Colorado Rockies: José Iglesias, Alan Trejo boost Rox early at shortstop

WIth the departure of free agent shortstop Trevor Story to the Boston Red Sox this offseason, the question of just who would replace the All-Star performer in the middle infield was a much-discussed issue among Colorado Rockies fans.

If the first seven games of the 2022 season are any indication, Colorado just might have found the secret to success at the position with the early-season performances of José Iglesias and Alan Trejo are any indication.

José Iglesias and Alan Trejo have each made key contributions to the Colorado Rockies early this season.

Colorado Rockies infielder Alan Trejo, in his first action of the year, socked a go-ahead three-run home run in the 6-5 victory against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night while also starting a key double play in the eighth inning that helped avert a Chicago rally. He also went 2-for-4 on Saturday with two RBI. He had an RBI single in the 4th inning to score Brendan Rodgers and get Sam Hilliard into scoring position and both later scored in Colorado’s three-run inning.

In the next inning, Trejo had his second RBI single in as many innings as he scored Ryan McMahon.

Meanwhile, Iglesias—in his 11th season in the Majors—enjoyed his 10th career four-hit game on April 11 as Colorado defeated Texas 6-4 in 10 innings.

In addition, Iglesias was involved in three of the five double plays that the Rockies turned in the team’s 5-2 loss to the Cubs on Thursday night.

The five twin killings tied for the second-most in franchise history and matched the most in a nine-inning game in club history.

For Trejo—who made his first career Opening Day roster this season— performances like the one that he had on Friday night paid big dividends, according to Colorado manager Bud Black.

“When a guy like Trejo does something great, it lifts everybody up,” Black told media during his pregame press conference before Saturday night’s contest.

“What a great feeling for the guys. The everyday players — they get such a great deal of joy out a back-up player doing something like that because they know the work that he puts in to be ready to play.”

His big home run and play against the Cubs on Friday night while batting ninth. in the order earned Trejo a second consecutive start on Saturday in the team’s four-game series.

Iglesias, who recorded a run-scoring single in his first at-bat with the Rockies on April 8 against the Dodgers, entered the season as a .277 hitter in 978 career games.

In his four-hit performance against the Rangers, he became the third nine-hole hitter in franchise history to compile a four-hit game joining Juan Pierre (July 14, 2011 at Texas) and John Thomson (June 1, 1997 at Florida).

He has played in five of the team’s first seven games and is hitting .333 (6-for-18).

If Iglesias and Trejo can continue to perform consistently as they have done in the early stages of 2022, particularly while batting at the bottom of the order, the duo could provide a solid one-two combination at a position that was filled with uncertainty for the Rox entering the year.