Brad Hand with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers, MLB news. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Scottsdale, Ariz. — After visiting with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, here are some MLB news and notes from the five different Major League spring training camps I’ve visited over the last five days.
Let’s start with the Rockies who have added veterans to the spring training rotation over the last week or so, including Mike Moustakas, who is hoping to resurrect his career in Denver, and reliever Brad Hand, who helped the Philadelphia Phillies reach the World Series last season.
For Hand, pitching in Denver won’t be a completely new experience. The 32-year-old southpaw spent parts of three seasons with Colorado’s NL West rival in San Diego and has also pitched there while playing for the Miami Marlins and other NL teams as well. While Coors Field may be a demon for some pitchers, Hand has held opposing batters to a .222/.340/.422 slash line in 12.0 innings spread over 10 career games.
He will join veterans Daniel Bard and Brent Suter as back-of-the-bullpen options for manager Bud Black.
“It’s definitely nice to have some kind of experience down there in the bullpen, especially pitching at Coors Field, which is not always the best place to pitch, but you have to be able to handle it,” Hand said.
Los Angeles Dodgers spring training: Miguel Rojas gaining more support
When Gavin Lux went down with his season-ending knee injury, there was plenty of concern about the shortstop position in Los Angeles. However, early on in spring, Miguel Rojas, acquired in a trade with the Marlins this offseason, has been showing that he can indeed be a viable option at shortstop this season for L.A.
Rojas started spring 4-for-10 at the plate and has been solid in the field, including a nice defensive play on Saturday night in Surprise against the Kansas City Royals. There is growing belief inside the Dodgers camp that Rojas can be effective enough at the position to not force too many position switches in the absence of Lux. Rojas is expected to be the primary shortstop for the Dodgers in 2023, and early signs and rumblings are showing that it could be good enough for the Dodgers to start the season and hopefully carry through until at least the trade deadline.