With changes at plate, Trejo eyes Opening Day roster spot 

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Having to audition for the utility infield job that he held most of last season for the Rockies, Alan Trejo played the part superbly on Saturday afternoon.

During the Rockies’ 6-2 loss to the Reds, Trejo launched his third home run of the spring -- a two-run shot in the top of the fifth off Reds starter Frankie Montas. Defense is the top priority, and Trejo -- who started at third base and later moved to second on Saturday -- ranged to his right and made a strong throw to retire Stuart Fairchild in the second inning.

Trejo, 27, has played 146 Major League games over three seasons and produced a .243 batting average with nine home runs and 46 RBIs. Trejo saw his most playing time last season, as he hit .232 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 83 games.

But when the Rockies signed right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson and catcher Jacob Stallings on Jan. 5, the Rockies designated Trejo for assignment to preserve a 40-man roster spot, then outrighted him to Triple-A Albuquerque. He came to camp as a non-roster invitee, but was the odds-on favorite for the utility job because of his Major League experience playing shortstop.

Still, the move threw Trejo into a precarious position -- and he is using his status as fuel.

“I’m at my best when I have a chip on my shoulder,” Trejo said. “When I got DFA’d it was, ‘That has nothing to do with whether they like me or not. It was a business decision.’

“It’s part of the game. I’m human and I have feelings. I understood. That’s why I came into Spring Training with a lot of energy. I wanted to do something new.”

Trejo played winter ball in Mexico for consistent at-bats, and trained at a Driveline facility to try to have a swing that can sustain the gaps in playing time that come with his role.

“I just simplified everything,” said Trejo. “I broke down my [2023] season, and I wasn’t getting many consecutive at-bats. As a role player, that’s completely fine, but I was trying to do too much.

“I had a lot of movement on my swing. Now, my stride is a lot shorter, I don’t have a leg kick, and I’m trying to be super-aggressive, work on my walks and not chase.”

Trejo remains the guy with the most experience. The Rockies acquired infielder-outfielder Greg Jones from the Rays on Thursday. Jones (who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his Rox Cactus League debut), installed as the Rockies’ No. 23 MLB Pipeline prospect, has a shortstop-center field skill set, but his highest level of experience is 51 games at Triple-A Durham last season.

Still, Trejo receiving the job is not a given because players are being released from various camps, with Opening Day next week. Pickups, or even trades involving versatile infielders, remain possible.

“I know I can play defense, and I’ve had a good spring offensively,” Trejo said. “Whatever they decide to do is out of my control. I just have to continue what I do.”

• Right-handed No. 2 starter Cal Quantrill had, by far, his roughest Spring Training outing -- 12 hits, including four homers, and six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Some of it was poor location, but a couple opposite-field shots were windblown -- and Quantrill’s reaction showed it.

Quantrill said the split-finger pitch he began showing last season with the Guardians has come along nicely, a right shoulder that gave him problems for most of last season is healthy, and, “I was pretty efficient, up until today.”

“There were a couple windblown homers -- they hit a couple of them good, too," said manager Bud Black. "That was an old-school Cactus League game from their guys. They got a couple balls up in the wind.”

• Veteran Kris Bryant was not in the lineup for a third straight game, but he and Black insisted there was no injury. The last two were the longest trips the Rockies have in the Cactus League (to Surprise and Goodyear).

“Just a couple days off before the craziness starts,” Bryant said.

Black said Bryant will be in the lineup Sunday against the White Sox.

• Rockies No. 10 prospect Benny Montgomery, entered after Nolan Jones sustained what the club announced as a right knee contusion, flashed his speed by doubling down the right-field line and stealing third.

Montgomery, 21, an All-Arizona Fall League selection in 2023, is expected to be part of what figures to be a talented outfield at Double-A Hartford.