1:17pm: Descalso will receive a $3.6MM guarantee, agent Steve Cantor tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). He will earn $1.5MM this year and $2.1MM next, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Each contract year also includes up to $500K in attainable incentives.
1:07pm: The Rockies have signed utility infielder Daniel Descalso to a two-year deal, the club announced. Descalso, 28, was non-tendered by the Cardinals earlier in the offseason; he had been projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn $1.4MM.
Though he has spent most of his time at third and second, Descalso has played over 100 games at short as well. And his left-handed bat also increases his versatility for a club like Colorado, which fields three right-handed-hitting infielders at those positions.
On the other hand, defensive metrics have never been in love with his glove, especially at short. And Descalso owns a lifetime .243/.313/.341 slash over parts of five seasons. He has never finished a campaign with an OPS+ of greater than 91 or lower than 72, and he has settled right in the middle of that range in each of the last two years.
Notably, moreover, Descalso has fairly significant reverse platoon splits over his career: a .643 OPS against righties and a .696 mark versus same-handed pitchers. If that is a reflection of his true talent, then he may be less of a fit than might be seemed at first glance.
