Ryan Raburn Makes Colorado Rockies Roster

Veteran outfield Ryan Raburn will be the Colorado Rockies fourth outfielder this season.  The Rockies added the right-handed batter to their big league roster yesterday who can also play multiple infield positions.

Raburn was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2001 and made his MLB debut in September of 2004.  After spending his first seven seasons in Detroit, Rabun spent the last three playing for the Cleveland Indians.  Although he has a .256 career average, after batting .301 last year in Cleveland, Ryan is hoping to continue that upward trend at hitter friendly Coors Field.

Ryan Raburn’s veteran right-handed bat will help coming off the bench, but his versatility to play multiple positions around the diamond is why he made the roster.  Besides being able to play every outfield position, Raburn also plays first and third base.  In a pinch Ryan can also pitch, which he has done twice in his career, making him an obvious choice for the front office.

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Raburn’s versatility and his right-handed bat are the reasons he made the team coming out of spring training.  The Rockies need a right-handed power bat to face the combative lefties pitching all over the NL West.  His ability to play first base when left handers are on the mound gives Walt Weiss the option to load the line up with right-handed batters.  This makes Colorado’s line up much more versatile and able to match up with left-handed pitching on the road.

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