Who is most likely to be the DH for the Colorado Rockies?

There are a number of things that MLB owners and MLBPA disagree upon for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). That’s why we are more than three months into the MLB lockout but one of the few things that the two sides have agreed upon is that there will be a universal designated hitter (DH) in the sport in 2022.

As a result, the Colorado Rockies and the other 14 National League teams will have to find someone to be their DH for the season. For the Rockies, though, that could be an issue.

The biggest issue for the team in 2021 was that they had a lot of poor offensive players. If they lose Trevor Story via free agency (which seems likely), they will have an even weaker offense than they did in 2021 without the DH (eight offensive players in a lineup), let alone with the DH (nine offensive players).

That’s why is imperative for the team to sign and/or trade for some offense when the lockout ends. But Rockies GM Bill Schmidt has said that they are unlikely to sign someone who will strictly be a DH.

However, as things currently stand, there are five Colorado Rockies players who will combine to be the DH for the vast majority of the time in 2022.

C.J. Cron could also see time as a DH for the Colorado Rockies

C.J. Cron was the best offensive player for the Colorado Rockies in 2021 as he hit .281/.375/.530 with 28 homers, 95 RBI, 31 doubles, and an OPS+ of 130.

Defensively, he is about league average but Cron was tied for the most games as a DH for the team in 2021 (tied with Connor Joe for three games). Cron isn’t versatile as first base is his only defensive position but they could give him a half-day off for a game or two off a week by DH’ing him.

Therefore, they could keep his bat in the lineup as well, a bat that they desperately need.

Charlie Blackmon will likely see a lot of time as a DH for the Colorado Rockies in 2022

Charlie Blackmon has been vocal about his displeasure of the DH in the past and nothing has changed on that front. However, considering that he is getting older (he’ll be 36 in July) and how he has regressed defensively and offensively, he is far from the player that he was in 2017, when he came in 5th in NL MVP voting.

Blackmon can still get on-base at a very good clip, though, as he had an on-base percentage of .351 in 2021. Defensively, he used to be one of the worst outfielders in baseball because he spent half of his games patrolling center field in the biggest outfield in baseball. That’s why the Rockies moved him to right field before the start of the 2019 season.

Since he moved to right field, he has been an average to slightly below-average defender.

The Rockies are reportedly looking at adding some offensive help in their outfield and even without any additions, the Rockies have a plethora of outfielders and most are good defensively. They just don’t have a plethora of outfielders that can hit well.

Blackmon is either the best or second-best offensive player among the outfielders but one of the weaker outfielders defensively, signifying that he will be a DH for his fair share of games in 2022.

Sam Hilliard is another outfielder who could be a DH for the Colorado Rockies

Defensively in his relatively brief MLB career, Sam Hilliard has been a below-average MLB outfielder for the Colorado Rockies. But, as he showed particularly in the last month of 2021, Hilliard could be a big power threat for the team in the future.

In September, he hit .243/.325/.487 with five of his 14 homers on the season.

Hilliard’s .463 slugging percentage on the season overall was sixth on the team among players with at least 50 plate appearances. But one of the players ahead of him was Trevor Story, who likely won’t be returning. Among the other five players, four of them were within seven points of Hilliard in slugging percentage.

If he can stay on pace for 25-35 homers per season, the Rockies will find a way to keep him in the lineup, regardless of the low average (.215) and on-base percentage (.294) and the DH is the best way to do give him some more consistent playing time.

Raimel Tapia is another outfielder who could be a DH for the Colorado Rockies

In the last three seasons (Raimel Tapia’s three full seasons in the majors), he has hit for a decent batting average with the Colorado Rockies, as he has hit .282 since 2019.

But his on-base percentage of .327 is lower than the Rockies want in the leadoff spot. He also hasn’t hit for power (.394 slugging percentage since 2019).

Defensively, the metrics indicate that he has become a better outfielder in each of the last two seasons but his bat is a big reason why the Rockies are considering trading him.

However, considering that they continued to play him often in 2021, he could be part of the merry-go-round of outfielders and first basemen that could revolve through the DH door in 2022 for the Colorado Rockies.