Colorado Rockies sign infielder Kelby Tomlinson to a minor-league deal

According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, the Colorado Rockies have signed infielder Kelby Tomlinson to a minor-league deal.

This afternoon, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported on Twitter that the Colorado Rockies have signed infielder Kelby Tomlinson to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training.

Tomlinson, 29, has spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues with the Giants from 2015 through 2018. He did not play at the major league level in 2019 as he spent the season in the Diamondbacks and Mariners organizations at the minor league level.

In 99 games in the minors in 2019 (all in the PCL), Tomlinson hit .242/.301/.301 with no home runs and 16 RBI.

In the four seasons he spent in the majors with the Giants, he played in 273 games and hit .265/.331/.332 with an OPS+ of 82. However, in the final two seasons (167 games), he only hit .237/.305/.293 with an OPS+ of 63. Defensively, he is slightly above average at the MLB level as he has a career 3 bDRS. He has also played at second and third base as well as shortstop and left field.

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Thoughts

An interesting factoid of note too is that Tomlinson is from Oklahoma, which has been a common ground for some Rockies of today and yesteryear, including Jon Gray, Chi Chi Gonzalez (he went to college in Oklahoma), Matt Holliday, former outfielder and current assistant hitting coach Jeff Salazar, Jamey Wright, and Cory Sullivan.

Obviously, the signing of Tomlinson is not a huge signing for the Rockies but it is still a good signing.

He has major league experience, he is versatile, and most importantly, he’s signed on a minor-league deal: there is no risk for the Rockies in the signing.

If he does not play well in the spring, then the Rockies can cut him loose or send him to Albuquerque as depth. If he plays well, he will be a cheap, versatile veteran bench option for the Rockies.