Colorado Rockies: Their Opening Day 2022 dream lineup

Hitting cleanup for the Colorado Rockies, the left fielder: Nick Castellanos

If, and it’s a big “if”, the Colorado Rockies could get Nick Castellanos in a free-agent deal, that would be huge for them.

In 2021, he hit .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs, 100 RBI, 38 doubles, and an OPS+ of 136. That helped get him to his first All-Star selection.

Ideally, Castellanos, who will turn 30 in March, is a right fielder so the Rockies could use him there and move Charlie Blackmon in left field or DH one of them. But, at least in our scenario, neither one will be the designated hitter because the #5 hitter is the Rockies designated hitter.

Nelson Cruz would hit fifth for the Colorado Rockies and be the designated hitter

Nelson Cruz would, realistically, become a member of the Colorado Rockies only if the designated hitter is implemented in the National League.

Cruz was featured in our list of three free agent bats that would be (relatively) cheap for the Rockies.

As we mentioned in that article, Cruz, 41, has had at least 32 homers and 86 RBI per season, and an OPS+ of 147 since 2014. His lowest OPS+ in that span was in 2021. It was 130. That’s the exact OPS+ C.J. Cron had for the Rockies last season.

So his worst season in the last eight still would have been tied for the best by a Colorado Rockie in 2021.

He wouldn’t play the field as he has played 10 games in the field total since the start of the 2017 season so the Rockies would have to give up some versatility but they need to address their offense and Story returning and adding Cruz and Castellanos would do just that.