It is now being reported that the Colorado Rockies and Ian Desmond have agreed to a five-year deal worth $70 million dollars. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was the first to report the signing that happened on Wednesday morning.
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Ian Desmond is an eight year player who has had stints with the Washington Nationals and the Texas Rangers. He averages roughly twenty homers a season and drives in around seventy-seven runs a season. When he first came into the league with the Nationals, he was primarily the shortstop and it was not until he went to the Rangers in the off-season prior to the 2015 season that he made the move to center field. Now, it is being reported by Ken Rosenthal and Jim Bowden of ESPN that he will see time both in the outfield and first base.
It makes sense for the Rockies to put Desmond at 1st base in addition to the outfield because they don’t have a first baseman. According to the Rockies website, the 1st baseman is Jordan Patterson, who also has spent some time in the Outfield.
My opinion is this is a good deal for Ian Desmond as he will end up making approximately fourteen million a year and a ballpark like the one the Rockies play in, he should be able to have a good offensive season. I still feel the Rockies still need a lot more help to compete with the Dodgers and the Giants for the National League West, but the signing of Ian Desmond is a step in the right direction.
As far as the Rockies as a team goes, I could see them going after some pitching and get some more bats in the lineup to surround Nolan Arenado who is one of the leaders on the team that is trying to turn it around, but it always seems that they end up falling very short.