The Rockies have signed infielder Chad Stevens to a minor league deal, in keeping with his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque for now however might obtain an invitation to huge league camp in spring coaching.
Stevens, 27 in February, bought to make a really temporary main league debut this yr. The Angels added him to their 40-man roster in the summertime. He bought into 5 video games and stepped to the plate 14 instances. He notched two singles, the primary of which got here in opposition to future Corridor-of-Famer Max Scherzer, but additionally struck out seven instances. He was outrighted off the 40-man in September and have become a free agent at season’s finish.
The Rockies are absolutely his minor league observe file, which is bigger in each high quality and amount than that main league motion. He made 981 plate appearances within the minors over the previous two years with a .281/.354/.459 batting line. That translated to a 110 wRC+, indicating he was 10% higher than league common. He additionally stole 28 bases in 37 makes an attempt and bounced across the area. He spent simply 9 innings at first base however had a great deal of time on the different three infield positions, in addition to a handful of video games in each outfield corners.
Colorado has loads of uncertainty on its roster, as one would count on for a group which simply misplaced 119 video games. There are a number of guys who look like lineup locks proper now however even these guys would possibly find yourself traded, relying on what the membership plans to do that offseason. Since Stevens can play so many alternative positions, he’ll have varied paths again to the large leagues. Statcast additionally ranked his dash velocity within the 81st percentile throughout his temporary time within the huge leagues, so he is also enticing as a utility man who can pinch run.
If he makes it again to the present, he nonetheless has choices, that means the Rockies can ship him to Triple-A and again comparatively freely. He additionally has simply 5 days of massive league service time, that means he’s years away from qualifying for arbitration and is subsequently very inexpensive.
Photograph courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Pictures
