GLENDALE, Ariz. — Simply put, the Rockies need more power and performance from their first basemen. Lacking the one player to do that, they’re trying to solve the problem with a two-punch approach.
Incumbent starter Ben Paulsen is a left-handed hitter, while free-agent acquisition Mark Reynolds will get the majority of the at-bats as a righty. Manager Walt Weiss doesn’t call it a platoon, but that’s what it is shaping up to be.
“The way I see it is, they’re going to share time, because I don’t know what it’s going to look like,” Weiss said. “I will probably start out with matchups and that type of thing, with them splitting the time. I don’t know if it will be split exactly evenly.
“Then I’ll just let it go and see what happens. I am very comfortable with both guys over there.”
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If the Rockies are going to improve on their 94-loss season — they were a miserable 36-45 at Coors Field — they’ll need more pop from a premium power position. The batting average of all Rockies when playing first base last season was .275, sixth in the National League. But their .748 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) was only 10th, and their 20 homers ranked 14th.
They need much more offense from their first basemen.
Reynolds, who signed a one-year, $2.6 million contract, would like to play full time, but he understands the situation.
“I think it can be good,” said Reynolds, 32.”I think any ballplayer will tell you that consistent at-bats are key, but that’s not the situation we’re in. I think we will start off as a platoon. And if someone gets hot, I could see Walt riding them through the streak.”
Paulsen put up some decent numbers last season, batting .277 with 11 homers, 19 doubles and 49 RBIs, but he rarely faced left-handed pitching.
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In just 34 at-bats against left-handers, he hit .235 with no home runs. Facing right-handers, he hit .282 with 11 home runs in 291 at-bats.
Reynolds is a lifetime .287 hitter at Coors Field, with eight home runs in 122 at-bats. He is coming off a season in which he hit .230 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 140 games for St. Louis.
“One of the reasons we acquired him is he’s a really good fit for our park,” Weiss said. “He hits a lot of really long flyballs that land on the other side of the fence. That’s a good fit there. … We had some struggles last year against lefties. That’s well-documented.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp
