DENVER — Carlos Gonzalez’s struggles this season have been well-documented. Whether it is due to age, or just one of his usual slumps, his issues at the plate this spring have lasted long enough that the Rockies may be considering moving him down in the lineup.
During today’s meeting with the press, Rockies manager Bud Black said that he would consider moving Gonzalez down in the lineup if the struggles continue.
“That could happen,” Black said. “That potentially could happen. But that would probably be one or two spots at the most. It could be one or two spots.”
Black said that with injuries to other key position players like David Dahl and Tom Murphy, the farthest he could see moving Gonzalez down is to the sixth spot in the order.
“If you look at the bottom of the lineup that we’ve had, you’re not going to move those guys ahead of him,” Black said.
Despite the struggles in his recent at-bats, Black thought he was seeing some signs of hope that Gonzalez was about to break out of the slump.
Hopefully, a move down in the lineup can reduce some of the pressure on him to drive in runs and let his productions bounce back to the levels that we’ve come to expect from a healthy CarGo.
If they do move Gonzalez down in the lineup, the Rockies have an obvious replacement for the cleanup spot in Mark Reynolds who has been on fire this season. Ian Desmond could move up a spot as well.