Through all the highs and lows this season, the Colorado Rockies have been able to rely on the depth of their roster, both up in the majors and throughout their farm system. In the infield, there’s no shortage of talent.
From first base to shortstop, starters to bench players, every infielder in the Rockies dugout this year has what it takes to produce on the field and get the job done. While the bases are pretty much covered as far as the talent goes, the shortstop position seems to fluctuate between several players a bit more than normal.
Take it from Alexi Amarista, 28, who sometimes fills in for starter Trevor Story, 24, whenever manager Bud Black feels like Story needs a day off. Amarista, now in his seventh year in the league, perhaps best embodies the versatility and depth of this roster in his own game, as he’s able to play the outfield, second base and shortstop positions with ease.
“These years that I’ve been in the big leagues, I’ve been able to play pretty much every position,” Amarista said. “I’m happy to be able to play those various roles and be able to help out the team.”
For Amarista, who earned the nickname “Little Ninja” based on his talent, work ethic, speed and relatively small stature, the talent he sees in his teammates is something he says has been there all along.
“Obviously, everyone is here because they are very talented players, and they can play really good baseball,” Amarista said. “It’s important for everyone to know their role and be able to do their roles and play with 100 percent and be able to help the team.”
If need be, Black can also utilize the talent of rookie Pat Valaika, 24, who’s time bouncing around between Triple-A and the bigs has proved extremely beneficial to himself and his teammates. And, whenever star third baseman Nolan Arenado, 26, needs one of his rare days off, Valaika’s always ready to fill the void when called upon.
“I think coming to the ballpark every day, my approach is just to contribute in any way, any role or position, pinch hit,” Valaika said. “It’s been good. I’ve gotten a sense of comfort up here since it’s been about [two] months. The best thing is playing on a winning team is fun.”
Because he’s been up and down from the majors to the minors since he got the call-up last September, Valaika’s seen the wide range of talent the Rockies organization houses and that, he said, is key.
“There’s a ton of great players in our organization, guys that I’ve played with through the years,” Valaika said. “They’re just preparing themselves for when they get the chance to help the team, so I think that’s probably why we’re pretty successful with guys coming up and down. Everyone kind of wants to contribute and be up here, be with this team and win games.”
Although it’s rare for second baseman DJ LeMahieu, 29, to miss action, much like Arenado, even the big-name guys needs a little rest and recuperation from time to time. For LeMahieu, the trust he places in his teammates comforts him whenever those off days do roll around.
“I think it’s good to have guys that play different positions, get to move the lineup around and play guys’ different spots,” LeMahieu said. “A lot of guys that move around the diamond, it seems like they don’t play any really that well, so they just try to kind of hide them. In our case, we got guys that are very good defensively at multiple positions, which is really nice.”
On a similar thread, Story just wants to do whatever’s best for the team, and with Black employing his full infield roster to keep the players as fresh as they can be, he’s content with taking a step back whenever is necessary.
“It’s great. It’s fun,” Story said. “We’re very prideful. We feel like we’re never out of a game if we get down quick or something like that. We put a lot of work into and it’s contagious for sure.”
While the W’s haven’t been coming much for the Rockies as of late, Valaika said he and his teammates rely on the energy, talent and camaraderie they’ve built the past few seasons to pull them out of their recent skid and turn things around.
“I think the energy in the clubhouse is a little different,” Valaika said. “I think winning’s contagious. Even when we do lose, we’re like, ‘Man, we don’t like this.’ We like winning a lot better. I think guys are just coming to the park every day. That’s our only goal, is to win tonight’s game.”
