Rockies sign Blake, swap Reynolds for Tracy

DENVER – The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has agreed to a one-year Major League contract with free agent infielder Casey Blake. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, per club policy. Additionally, the Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has acquired infielder Chad Tracy from the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Greg Reynolds. Tracy, will receive a non-roster invite to Major League Spring Training.

Blake, 38, will be joining the sixth Major League team during his 13-year Major League career. The Des Moines, IA native spent the 2011 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his fourth season with Los Angeles, and batted .252 (51-for-202) with 10 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 26 RBI in 63 games. The right-handed hitter has batted .264 (1186-for-4500) with 264 doubles, 18 triples, 167 home runs and 616 RBI in 1,265 career games. The 2011 season marked Blake’s first since 2002 that he played in fewer than 109 Major League games. Additionally, Blake had at least 20 doubles and 15 home runs in eight-straight seasons from 2003-10.

Blake has spent the majority of his career as a third baseman, playing 923 career games at the hot corner. Blake has also seen significant time at first base (116 games) and in the outfield (242 games) over his career. In 30 career games at Coors Field, he has batted .311 (32-for-103) with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs and 23 RBI. Blake was selected by Toronto in the seventh round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft out of Wichita State University. He has played in the Majors with Toronto (1999), Minnesota (2000-02), Baltimore (2001), Cleveland (2003-08) and the Dodgers (2008-11).

Tracy, 26, batted .259 with 32 doubles, 2 triples, 26 home runs and 109 RBI in 134 games for Triple-A Round Rock in 2011. His 26 home runs and 109 RBI led the Round Rock club and set a new Round Rock single-season franchise record. Additionally, Tracy’s 109 RBI were tied for the Pacific Coast League lead and lead all Rangers farmhands last season. Originally selected in the third round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Pepperdine University, Tracy is a .269 (704-for-2619) career hitter with 167 doubles, 111 home runs and 472 RBI over parts of six Minor League seasons, all in the Rangers organization. The right-handed hitter and thrower was named to the Texas League Post-Season All-Star team in 2009 after a season in which he batted .279 (149-for-535) with 32 doubles, 26 home runs and 107 RBI. Tracy is the son of Rockies Manager Jim Tracy.

Reynolds, 26, split the 2011 season between Triple-A Colorado Springs and in the Majors with Colorado. With the Rockies he went 3-0 with a 6.19 ERA (32.0 ip, 22 er) in 13 appearances/3 starts over five stints. At Triple-A Colorado Springs he went 6-7 with a 6.81 ERA (109.2 ip, 83 er) with 65 strikeouts and 32 walks in 19 starts. The Pacifica, CA native has a career Major League record of 5-8 with a 7.47 ERA (94.0 ip, 78 er) over two seasons (2008, 2011) with the Rockies. Additionally, Reynolds has a career Minor League record of 21-18 with a 4.70 ERA (377.1 ip, 197 er). Reynolds was originally selected by the Rockies in the first round, second overall, of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Stanford.

The Rockies now have 39 players on the 40-man roster with the addition of Blake.