Tovar hopes the All-Star break sparks offensive improvement

DENVER – Maybe a quiet All-Star break is the springboard that Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar needs.

In March, the logical belief was that Tovar’s performance while helping Venezuela win the World Baseball Classic would catapult him into 2026. Tovar not only earned All-WBC honors, but also shed his usually reserved manner for one that could be described as enraptured.

To say Tovar’s first half was joyless would be an overstatement. But lasting joy has eluded him. The most recent road trip – Los Angeles and San Francisco for seven games – summed up his plight. On July 6 in the opener at Dodger Stadium, he homered on a pull shot on the 11th pitch of an at-bat against lefty Eric Lauer on a high fastball – a pitch he has mysteriously struggled with. He also had a sacrifice fly. But he finished the trip 2-for-22.

Identified as a potential leader since his debut in late 2022, Tovar will have to begin his second-half resurgence on another day. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Friday night's 7-2 loss to the Reds at Coors Field. He is slashing .198/.241/.327 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs.

“I’m still working, trying my best to turn the page, and be better, and help the team the most I can,” said Tovar. “I’m still working, giving my effort every day. Just believe in God and believe in myself.”

The 24-year-old offered plenty of reason to believe in 2024, his second full season, when he batted .269 with a team-best 26 home runs and a National League-leading 45 doubles. Hip and oblique injuries made last season as forgettable for him as for the 43-119 Rockies. The Rockies are by no means turned around, but they entered the second half with four fewer victories than all of last season, and from June 1 to the break they led the Majors in OPS (.822) and extra-base hits (144) and their 215 runs were second to the Brewers’ 221.

No one expected Tovar to look strangely like a throwback to last year's Rockies. His swing rates overall (62.6 percent) and on the first pitch (55.4 percent) led MLB-qualified players. Maybe the post-break period could lead to Tovar joining his suddenly efficient offensive teammates.

“The All-Star break can absolutely be looked at as a reset for guys that are maybe not playing the way they want to play,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “It’s a great time to get away, get with your families, not think about baseball for two, three, four days and get back at it for almost a fresh start.”

Occasional big swings, such as a walk-off homer in an 8-6 victory over the Giants on May 29 and shots this month against the Giants and Dodgers, sparked crossed fingers, only for the season to descend back into its star-crossed ways.

The best that can be said is Tovar hasn’t turned cross. His reaction to his struggles is winning over his teammates.

“We all respect that maybe things haven’t been going the way you want, but you still show up every single day; you’re still the same guy,” outfielder Jake McCarthy said. “You know that guy competes, and he plays a hell of a shortstop. I played against him for a long time [with the Diamondbacks in the Minors and Majors], and it’s a pleasure to play with him.”

As much as the Rockies need him, the invitation is not open-ended. Starting in May in Cincinnati, Schaeffer has pulled Tovar for a pinch-hitter – usually left-handed-hitting Troy Johnston or switch-hitting Willi Castro – when he felt the Rockies truly needed someone to come through.

In a 7-6 win over the Giants on July 5, Schaeffer went to Castro in the seventh. Castro singled, but didn’t make a key defensive play that Tovar likely would have.

Tovar realizes he can’t claim anything until he regains his full form.

“Schaeff is the boss, so I can say nothing about that – he’ll do what is best for the team at that moment,” Tovar said. “I need to work to get better. I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities. If I don’t do the job, I cheer for my teammates.

“I want to keep my head up, stay in the present.”