Rodgers shows what he can do at shortstop

DENVER -- Rockies rookie Brendan Rodgers took over at shortstop when Trevor Story left the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Mets with a right elbow injury. Since then, Rodgers has played every inning and was at short once more Tuesday night against the Rangers at Coors Field.

But Rockies manager Bud Black is careful not to term this as Rodgers’ tryout for the shortstop job when the Rockies’ post-Story era begins. Rodgers also speaks like a man just playing where the manager puts him. Nevermind that it has been the position he has played for the bulk of his 24 years.

Besides, with Story healing quickly and due back June 8 at Miami, Rodgers will move back to second base.

“I’m used to seeing ‘shortstop’ in the book -- that’s all I saw pretty much up until Double-A, when I started splitting short and second,” Rodgers said. “So I’m used to seeing that “6” up there, and not used to seeing that “4,” honestly. But I try not to think about that too much.

“I know I can play the middle infield very well. Put me wherever you want. I make plays, and I keep working to get better every day.”

It’s an interesting dynamic. The Rockies are not contending and Story is headed for free agency at season’s end, so a changing of the guard is expected.

Rodgers was the top pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, third overall out of Lake Mary (Fla.) High School. The route to the Majors has had bumps, with less-than-scintillating performance and season-ending shoulder injuries in 2019 and 2020.

But Rodgers’ attributes -- a short, thumping swing and lively legs -- began showing this spring, after the trade of third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals toppled enough pins to open second base for Rodgers.

A right hamstring injury kept Rodgers out until May 21, and while a bad road trip (most everyone on the Rockies had one) lowered his average to .192 going into Tuesday, early returns on his approach and his fitting in as a Major Leaguer have been positive.

The Rockies have turned Rodgers loose to deal with the ebbs and flows that a daily lineup member faces.

“That’s a good way to put it -- I’m definitely feeling like a part of the team, on the bus with the guys,” Rodgers said. “It just feels like everybody is pulling together with this team. We’ve got a pretty young core with some older vets. Everyone’s trying to take advantage of their opportunities.

“We’re building that bond. We’re going to come along. We already feel it paying off.”

However it happens, will Rodgers provide a payoff at shortstop, or will he be part of an amoeba-like infield? Already, Ryan McMahon has excelled at second base and third base, Joshua Fuentes at third and first.

On Tuesday, the Rockies recalled middle infielder Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque, and Black said that Trejo and Rodgers are part of the “middle infield” until Story returns.

None of this means Black is ruling out Rodgers at short in the future. So far, he keeps putting him in the lineup there. But Black is open to many infield structures, especially with McMahon and Fuentes able to change positions during a game.

“It depends on how they play, whether they can really solidify a position,” Black said. “With this present group, I think you’re going to continue to see some changes, potentially on a daily basis.”

As for Rodgers showing he can solidify short, the sample size is small. In the sixth inning of Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Mets, he showed shortstop instinct -- and saved a run -- by picking up a grounder that tipped off McMahon’s glove and firing to the plate to force James McCann. But in Pittsburgh, he missed out on a double play when he made the force at second himself, instead of letting the second baseman handle it.

Still, since his first Major League Spring Training in 2018, when Rodgers was taken aback by the speed of the game, he has shown Major League mettle in the field.

Where in the field? That answer is to come in good time.