St. Louis Cardinals Bench Help: Five Candidates

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Wilin Rosario, C/1B

Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

To the surprise of many inside and outside the organization, the Colorado Rockies jettisoned their one-time catcher of the future yesterday, giving up on his attempts to play first base. Actually, he played neither very well. Never really has. Rosario’s bat has always been his calling card, from the moment the Rockies signed him out of the Dominican Republic.

His bat, however, is another story. In 2012 and 2013, Rosario was a 2+ WAR player despite his defensive liabilities because he could hit the ball out of the yard and drive in runs. Then, perhaps in an effort to curb his strikeouts, Rosario saw barely 3 pitches per at bat and had his worst offensive season in the bigs. Before 2015, that is. By then Colorado has pretty much had enough, I guess, and relegated him to a backup role at first. His WAR for the season? -0.9.

Rockies GM said DFAing Rosario was about giving him the change of scenery he needs. And you wonder what kind of lift he’d get from being around Yadier Molina all year. I say the St. Louis Cardinals should give him a shot.