Colorado Rockies Sign Domonic Brown to Minor League Deal
It was not that long ago when Domonic Brown looked like an emerging star for the Philadelphia Phillies. Yesterday, the Colorado Rockies inked the outfielder to a minor league contract.
Let us head all the way back to 2013. That season, Domonic Brown, a Philadelphia Phillies minor leaguer who had been ranked as the fourth best prospect in all of baseball, looked like he was ready to deliver on his potential. That year, he made the All Star Game, and had produced a .273/.320/.535 batting line with 23 home runs in the first half of the season. At 25 years old, it appeared that Brown was blossoming into a star.
However, the power disappeared in the second half of the season. While he still produced a .270/.333/.390 batting line, Brown had all of nine extra base hits in his final 44 games. That would set a tone for a disappointing 2014 campaign, where Brown produced a .235/.285/.349 batting line, hitting 10 home runs. After a putrid start to the 2015 campaign, Brown was sent to the minors.
After signing a minor league deal with the Blue Jays and spending last year in AAA, Brown became a free agent again. Yesterday, he signed another minor league deal, this time with the Colorado Rockies. Given their loaded outfield, Brown has quite the struggle ahead of him if he is going to return to the Majors, at least in Colorado.
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Right now, the Rockies currently have David Dahl, Charlie Blackmon, and Carlos Gonzalez set to start, with Gerardo Parra as the fourth outfielder. Meanwhile, Ian Desmond, who is currently slated to be the Rockies first baseman, could factor into the outfield mix on occasion. Brown certainly has his work cut out for him.
It is also fair to wonder if he has anything left. Last year, playing for the Buffalo Bisons, Brown had a meager .239/.303/.336 batting line, hitting only seven home runs in 464 at bats. It was a far cry from that torrid start to 2013, when he appeared to be a star in the making.
This may well be Brown’s last chance. If he is unable to show anything in Spring Training, or if he struggles at Albuquerque with the Isotopes, he may not gt another chance. It would be a sudden, and unexpected end, for a player who, just three years ago, appeared to be a future star.
The Colorado Rockies are taking a chance on Domonic Brown. This may be the last chance he gets.
