The Colorado Rockies signed Ian Desmond to the largest contract in franchise history this past offseason to play a position he had zero professional experience in: first base.
So far, Desmond has only seen one start at the position due to the surge of Mark Reynolds, and while he has made due in the outfield, a hole in the Rockies infield has opened.
Prior to Thursday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club announced that shortstop Trevor Story had been placed on the 10-day DL with a strained left shoulder. Desmond, a natural shortstop, has played over 900 games at the position.
Regardless of his previous experience, Desmond will not see time at shortstop while Story is sidelined, according to skipper Bud Black.
“Desmond’s a natural shortstop too,” Black said Thursday. “That give us a lot of options, but here in the short-term, no.
The idea has been toyed with over the past couple of weeks due to a slump in Story’s play; however, Black’s stance on the situation has not changed, largely because of all the other tasks on Desmond’s plate.
“He takes ground balls at first. It’s a different angle than short, but for the time being no ground balls at short for Ian,” said the Rockies skipper.
For the time being, Pat Valaika and Alexi Amarista are expected to soak up time at shortstop while Story recovers from injury.
“Let’s just check on Trev. Let’s watch Valaika and Alexi. Let’s sort of keep how our team looks right now as is and then we will continue to converse as we do.”
