SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — will have a new home in 2019. He’s moving from center field to right.
Rockies manager Bud Black made that clear Monday morning during a discussion about changes to the lineup.
The decision means will probably be the team’s starting left fielder, with , 33, getting the call in center. Dahl turns 25 on April 1. , who remains a free agent, was Colorado’s primary right fielder last season, making 113 starts.
“In our park, I like right (field) for Charlie,” Black said. “I think Charlie is more comfortable in right. He played more right in the minors. David might have a little bit more range in left. Left field needs more range in our park.”
measures 347 feet down the left-field line, 390 feet to the power alley in left and 420 feet in left-center, the deepest part of the outfield.
Asked to compare the arm strength of Dahl vs. Blackmon, Black said: “The scouting scale is probably pretty close.”
Blackmon, who said he would rather play right field than left, understands the need for a strong, accurate throwing arm.
“The right-field arm is probably more important than the center-field arm, especially in Coors Field,” Blackmon said. “The center fielder is so far from the infield, it’s hard to throw guys out. It’ll come into play a lot more in right field. I’m aware of that, so I’m going to try to throw real good.”
Blackmon, 32, has played a club-record 691 games in center field, meaning he’s had to roam in the middle of Coors Field’s vast outfield. Last spring, Blackmon signed a six-year, $108 million deal, and the Rockies would like to save the wear and tear on his body.
“Buddy gave me a call and said they were toying with the idea, and I was open to it,” Blackmon said. “He assured me that this was going to help the Rockies win more games, and I’m all about that.”
Blackmon, a three-time all-star and the 2017 National League batting champion, has primarily been a center fielder since 2015, when he started 138 games there vs. four in left and four in right. In 2014, his first full season in the majors, Blackmon started 64 games in right, 60 in center and 11 in left.
Dahl, who’s capable of playing all three outfield spots, acknowledged that playing in left is the most difficult.
“It’s pretty tough in left — the ball comes off the bat a little different, especially at Coors, where the ball carries,” he said. “You have to take good angles. So you just have to get some work in out there and get some work in during BP and drills and everything.”
Bye-bye Bochy. Count Black among the many who will miss San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, who announced Monday that 2019 would be his 13th and final season with the Giants. He led the club to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
“Well, I hope it’s not his last year,” Black said during baseball’s winter meetings in December. “I truly mean that, because Bruce is great for the game. Because he’s a great manager. I think, historically, what he’s done in his entire career, and more recently with the Giants winning three world championships, that’s fantastic work.
“There’s an old-school sturdiness to Bruce and a grittiness and a toughness that I admire, that I think is natural and genuine. And it’s good stuff, man. He’s a good guy. I think that’s the main thing.”
