. He’ll start Friday for the first time in the field against Cleveland. Reynolds will start the season in a matchup platoon at first base, with more playing time available for a hot bat.
“That power plays,” Weiss said. “Right-handed power is hard to find in the game right now. It’s a tough commodity to find.”
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or @nickgroke
