Tovar ready to put full season together in '26 -- but first, the Classic

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar packed for Sunday’s trip to Miami to join Team Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic, having put behind him a Saturday that defined the worst of Spring Training – a hot and drawn-out 16-3 loss to the Royals.

Tovar stayed around for three at-bats, which took longer than they should have because of Rockies pitching which walked 15.

At 24, Tovar is an old enough soul to realize the season is most important but enthusiastic enough to relish games with some juice. He has played more than many mainstay players during February (3-for-14 with a homer in five games) just to put himself in position for the intensity jump.

“You have to get ready, because you’re going to go play actual, competitive games -- you’re not going to play friendlies,” Tovar said, with Edwin Perez interpreting. “So you get ready in that sense, but it’s getting ready at a normal [regular-season] rhythm.”

But when the fun and noise of the WBC is over, Tovar will return to a Rockies camp that has all the good vibes.

Tovar appreciates the atmosphere with the new way of doing business under manager Warren Schaeffer, who is no longer the interim boss.

“It’s a complete overturn,” he said. “You have new faces. You have a new front office. You have new players in the clubhouse -- a complete overhaul and change, a new mentality. But at the end of the day, we have to find ways to win games. We’re trying to find different methods to win games.

“But it’s one thing to say stuff. It’s another to actually show it. We’ve got to show that things have changed, and moved in a better direction.”

So that’s a specific challenge that Tovar has laid for himself and the rest of the Rockies. But his way of preparing for it is general. Healthy after being limited to 95 games last year (.253 average, nine home runs, 33 RBIs) by a hip injury in April and an oblique injury in June, Tovar is trying to do more than recapture 2024 – a Gold Glove Award, plus 26 home runs and 45 doubles.

Even in a truncated 2025, he made improvements in selectiveness -- 21 walks in 390 plate appearances, after 23 walks in 695 plate appearances in ‘24.

To improve, Tovar has chosen a holistic approach.

“I’m always looking to improve in every aspect of the game, not one specifically,” Tovar said. “If I tell you I’m only focused on one area of the game, I’d be lying to you. As a player, you can always find room for improvement. There are always ways to grow as a player.

“It’s the same swing. It’s more about finding a rhythm right now.”

Tovar will be able to share that rhythm with fellow players from his home nation like never before. Tovar said earlier this spring he represented the country in a youth tournament in Puerto Rico, but during his youth most big competitions were zonal, with players who lived nearby. With MLB scouts having difficulty being allowed to travel into and around Venezuela, he was brought to the Dominican Republic with other young players by an agent who moved his academy there.

Tovar was 13 when a Rockies scout heard the ball leaving his bat. The team stayed with him and signed him at first opportunity.

This will be Tovar’s first time playing with many of his Team Venezuela teammates. He will have company in right-hander Antonio Senzatela, who said he is scheduled to pitch Wednesday in an exhibition game against the Nationals at West Palm Beach, Fla.

Tovar lives in Miami in the offseason, and will be cheered on by family while meeting new baseball teammates.

“To be able to represent the country and my family, I’m very happy,” he said. “It’s not about trying to do everything too much. I’m trying to be a team player – do my part in the team and help, and help the whole country.”