The Rockies on Thursday whittled down their big-league spring roster for the first time, re-assigning nine players to minor-league camp.
Those players include touted prospects Ryan McMahon, a third baseman; centerfielder David Dahl; and pitchers Kyle Freeland and Jeff Hoffman.
Dahl could make his debut this season. The Rockies invited him to major-league camp for the first time . But the Rockies are thin on outfield depth, with Brandon Barnes and Ryan Raburn the only regular backups available.
“David needs to get ready for a season. It’s tough to do that getting intermittent at-bats,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss said.
Monday in impressive fashion for their big-league level debuts. The allowed two hits between them and threw five strikeouts.
“Especially at this level, it was great to get that competition going,” Freeland said.
Both are likely headed for Triple-A Albuquerque to start the season. But both could figure into the Rockies rotation later in the year.
“They need to be built up as starting pitchers,” Weiss said. “There’s only so many innings and so many at-bats to go around.”
McMahon focused on third base in spring, his natural position, but — which may give him a quicker path to the majors, with Nolan Arenado holding down the hot corner.
The full list of re-assignments today:
Right-handed pitchers — Matt Carasiti, Jeff Hoffman
Left-handed pitchers — Kyle Freeland, Harrison Musgrave
Catchers — Dom Nunez, Will Swanner
Infielder — Ryan McMahon
Outfielders — David Dahl, Rosell Herrera
The Rockies now have 56 players on their spring roster, including 11 non-roster invitees.
