Colorado Rockies: A creative lineup for a Brendan Rodgers off day

Brendan Rodgers could use a day off. On second thought, the Colorado Rockies‘ second baseman could use a few days off.

Stuck in an atrocious 4-for-42 (.095) slump with 16 strikeouts to begin the season, Brendan Rodgers could use a break just to clear his head. The problem is the Rockies’ current roster doesn’t have someone on the bench that fill his spot.

Garrett Hampson is currently on the 10-day injured list and Alan Trejo primarily plays shortstop. The lack of options means it is time for Bud Black to get a little bit creative.

Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon needs to move to second base for a few games to give Brendan Rodgers a day off

In the past, I have gone on the record and stated that Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon should start all of his games at third base but desperate times call for desperate measures. McMahon has spent plenty of time at second including 52 games last season and he can easily slide over for a handful of games to give Rodgers some rest.

With McMahon at second, that now leaves a huge void at third base, and this is where Black gets to be creative.

Enter the Rockies’ new $182 million man: Kris Bryant.

In 2021, Bryant made 55 appearances at third with the Cubs and Giants. In fact, prior to the 2020 season, he was the Cubs’ primary third baseman before moving to left field more often.

This frees up Connor Joe, Randal Grichuk, Charlie Blackmon, Yonathan Daza, and Sam Hilliard to be placed in the lineup for the outfield and DH as Black sees fit, depending on the matchup.

The good thing is Rodgers’s defense has not suffered despite his struggles at the plate so, with this alignment, the Rockies could use him as a late defensive replacement and try to work him in an appearance at the plate if the lead is large enough.

It will interesting to see how Black tries to work in a day off for his struggling second baseman in the coming days while the team is in Detroit and Philadelphia but when he does, he should consider a move such as this, even just for a few games.