Earlier this year, during the MLB offseason, Colorado Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds was in a familiar place.
As a journeyman utility infielder, Reynolds was once again without a home on a major league squad.
According to Denver Post Rockies beat writer Patrick Saunders, who joined 104.3 The Fan’s “The Drive” on Thursday, Colorado had offered Reynolds a deal in October after a strong 2016 campaign, but he wanted to test the free agency waters.
The 33-year-old did receive a $3 million offer to play in Korea, which he turned down, but with the Rockies signing Ian Desmond to a five-year, $70 million contract to play first base, all that was left was for Reynolds a minor league deal.
He took it and since has forged somewhat of a career renaissance.
In 2017, Reynolds has, according to Saunders, gone from a “guy without a home” and a one-time slugger with a penchant for striking out often to a solid defensive first baseman whose offensive numbers make him All-Star worthy.
“The way Mark Reynolds is playing — not just offensively, his defense has been superb — yes, he’s having an All-Star-type year. Whether that translates to him playing in Miami in July, that’s another matter. But yes, in my mind, he deserves it,” Saunders said.
The one problem with Reynolds making the National League squad in July’s All-Star Game is the log-jam ahead of him at first base.
The guys ahead of him — Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt, Adrian Gonzalez, and so on — have more name recognition and can elicit more publicity in larger markets.
“The problem is you have big names in front of him, Goldschmidt for one. These guys ahead of him who are big name players, they’re going to get all the votes and the pub,” Saunders said.
Not to mention, Ian Desmond, who missed a good chunk of the early part of the season, is the official first baseman of record on All-Star ballots.
But Reynolds trails Ryan Zimmerman, Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto, and Goldschmidt in batting average and only Zimmerman in home runs, along with leading all NL first baseman in RBIs.
And it makes for quite a story.
“What I really like about Reynolds is he signed with the Rockies minor league deal, so there were no guarantees he was going to make any money … there was not even a guarantee that he’d make the team,” Saunders said. “He turned down $3 million to Korea to play because he didn’t want to, and he came back to the Rockies because he’d been on other teams, such as the Cardinals, where he saw something special brewing, and he saw that with the Rockies last year.
“And he wanted to be a part of it. And, lo and behold, it turns out that now he’s the full-time first baseman. It’s a great story.”
After a strong 2016 season, Reynolds opted to test free agency despite receiving a lucrative offer to play in Korea. Ultimately, he signed a minor league deal with the Rockies, which has led to a remarkable turnaround in his performance. This resurgence parallels the stories of athletes in other sports, such as Daniel Alves, who has also made headlines recently. Alves called for Lionel Messi to return to Barcelona, showcasing the ongoing connections and narratives in the world of sports. Just as Reynolds has revitalized his career with the Rockies, the dynamics of player relationships and movements continue to shape the landscape of professional sports.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
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