Colorado Rockies: A look at some potential free agent options to DH in the near future

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 15: Jose Bautista #19 of the Philadelphia Phillies warms up for batting practice before a game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on September 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the National League could adopt the designated hitter in the near future, if not in 2019. So today, we’ll look at some of the options that the Colorado Rockies have on the free agent market to fill that in 2019, if it is adopted, and 2020.

Considering that the free agent market has been pretty dormant this offseason and there are still plenty of options on the market that the Rockies could sign to help them as a DH and/or at a defensive position (or help move another Rockie to the DH slot).

For this exercise, we will not consider the two biggest options on the free agent market (Bryce Harper and Manny Machado) as they a) will likely be too expensive to sign for the Rockies and b) will not be DH’ing much, if at all. We will also not consider options currently in the Rockies organization as our own Kevin Henry looked at some potential options for the Rockies lineup this season with a DH yesterday.

Jose Bautista

We will go alphabetically on this list and the first one is Jose Bautista. He has struggled to hit for average the past two seasons as he has hit .203 in both 2017 and 2018 but he has averaged 18 home runs, 56 RBI, and a .323 OBP in that span as well.

Considering that Bautista only made a little over $1 million last year and he hasn’t signed yet, the Rockies could potentially get him for a minor league deal. He would likely be on the bench more than DH’ing but Mark Reynolds or Daniel Murphy would likely take the DH slot.

DENVER, CO – APRIL 09: Carlos Gonzalez #5 of the Colorado Rockies circles the bases after hitting a 2 RBI home run in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on April 9, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Lucas Duda

Like Bautista, Lucas Duda will not hit for much of an average (he hasn’t hit above .250 since 2014 and has a career average of .242) but in an average of 117 games the past two seasons, he has averaged 22 home runs and 57 RBIs with a 109 OPS+.

He only made $3.5 million last season and, like Bautista, since he hasn’t been signed yet, I’d guess that he will likely sign for less than that so he would be another cheap option.

Derek Dietrich

Derek Dietrich is much more versatile that Duda as he played every position besides pitcher, catcher, shortstop, and center field in 2018 with the Marlins. In the past two seasons, he has averaged 142 games per season with 14 HRs, 49 RBI, a .257/.332/.422 slash line, and an OPS+ of 109.

He was not good defensively in 2018 (-16 DRS, per Baseball Reference) so he might be better as a DH or a bench option to move somebody like Mark Reynolds or Daniel Murphy to the DH spot.

Carlos Gonzalez and Matt Holliday

I’m going to group both of these guys together since they are former Rockies. As you probably know, Carlos Gonzalez has not been himself the past two seasons as his OPS+ has been below league average for both of those seasons (with an improvement to 99 in 2018). But, he might be Rockies fans favorite option as we recently had this poll about the possibility of CarGo returning and the vast majority of fans would like him back.

For Matt Holliday, he only played in 25 games for the Rockies down the stretch last season but he did have an OPS+ of 116 so, perhaps, the Rockies found a diamond in the rough. He could likely be resigned on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

Adam Jones

Adam Jones has been a Baltimore Oriole for the past 11 seasons but he finds himself still on the open market this offseason. In the past two seasons, he has averaged 146 games per season with an average of 20 home runs, 68 RBI, a .283/.318/.443 slash line, and an OPS+ of 106.

He has struggled defensively in the past two seasons as he has a combined -37 DRS in that span so he very well could move to DH part-time and play a corner outfield spot part-time.

MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Jones would get a 1 year deal for $8 million in their predictions in November so, at this point, I would not be surprised if he gets less than that but he should still get a major league contract.

Mike Moustakas

Of the names on the 2019 list, Mike Moustakas would provide the most bang-for-your-buck for what he will give you offensively.

In the past two seasons, he has averaged 150 games per season with 33 home runs and 90 RBI with a .262/.315/.489 slash line and a 113 OPS+.

He would almost definitely be a full-time DH if he were to join the Rockies as the Rockies already have Nolan Arenado at third base. Moustakas has only played 35 innings at any other position (first base) since 2009, which goes back to when he was in Advanced-A ball. All 35 of those innings were in 2017.

MLBTR predicted that he would get a 2 year deal for $16 million, which is pretty fair for him but, like everybody else on this list, I would not be surprised if he were to get less.

CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 25: Jose Abreu #79 of the Chicago White Sox bats against the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 25, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Mariners defeated the Whtie Sox 4-3. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

While it is more likely that the DH would come to the NL in 2020 (since we’re less than a week away from Spring Training games for 2019), let’s take a brief look at the many options that are on the free agent market after this season and average stats for the past two seasons (Defensive Runs Saved will be total).

Mind you, these does not include every player that could qualify but just some of the players with the best numbers. Also not included are players that have some kind of an option for 2020 but if you’d like to see those as well, you can look at the entire list of 2019-20 free agents here.

More from Rox Pile

First baseman Jose Abreu: 142 games, 28 home runs, 90 RBI, 40 doubles, .287/.341/.517 slash line, 131 OPS+, -4 DRS. 2018 All-Star, 2018 Silver Slugger Award winner, 14th in AL MVP in 2017.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt: 156 games, 34 home runs, 102 RBI, 34 doubles, .294/.396/.547 slash line, 140 OPS+, 16 DRS. All-Star in both seasons, Silver Slugger winner in both seasons, 3rd in NL MVP voting in 2017, 6th in NL MVP voting in 2018, 2017 NL Gold Glove winner. Would almost definitely play first base and move another Rockie to DH.

First baseman Justin Smoak: 152 games, 32 home runs, 84 RBI, 32 doubles, .256/.353/.495 slash line, 127 OPS+, -2 DRS. 2017 All-Star.

Third/second baseman Anthony Rendon: 142 games, 24 HRs, 96 RBI, 42 doubles, .305/.389/.534 slash line, 138 OPS+, 1 DRS. 6th in NL MVP voting in 2017, 11th in NL MVP voting in 2018.

Former Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson: 142 games, 20 home runs, 58 RBI, 34 doubles, .290/.327/.483 slash line, 118 OPS+, 15 DRS. 2017 All-Star, 2018 NL Gold Glove Winner.

Outfielder Matt Kemp: 130 games, 20 home runs, 74 RBI, .283/.328/.472 slash line, 111 OPS+, -26 DRS. 2018 All-Star.

Outfielder Marcell Ozuna: 154 games, 30 home runs, 106 RBI, 177 hits, .296/.351/.492 slash line, 128 OPS+, 18 DRS. 2017 All-Star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner, came in 15th on NL MVP voting (would likely play a corner outfield spot and displace a Rockies outfielder to DH).

Outfielder Nicholas Castellanos: 157 games played in each season: average of 24 home runs, 95 RBI, 41 doubles, .285/.337/.495 slash line, 121 OPS+, -40 DRS.

Outfielder Yasiel Puig: 138 games, 26 home runs, 68 RBI, .264/.337/.490 slash line, 119 OPS+, 24 DRS (like Ozuna, he would likely play a corner outfield spot and displace a Rockies outfielder to DH).

Designated hitter/outfielder Khris Davis: 152 games, 46 home runs, 116 RBI, .247/.331/.539 slash line (he has, amazingly, hit .247 in each of his last four seasons, and he has played five full seasons in the majors), 134 OPS+, -17 DRS. 176 games as a DH since 2017, 22nd in AL MVP voting in ’17, 8th in ’18.

Designated hitter/first baseman Kendrys Morales: 140 games, 24 home runs, 71 RBI, .249/.318/.442 slash line, 104 OPS+, 229 games at DH since 2017 (only 30 at first base).

Next. Potential 2019 batting orders with a designated hitter. dark

The Rockies obviously have plenty options on the free agent market now, and in the near future, to look at and with the DH potentially coming sooner than later, it may be something that they will soon be looking at.

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