Colorado Rockies: Calling up Matt Holliday is a great baseball move

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard the news.  The Colorado Rockies have called up all-time franchise great, Matt Holliday.  It’s been almost 10 years since good old #5 (now #7) has donned the purple pinstripes and patrolled left field at Coors Field but he’s back and the excitement is palpable.

As fans rejoice Matt Holliday‘s return by reminiscing about game #163 and the magical World Series run in 2007, they have another thing to cheer about: The Rockies have finally…FINALLY made a roster move that actually makes baseball sense.

From carrying three catchers, sticking with Ian Desmond at first (sorry, had to take a shot even after his walk off Thursday), wasting a spot in the bullpen with Yency Almonte for a month, to not making a move at the trade deadline outside of acquiring Seunghwan Oh, this organization has made countless number of decisions that left many scratching their heads. But this one doesn’t.

Since optioning Noel Cuevas to AAA Albuquerque on July 29th, the Rockies have carried four outfielders on the roster, none of which bat from the right side of the plate.

This had left Bud Black in the tough situation of juggling playing time between Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, David Dahl, and Gerardo Parra, especially when facing left-handed starting pitchers.  The addition of Holliday alleviates that problem.

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Defensively, Holliday is a liability in left field but he brings so many more intangibles that are severely needed on this roster.  He has plenty of leadership and playoff experience including two World Series appearances, one of which ended with a title with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.

He provides that late inning right-handed power bat that this team desperately needs off the bench (no offense to Pat Valakia when he was on the roster).  And as stated earlier, a right handed outfielder.

It will be interesting to see what kind of results the 38-year-old Holliday can produce.  He did hit .345/.455/.600 and 15 RBI in 66 plate appearance the minors but will that translate to the majors?  He should be fresh considering he didn’t play organized baseball for the first four months of the season.

If Matt Holliday can be the Jason Giambi-like presence the Rockies hope, he should give them the added boost needed to make the playoffs.  It will be interesting to watch what he can do but as a Rockies’ fan and baseball fan, this move makes perfect sense.