Farmer looking to flip script and help Rockies make playoffs

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Veteran utility man Kyle Farmer is excited to play for the Rockies, after immensely enjoying facing them.

“To tell you the truth, we couldn't wait to face the Rockies last year and the year before,” Farmer said. “But hopefully we kind of turn those pages.”

Farmer has been dealing with flu-like symptoms and hasn’t played since knocking two hits on Sunday against the Mariners. But when he returns, the hope is he and the Rockies, under manager Bud Black, will be the right kind of sick.

That would be sick of losing, after reaching triple figures the last two years.

Farmer has finished three of his seasons in the postseason (2017 with the Dodgers, '20 with the Reds and '23 with the Twins), but he has seen enough of the other side to last a lifetime.

“Bud had a good meeting with us the first day -- said it was time for us to punch back against this division, against other teams,” Farmer said. “I mean, losing [over] 100 games last year, it's a pretty crappy thing to do. I was with the Reds, and we lost 100 games on the final day of the [2022] season. It's not fun.”

There is an important baseball reason the Rockies signed the 34-year-old Farmer. They’ve played third baseman Ryan McMahon through painful finishes the last two years, don’t want to continue to do the same to him or shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and have reason to rest second baseman Thairo Estrada and (rarely) first baseman Michael Toglia.

Signed for one year at $2.5 million with a mutual option of $4 million for next season or a $750,000 buyout, Farmer represents a departure from past strategies of either breaking in young players or signing lower-cost players for the bench. But inexperienced benches that are unproductive don’t promote winning. Neither do slow starts to a season because there is a huge drop-off when a mainstay has a game off.

While the Rockies’ bench players last season were 15th in batting average (.212) and seventh in OPS (.698), some of the best production was from outfielders Sam Hilliard (strong at the end) and Jake Cave (now playing in Korea). Colorado's bench must improve its on-base performance.

The bench’s .274 mark last season and .291 over the past two seasons rank 24th in MLB.

Expect Farmer to rotate at the various infield positions early and often.

“You can do it early for sure because you want to get your backup players in there as soon as you can,” said Black, who was impressed by Farmer as an opponent and heard positives when researching him before the signing. “You don’t want them to go through Spring Training and then put them on ice. The goal would be to get those guys involved as much as possible.

“Second, short, third and potentially first -- you’ve seen him play a bit of first here. With Kyle, we’re getting a steady player who’s done it, and we think the bat is going to play, as well.”

A career .250 hitter who hit 41 homers from 2021-23, Farmer had his last two seasons with the Twins affected by injury. He was hit in the face with a fastball from then-White Sox pitcher Luca Giolito in April 2023 and missed four weeks, and he missed time last season with a right shoulder strain.

Farmer understands the National League West from his time with the Dodgers from 2017-18, and he has fondness for his new home.

“My first big league triple was hit at Coors Field,” Farmer said. “It's a beautiful stadium. The division is very hard. There’s good pitching in this division, so it should be good to face all those really good pitchers. But it’s easy travel and pretty weather everywhere.”

The scenery is prettier when a team wins. And Farmer wants the Rockies to make sure visitors’ enjoyment is limited to mountain views and not the scoreboard at Coors.

“It’s all expectations and confidence,” Farmer said. “Honestly, anybody can win a baseball game at any point of the season and anybody can make the playoffs. Once you make the playoffs, you can get hot and who knows. So my goal for this team is to make the playoffs. There's no reason why we shouldn't, and I think that guys should start preparing for that.”