Should the Colorado Rockies go after former Los Angeles Dodgers 1B/OF Matt Beaty?

The Los Angeles Dodgers made a fairly surprising roster move on Wednesday as they designated first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty for assignment after they signed infielder Hanser Alberto to a one-year deal.

Beaty, 28, could improve the bench for the Colorado Rockies as he was a good bench bat for the Dodgers in 2021.

Matt Beaty would improve the bench for the Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies currently have a big logjam in the outfield but former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Beaty could be a good addition for the team.

In 2021, Beaty played in 120 games (45 starts) and he hit .270/.365/.402 in 234 plate appearances with an OPS+ of 107.

For the Rockies, that would have been the third-highest OPS+ among anyone with at least 200 plate appearances. The only players higher were C.J. Cron (130) and Connor Joe (117).

That also goes to show how good the Dodgers are. They didn’t envision him having a spot on an expanded 28-man roster. According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Beaty also had a minor league option left so they could have sent him to Triple-A Oklahoma City but, instead, the Dodgers DFA’d him so that he may get an opportunity to play in the majors with another team.

In the majors, Beaty has played first base the most (69 games) but he has also played 64 games in left field, 22 games in right field, and 14 games at third base so, in essence, he would be a left-handed bat that plays the same positions as Kris Bryant (but Bryant can also play center field).

If the Rockies did get Beaty in a trade, off of waivers, or in a signing, it would be a bit of a flip of the recent norm. Currently, the Dodgers have five notable former Rockies in camp with them.

• Former Rockies starter Tyler Anderson (MLB deal)
• Former Rockies reliever Tommy Kahnle (MLB deal)
• Former Rockies reliever Yency Almonte (MiLB deal with an invite to MLB spring training)
• Former Rockies catcher Tony Wolters (MiLB deal with an invite to MLB spring training)
• Former Rockies outfielder Kevin Pillar (MiLB deal with an invite to MLB spring training)

And, of course, both managers (Colorado’s Bud Black and Los Angeles’ Dave Roberts) have a relationship as well from Roberts being on Black’s coaching staff in San Diego. Their relationship goes back to when Roberts played for Cleveland in the late 1990s when Black was a minor league coach and special assistant.

Matt Beaty would add more to the Rockies outfield/bench logjam but, offensively, he has shown the most of any of them so, perhaps, it is a move the Rockies would consider.