The Colorado Rockies and veteran utilityman Alexi Amarista have agreed to a 1-year deal, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman. The financial terms of the deal, which is of the major league variety and includes an option, are not yet known. The club has not confirmed.
Amarista, 27, is a .230/.276/.320 (70 OPS+) hitter across more than 1,700 career plate appearances. The seventh-year big leaguer, who has played every position in the majors save for catcher and first base, has been above-average (5 DRS) in 1,526 career innings at shortstop but is overall an average to slightly below-average defender in terms of DRS (-1).
While with current Rox manager Bud Black’s San Diego Padres in 2014, Amarista put up 2.0 WAR in 148 games mostly as a result of good shortstop play. Otherwise, the 5’6 Amarista has been a below-replacement player in his career, posting a combined -1.0 WAR in his other five seasons.
Amarista will compete with Cristhian Adames for playing time off of the Rockies’ bench despite not being capable for much more than similar production at likely double the cost. The upside is that Amarista is an experienced player who — like recent free-agent signee Ian Desmond — is versatile. Plus, like Gerardo Parra last year, Amarista will fit nicely into the club’s close contingent of Venezuelan players.