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The Rockies announced the unconditional release of veteran third baseman Casey Blake yesterday, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com.
On the mend from a neck injury that kept him out of much of the second half of 2011, the 38-year-old Blake had signed a non-guaranteed, $2 million Major League deal with the Rockies during the offseason.
Blake had only 3 hits in 20 ABs this spring and was unlikely to see much time at third this season with younger options like Nolan Arenado, Chris Nelson and Jordan Pacheco available.
Though Blake didn't become a full-time player until age 29, he had nine solid seasons split between the Indians and Dodgers. The righty hit .264/.337/.444 the last nine seasons, good enough for 23.5 WAR and a 108 OPS+,
With only a week to go until opening day for all but two teams, Blake's window of opportunity for getting picked up by another team is a small one.
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Rockies release Blake, eye youth for third base | ColoradoRockies.com: News
The Rockies unconditionally released third baseman Casey Blake on Tuesday, which most likely means the club will go young at the position to start the season.