Colorado Rockies: How Important Is a Quick Start in April?

On Thursday, SportsonEarth.com published an article that listed the Colorado Rockies among six teams that needed to start the 2017 season strong. You can read the article and see the others teams mentioned along with the Rockies by clicking here.

The premise of the article was that the Rockies had been besieged by injuries in spring training that would cause the team to start the season short-handed. There is some truth in there. However, the news passed along from Colorado’s camp on Thursday makes it seem that the team won’t need to worry about being without some of its main pieces for too much of April.

Colorado manager Bud Black announced on Thursday morning that, after surgery on his broken left hand, first baseman Ian Desmond could rejoin the team in mid-April. According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, that’s about the same time frame that Tom Murphy is scheduled to be back behind the plate after recovering from a hairline fracture in his forearm.

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Under a best-case scenario, that would put the duo back with the Rockies roughly 10 days after Colorado opens the season in Milwaukee on April 3. It would also be a boost to the club’s morale after a disheartening stretch in Arizona.

Of course, even better news would be that David Dahl would be back and available for service about that time as well. So far, the latest word is that Dahl is scheduled to be re-evaluated next week to see how the recovery is progressing.

Additionally, pitcher Chris Rusin may be nearing a return around that time as well.

If the medical forecasts are true (and barring any unforeseen circumstances) and Dahl heals, the Rockies could hit Tax Day (April 15) with a full roster at its disposal. Of course, that does not include starting pitcher Chad Bettis, who will be undergoing chemotherapy and has a longer window for return this season.

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Of course it’s important for the Rockies to get off to a hot start to begin the season. However, with the injury news not looking as dire as it could have been, it’s doesn’t seem that April will be a make-or-break situation for the rest of the campaign.