This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers has undergone surgeries on each shoulder and, it turns out, has had several other close calls. It’s all enough to keep safety in the back of his mind.

But last week against the Padres, during one of his first games back from the left shoulder operation that cost him the first 105 games this season, third-base coach Warren Schaeffer felt compelled to move staying healthy to the top of Rodgers’ to-do list.

“I was on second and they had a pitching change, and I went over to Schaeff, and there were two outs,” Rodgers said in St. Louis during the weekend. “He was like, ‘Hey, make sure -- feet first.’ And I was like, ‘Thanks.’

“I had been around Schaeff for years, Low-A, Double-A, Triple-A, and I knew he was looking out for me.”

All the work Rodgers put into coming back from the injury, which occurred on Feb. 28 when he dove for a ball during a Spring Training game, led to a nice moment -- a single in his second 2023 at-bat last Monday, in a 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Padres.

But an ill-advised slide or collision could undo it all. 

Rodgers -- 5-for-21 (.238) with two RBIs since his return -- sustained the right shoulder injury on a throw in 2019, and aggravated it on a defensive play this spring. But he has come shoulder-to-shoulder with pain on baserunning plays, too.

“In high school, I actually injured it sliding head-first into home plate,” Rodgers said. “It came out and went right back in. It was very quick, but it happened. It probably happened another one or two times -- maybe once in the Minors, and obviously that dive.”

The risky plays aren't always a bad idea. Last year, Rodgers became a first-time winner of the Gold Glove and Fielding Bible awards at the position, in part because of his 19 diving plays as calculated by Sports Info Solutions.

Since his return, and even during his injury rehab assignment games at High-A Spokane and Triple-A Albuquerque, Rodgers has not had to dive -- or make a decision whether to dive -- to make a fielding play. The closest he came was at Albuquerque on July 27, when he went to his right and made this cross-body throw.

He can remind himself to go feet first when sliding into a base, but a batted ball is moving quickly, and instincts tend to rise. Rodgers believes increasing his range will allow him to play safer.

Last season, Rodgers improved on the grounder to the middle that required him to backhand the ball and make the throw, either on the run or planting his feet.

“I’ve worked a lot with Schaeff on expanding my range, really trying to stay on my feet,” Rodgers said. “That’s something we’ve worked on for a few months now.”

The Rockies want Rodgers healthy for next season -- his second of arbitration eligibility after he avoided a hearing this year with a $2.7 million agreement -- so he will slide feet first going into bases and at least try to remain standing on defense.

But after the season is done, Rodgers said he might take his shoulder on a test dive.

“You do want to expand your range, and test your limits, for sure,” said Rodgers, who is building a workout facility on land near his Orlando, Fla., home. “I will probably be practicing some diving this offseason.

“I feel good. My range feels good, my arm feels good. Confidence is high right now.”

For now, prudence must be as high as confidence.

Note: Mark Saxon in St. Louis contributed.