DENVER -- With his one-year contract with the Rockies made official on Thursday morning, second baseman Thairo Estrada can fully turn his attention to making his performance at Coors Field into one that can help his new club.

Estrada, who spent most of his career with the Giants before becoming a free agent, has a .348 batting average with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 24 games at Coors. Actually, Estrada played well against the Rockies at any venue -- .345, seven homers and 33 RBIs in 39 contests.

Now Estrada, who turns 29 on Feb. 22, joins the Rockies as the replacement for the non-tendered Brendan Rodgers at second base. Under a contract that guarantees him $4 million and has a mutual option for 2026, Estrada gives veteran presence to a squad that has struggled with over 100 losses each of the last two seasons, and is in a youth movement. Estrada being in the lineup means there will be development time for two key infield prospects: Adael Amador, 21, the Rockies’ No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline; and Ryan Ritter, 24, the team’s No. 12 prospect.

Here are some thoughts from a press conference on Thursday, with Edwin Perez of Rockies media relations translating Estrada’s answers in Spanish:

On how his approach helps him at Coors:
“My main focus is to hit it down the middle and let the ball run down there. Mentally, it’s going to help me. It’s going to be a great help for this team and I think I can do well at Coors Field.”

On adding a base-stealing threat to a club that is young, but last season was led by Brenton Doyle’s 30 stolen bases. Just one other player, Michael Toglia, finished with as many as 10:
“It’s a team that can be aggressive in all facets of the game, one that can steal bases, but one that can play small ball if necessary. But the thing that attracted me the most is that all these guys want to play and want to win. As a baseball player, I always want to go somewhere where everyone has that common mindset.”

After posting a .736 OPS for the Giants from 2021 to 2023, Estrada struggled through wrist and thumb injuries and had a .590 OPS when he was outrighted to Triple-A late last season. On his surprise at being dropped, after being considered a pivotal player for the Giants:
“You never expect to move. You always expect to be a big part of a team and a big part of an organization. But I understand that baseball is a business. It’s the reality of the sport. It’s something that you’ve got to accept and keep moving on.

“I'm very thankful for my time with the Giants and I'm very happy with those four years. But now I'm focused on being a Colorado Rockie and I'm very excited about the opportunity.”

On joining a strong defensive infield, which includes 2024 Gold Glove winner Ezequiel Tovar, four-time Gold Glove finalist Ryan McMahon and potential Gold Glove first baseman Toglia:
“The infield is very good. Guys like Ryan and ‘Tovie,’ it just makes me very excited. It’s going to be a chance to play with those guys who play very well, not only defensively, but offensively. The communication is going to be very good. I’ve also got to give credit to that outfield. The outfield plays very well.”

On his relationships with pitchers Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela, both fellow Venezuelans, and Tovar, a younger Venezuelan:
“I knew [Márquez and Senzatela] before we even signed [as amateur players]. I had conversations with them when I was with the Giants. ‘Tovie’ is the one who reached out to me and welcomed me into the organization. That's what makes it so exciting.

“‘Tovie’ is someone that I didn’t know too much [about] beforehand. He’s younger than me, but what a baseball player. He plays it the right way. He hits. He plays defense very well. He's someone that he's going to be a leader, someone that's huge for this franchise moving forward.”