This seems sorta nutty at first blush but makes some sense once you think about it. Rockies manager Walt Weiss says that Carlos Gonzalez could get some work at first base during spring training.
The Rockies had an outfield logjam until yesterday, but then they traded Corey Dickerson to Tampa Bay and now everyone, more or less, has a slot. There could be a new logjam in the not-too-distant future, however, as the Rockies have a couple of outfield prospects in David Dahl and Raimel Tapia who look promising. Dahl has only played half a season of Double-A and Tapia hasn’t played higher than A-ball yet, but when you’re the Rockies you have to be looking at the future.
Gonzalez is 30. He played a full season last year, but the previous two years he suffered some injuries. And, while a healthy Gonzalez could certainly rebound with some nice seasons, it’s not wise to bet the world that he’ll be the hitter that he was in 2010-2013 for any sort of extended period. Making him versatile defensively and hedging against his legs going is probably pretty wise if you’re the Rockies. Doing things to extend your career is probably pretty wise if you’re Gonzalez.