Colorado Rockies, Wilin Rosario go to arbitration

The Colorado Rockies and catcher Wilin Rosario have gone through the arbitration process, according to the Associated Press (via CBS Denver).

Rosario, who is in his first year of arbitration eligibility, filed at $3.3 million, a raise of roughly $2.8 million over last season. Coincidentally, the Rockies countered with $2.8 million. The arbitration panel of Elizabeth Neumeier, Phillip LaPorte and James Oldham is expected to make a decision on Wednesday. There is no middle ground; the panel will either award the case to Rosario or the club.

Rosario, a .274/.308/.483 career hitter who has averaged 29 homers per 162 games played, is the first player with whom the Rockies have gone to arbitration since Brian Fuentes in 2008, and just the fourth in club history. He is also the ninth Major League Baseball player overall to go through the process this year alone. That total represents the most in the big leagues since 2001.

Clubs have been awarded five of the nine cases thus far in 2015. Six more hearings are scheduled between now and Friday, the final day in which hearings can take place.

Links

Acclaimed Cuban free agents highly sought-after | MLB.com
The Rockies are in on 18-year-old Cuban right-hander Yadier Alvarez, according to Jesse Sanchez. Alvarez has a mid- to upper-90s fastball with good secondary offerings. Colorado, by nature, would have only an outside chance to land Alvarez due to having to compete with the likes of the Dodgers, but I don't think we should count the team out.

Q&A with Rockies manager Walt Weiss: "Too much has been made of the 100-pitch thing" - The Denver Post
Weiss makes a good point about the supposed 100-pitch limit placed on Rockies starters the last couple of years. While the club finished last in the NL in starts of 100 pitches or more last season, the league average for pitches per start was, as Weiss said, 95. The perceived pitch count limit likely had more to do with the team's lack of decent starters than anything else.

We'll have more on this in a few days when our State of the Position series turns to Weiss, the coaching staff and the front office.

Ranking potential Rockies spring training prospect surprises: Who's next? - The Denver Post
Jon Gray will be in the big leagues at some point this season, writes Nick Groke. Kyle Freeland and Tom Murphy might not be far behind.

Hochman: Jason Giambi is rated highest by the guys who count the most
Benjamin Hochman has some quotes from Todd Helton and Ryan Spilborghs on Giambi, a beloved teammate and all-around good dude in his later years.

Hundley gets to work early with new group of arms | rockies.com
Nick Hundley and a whole bunch of Rockies pitchers care not for your official reporting date.

Rockies enter spring built around strong lineup | rockies.com
The lineup looks strong on paper, but how strong is it really, and what does it need to do to have a modicum of success away from Coors Field? I'll dive into that this week.

What Do You Think of Your Team’s Pitching Coach? | FanGraphs Baseball
Go ahead and let Jeff Sullivan know how you feel about new Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster. Just know that any answer other than "no opinion" at this point makes you a sociopath.

Taking A Stab at Valuing the Farm Systems | FanGraphs Baseball
Here's more proof that the Rockies truly have a top 10 farm system. This time, it's Dave Cameron putting a dollar sign on the future value ratings of Colorado's prospects.

Blogpile

What To Watch For: The Non-Roster Invitees | Rockies Zingers Colorado Rockies Baseball
Sarah Ford has a great breakdown of the Rockies' NRIs this spring, noting that Rafael Betancourt and John Axford have the best shot of winding up on the big league roster -- a conclusion I totally agree with.

Yes, the Rockies are delusional - Rox Pile
Hayden Kane has more on Dick Monfort's new-look Rockies. I still cannot believe that headline made it through the editorial process. I'm at least hoping that the people involved in publishing it had a good laugh first.

The Omaha Stormchasers and Albuquerque Isotopes are feuding over Saul Goodman - Royals Review
I don't even know what this is but it seems like a hilarious pissing match.