Mark Ellis To Sign Two Year Deal With Dodgers, According To Report - SB Nation Denver

This knocks another potential FA 2B candidate off of the market for the Rockies. Kelly Johnson is still out there, and this might suggest that talks with the Braves are farther along than we realize (speculation), but it also could point to another season of the Chris Nelson/Eric Young Jr/Johnny Herrera/Tommy Field revolving door of awful.

6 months ago Andrew Martin 38 comments 0 recs |

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Wow

A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves

by waterboy31321 on Nov 14, 2011 2:00 PM MST reply actions

I'm not sure what to think of this

If the revolving door occurs next year at 2nd base, my “Down with Tracy” shirt is going to add another name.

by Cargo'es Yard on Nov 14, 2011 3:38 PM MST up reply actions

Come on comp pick.

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"

/it is a new beginning, right?

by The Lodo Magic Man on Nov 14, 2011 2:27 PM MST via mobile reply actions

I'm actually Okay with this

While Ellis is better than anything else we have, he’s not worth 2 years/ 9 million.

Plus I like the supplemental round pick.

Although baseball is full of teams suffering setbacks, it’s also full teams overcoming them. All I ask is for the Rockies to be defined by the latter category.

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 14, 2011 2:42 PM MST reply actions

To expand,

The Rockies have been very good in that section of the draft recently.

Rockie picks the last four years between #31 and #80 in the draft…………………

2011…

Trevor Story
Carl Thomore

2010…

Peter Tago
Chad Bettis

2009…

Tim Wheeler
Rex Brothers
Nolan Arenado

2008…

Charlie Blackmon

So far, there’s not a bad one in the bunch (we’ll see on Thomore)

Although baseball is full of teams suffering setbacks, it’s also full teams overcoming them. All I ask is for the Rockies to be defined by the latter category.

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 14, 2011 2:43 PM MST up reply actions

I totally agree.

But this still “wow’d” me.

@CentralCaliRox

by CentralCaliRox on Nov 14, 2011 4:09 PM MST up reply actions

Assumptions

Are we all sure that the draft compensation doesn’t go away with the new CBA???

TGFPR!!

by jlot10 on Nov 14, 2011 3:14 PM MST reply actions

Very unlikely to happen

Not sure where this rumor comes from, but if the new CBA changes the compensation system it will almost certainly not take effect this off-season. That would be changing the rules mid-game, which is usually not done. And even if it is, the most common assumption is that the system for Type A’s will be changed, not Type B’s.

by BostonTransplant on Nov 14, 2011 3:27 PM MST up reply actions

No Worries...

I am hoping Chris Nelson finally puts it all together and wins the job in Spring Training and lives up to his potential. Assuming he commits to doing what he has to do to harness his potential (yes, quite an assumtion) he is the one candidate with enough up-side to make an impact on this team for the next 10 years.

If not, 2B will be another suck-hole no matter what is decided for next year.

Figure it out, Chris!

by WhiskeyDrinkingMan on Nov 14, 2011 3:58 PM MST reply actions

I doubt that'll happen

I’m 99% sure the rockies are going to add a good (solid) second baseman and he’ll have the job regardless of how Nelson performs in ST.

@CentralCaliRox

by CentralCaliRox on Nov 14, 2011 4:10 PM MST up reply actions

Unless we somehow get Prado...

I doubt an available “solid” 2B exists.

I might be the only one on the Chris Nelson bandwagon, but that’s cool. I get to pick the radio station and get any seat I want.

by WhiskeyDrinkingMan on Nov 14, 2011 5:05 PM MST up reply actions

this sucks.

i liked ellis. the guy is a “professional” as jim tracy likes to say, but i feel like he’s the only one who actually fits tracys description…

by roxintober on Nov 14, 2011 4:10 PM MST reply actions

I should have bet. :)

Now let’s go out and sign J-Roll to come in here and play 2nd!

There are no apostrophes in plurals.
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But if you only remember one thing...
There are no apostrophes in plurals.

by Since1993 on Nov 14, 2011 4:36 PM MST reply actions

That up the middle defense would be amazing

"There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare." ~Tallulah Bankhead
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." ~Greg, age 8
JFK

by jrockies on Nov 14, 2011 5:11 PM MST up reply actions

There was some short-lived chatter here a while ago

about acquiring the Marlins’ Emilio Bonifacio. While I would certainly prefer Prado, Bonifacio would be a versatile alternative. Wait too long, and we’ll all be longing for the days when a pitcher used to occasionally throw the ball in the path of Clint Barmes’ swing.

by Northsider1964 on Nov 14, 2011 6:29 PM MST reply actions

Just like Jamey Carroll - largely a utility guy here -- started looking good at 2B....

…it won’t be long before the Bring Back Clint Barmes bandwagon gains some steam.

Wow – 2B, at least in terms of who’s available – is as slim as slim pickins can possibly get.

by evers44 on Nov 14, 2011 6:45 PM MST up reply actions

Might take some creativity to find a second baseman.

FA SS perhaps? Or a trade?

We’ll see..

@CentralCaliRox

by CentralCaliRox on Nov 14, 2011 9:40 PM MST up reply actions

He's an interesting option with Coors' gaps

but he looks a lot like EYJ to me.

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by Andrew Martin on Nov 14, 2011 6:51 PM MST up reply actions

but better defensively and at hitting

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by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 14, 2011 7:00 PM MST via mobile up reply actions

Agree

Bonifacio is no Gold Glover, but he is at least serviceable in the field. The Marlins used him a little bit at SS when Ramirez was hurt/sulking, which means he could probably fill in there on Tulo’s handful of off days. I think he could help the Rockies – I just don’t know what it would take to get him.

by Northsider1964 on Nov 14, 2011 7:10 PM MST up reply actions

"better"

he has one season above .650 OPS. With the SSS nature of EYJ’s career thus far, I’m hesitant to say there’s a night and day difference between him and Bonifacio.

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by Andrew Martin on Nov 14, 2011 11:17 PM MST up reply actions

I will say that

EY2 scores significantly higher on the ‘guys I’d want to grab a beer with’ metric. A metric that, btw, has been found to be amongst the strongest predictors of success.

"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker

by Resolution on Nov 14, 2011 11:20 PM MST up reply actions

But there's a reason for EY's SSS

He’s a nightmare in the field, with a throwing arm that wouldn’t even be above-average on a good college team. I like EY, but I just don’t see this changing.

by Northsider1964 on Nov 15, 2011 11:18 AM MST up reply actions

What I'm really driving at

is that Bonifacio is kind of awful as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his entire offensive upside is no better than EY’s. He is a better fielder though, I’ll concede that.

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by Andrew Martin on Nov 15, 2011 1:37 PM MST up reply actions

You may be right about this

I wouldn’t be surprised if his entire offensive upside is no better than EY’s.

But I think Bonifacio is more likely to actually reach his upside, because he can stay on the field for more than a week at a time. EY just can’t – and it’s a shame, because his speed on the basepaths is breathtaking.

by Northsider1964 on Nov 15, 2011 3:56 PM MST up reply actions

he would steal 100

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 15, 2011 6:52 PM MST via mobile up reply actions

Agreed.

@CentralCaliRox

by CentralCaliRox on Nov 14, 2011 9:39 PM MST up reply actions

Tommy Field, c'mon down!

Of all our internal candidates, Tommy has the slickest glove and maybe can even hit a little bit. That said, all of our internal candidates are well below-average MLB second basemen.

by GoRoxGo on Nov 14, 2011 6:59 PM MST reply actions

I can not express how happy I'd be if Tommy Field surprised everyone and turned into a passable second baseman next season

Although baseball is full of teams suffering setbacks, it’s also full teams overcoming them. All I ask is for the Rockies to be defined by the latter category.

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 14, 2011 7:33 PM MST up reply actions

If there's no trade acquisition

Field at least deserves a fair shot in ST and the early season if he does well in ST.

With Herrera & Nelson, it’s pretty much a known quantity what we’ll get. I had high hopes for Nelson for awhile, but he just couldn’t hit the ball out of the infield consistently last year when he finally got some AB’s. Herrera also had enough AB’s to show what he couldn’t do — hit the ball hard.

Field has some power & has had a high OBP throughout his minor league career. His fielding skills are solid and (like Barmes) he can play SS if needed. He’s a good low cost option if Prado or Johnson don’t materialize. My first choice would really be JRoll,
but I don’t see that happening.

by maris61 on Nov 14, 2011 8:52 PM MST reply actions

Agreed.

However, no way the Rockies go into ST with Herrera/Nelson/Field battling it out for 2B…. Just no way.

@CentralCaliRox

by CentralCaliRox on Nov 14, 2011 9:41 PM MST up reply actions

/2008
/2009
/2010
/2011

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by Muzia on Nov 14, 2011 9:55 PM MST up reply actions

no

he’s right. That job belongs to my man EY the Second

"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker

by Resolution on Nov 14, 2011 10:53 PM MST up reply actions

Outside the box

Are there any Japanese players being posted that might be of interest? I haven’t seen anything on 2B over at MTR, but what about SS Hiroyuki Nakajima?

TGFPR!!

by jlot10 on Nov 14, 2011 9:47 PM MST reply actions

“…we have other things going on and there is a lot of winter left,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “We are very comfortable with our in-house options.”