Colorado Rockies: It’s time to give Raimel Tapia a real opportunity
By Logan Whaley
The sad reality is Tapia had a horrendous 2018 campaign. The Rockies were in a spot where Tapia served primarily as a pinch-hitter. Despite the truth of his situation last season, the blame should not be solely placed on Tapia’s shoulders.
Colorado has always been a team with a plethora of outfield options. For many years, it has been the deepest area, which can be both a positive and negative. Last season, however, it showed how bad it could get.
Gerardo Parra, for example, has never been a good option for the Rockies. Before the argument is sprung about his career .283/.320/.407 line in his time in purple pinstripes, Parra did post a .312 wOBA and porous 77 wRC+. Not great for someone being given $27.5 million throughout a contract. Nevertheless, Parra is now a free agent which, in theory, should have opened the opportunity for Tapia. Not the case, however.
When the team signed Ian Desmond to a $70 million deal in 2016, the idea held pat that Desmond would play first base. Now, moving into this season, the club surprisingly signed Daniel Murphy to play first base. Desmond, meanwhile, will move to center field while Blackmon will move to right field. With David Dahl set to play left field, Tapia seems to be the odd man out. The big question now is, how do the Rockies proceed with Tapia?