Joriksson Brovar is preparing to join the Rockies

Scottsdale, Arizona. — A reported Sunday morning agreement with key-hitting slugger Jorison Provar addressed the key needs the Rockies hope to fill each off-season.

According to a source, the 30-year-old is set to join Colorado on a one-year contract worth $7.75 million with an additional $1 million possible if he reaches 400 appearances. He has been described as the team’s starting left fielder and leadoff hitter.

The club did not confirm the physically pending deal.

If all goes as expected, Profar will be at camp later this week and will have about a week to prepare for his season opener on March 28 at Petco Park in San Diego — the place he called home in 2021 and ’22 before dropping out of the final year. from his three-year, $21 million contract with the Padres.

During the World Baseball Classic, Brovar hit . 231 (4-for-13) with one home run, three strikeouts, and three walks for Holland, a squad managed by Rocky hitting coach Hensley Mullins.

As a left fielder for San Diego in 2022, Brovar posted career highs in games played (152), plate appearances (658) and bWAR (3.1) while slashing .243/.331/.391 with 15 batters, 36. doubles, 58 RBIs and 73 walks.

The signing is the last piece needed in the Rockies’ plan to move Kris Bryant from left field to right field, with Yonathan Daza expected to play quarterback.

Bryant was limited to 42 games last year – the first of a seven-year, $182 million contract – due to injuries to his back and right foot. Upon joining the Rockies, Bryant found the deep gap between left and center to be a “graveyard.” The right has a tricky out-of-town scoreboard and includes more throwing but has less surface area to cover than the left. Designated hitter Charlie Blackmon, who is expected to return soon from back pain and be ready to start the regular season, can play right field when Bryant has an off day.

Provar also improves club depth. Before spring training began, Randall Grichuk underwent a bilateral sports hernia operation that would delay the start of his season. Throughout camp, Harold Castro, the unlisted utility man, emerged as the top choice on the left. Now Castro can be used as a multi-season, left-handed batter he was during his five seasons with the Tigers.

Since the start of camp, the Rockies have added three veterans in hopes of snapping a surprise campaign in the NL West after last year’s 68-94 finish. They added lefty reliever Brad Hand to a bullpen that was already bolstered with offseason picks Brent Suter and Pierce Johnson. Two weeks ago, the Rockies clinched a Minor League contract with cornerback Mike Moustakas, who went 9-for-18 Sunday with a home run, three doubles and eight RBI on his way to being the Opening Day roster.

Provar has come a long way since several outlets listed him as #1 in 2013 while he was with the Rangers. Although he made his MLB debut at the age of 19 in 2012, it would be another six years before he became a regular starter in the Texans’ lineup.

Brovar was slated to take over as the Rangers’ second baseman when the club replaced Ian Kinsler prior to 2014, but he injured his right shoulder during spring training and ended up missing the entire season. The surgery on the shoulder the following February cost Provar in 2015 as well.

After playing just 112 games during 2016-17, Profar had something of a breakthrough in 2018, playing as a utility player and hitting . 254 with 20 homers, 10 steals and a . 793 OPS over 594 appearances for the Rangers. However, Texas sent him to the A’s in December in a three-team, seven-player deal that also included the Rays.

He spent a season with Oakland before being traded to the Padres in December 2019, and returned to San Diego on a three-year contract after becoming a free agent the following season.

Profar is a career . 238 hitter with 78 home runs, 313 RBIs, and . 708 OPS over 836 big-league games.