Earlier this month, the Rockies agreed to a three-year deal with Gerardo Parra, who spent 2015 with the Brewers and Orioles. The move caught many off guard considering the Rockies already had three quality outfielders in Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, and Corey Dickerson. Naturally, one of those three was a little confused.
That man is Blackmon who, while ultimately seeing the addition of Parra as move to make the team better, admitted to being a little perplexed by the signing.
Charlie Blackmon on #Rockies adding G. Parra: "I was a little perplexed at first. I didn't see it coming. I didn't know that was in play…"
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) January 23, 2016
Add Blackmon: "..But after looking at it, he's a great player. He has one of the best arms in the league. He can only make us better."
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) January 23, 2016
"We'll find a way to make it work," Blackmon said, of Gerardo Parra joining a lefty-heavy #Rockies outfield.
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) January 23, 2016
Blackmon certainly isn’t the only one who scratched his/her head after initially hearing of the news. Speculation quickly began that one of Blackmon, Gonzalez, or Dickerson would be put on the trade block, which may be the case.
If one of the three is on the way out, it would alleviate figuring out how to get all four adequate playing time. If not, manager Walt Weiss will have an unenviable task on his hands during the season. Gonzalez has twice been an All-Star, won three Gold Glove Awards, and he hit 40 home runs last year. Blackmon has an All-Star Game to his credit and hit .287 with 31 doubles and 17 home runs with 43 stolen bases in 2015. Dickerson was limited to just 65 games because of injuries but still managed to hit .304 with 18 doubles and 10 home runs. Parra hit .291 with 36 doubles, 14 home runs and stole 14 bases.
H/T Sporting News
