Let’s talk about Ramón Urías

Is he the utility infielder the Rockies are looking for?

Renee Dechert

02 Jan 2026 — 4 min read

Ramón Urías

Increasingly, I’m of the mind that the Colorado Rockies will probably platoon Troy Johnston and Blaine Crim at first to give Charlie Condon more development time. Instead, they will look for a utility infielder with experience at the other positions to both platoon and mentor a young infield staff.

I’ve written before about the possibility of signing Willi Castro, an option I think that’s still on the table. But for this newsletter, I wanted to explore some other possibilities.

My methodology is not sophisticated. I started with the list of available second base free agents, and then looked to see how many of them had experience playing other infield positions. MLB.com’s list is worth sharing.

Of the available second basemen, five of them have spent time playing for the Rockies. I assumed they were probably not returning, so I went with this list:

Dylan Moore
Ramón Urías
Luis Rengifo
Adam Frazier

Each player has experience playing every infield position (save catcher). Here’s how they compare, according to FanGraphs:

None of them are especially stellar, but given that the Rockies are looking for a utility defender, Uriás’ defensive numbers stood out. In terms of offense, his 87 wRC+ would tie him for sixth (along with Ryan McMahon) on the current Rockies’ roster. So while an 87 wRC+ is well below replacement level, so was much of the Rockies’ offense in 2025. Eleven home runs would tie him for sixth as well (with Michael Toglia).

How would he compare to the rest of the Rockies?

That’s easy to find out, thanks to FanGraphs:

Only Tyler Freeman had a lower K%, and he would have been one of the better defenders. Most of Urías’ value comes from his defense, which would be of little help to a struggling Rockies offense.

Urías only played two games at Coors Field, so there’s really not any data to see how he might play at elevation. But in seven plate appearances, he had two hits and struck out once.

Defensively, he’s played all four infield positions over the course of his career with the majority of his innings coming at third (2822.2) and second (712.2). Urías has played 419.0 innings at short and 92 at first. In terms of the numbers, over the course of his career, he as 0 DRS at first; 11 at second; 18 at third; and -11 at short.

Would this be a great signing for a contending team? No. But for the Rockies, he might be a nice fit giving them experience and versatility as Paul DePodesta implements his system and inventories the roster he has been given.

This is out of order, but could you provide some background info?

Sure.

The 31 year old is a native of Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico, who signed as an international free agent with the Texas Rangers in 2010.

In 2013, the Rangers loaned Urías to Los Diablos Rojas del Mexico, and he spent the next five years there. That changed in March 2018 when he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Urías never got out of their MiLB system, however, and was DFA’d in 2020.

The Baltimore Orioles claimed him off waivers in February 2020, and he became their primary third baseman. In fact, in 2022, he won the AL Gold Glove, the first Oriole to do so in seven years. After that, his career with the Birds was fine, if unremarkable, and Urías was traded to the Houston Astros at the 2025 trade deadline.

In 35 appearances for the Astros, he slashed .223/.267/.372, including three home runs, 10 RBI, and one stolen base. After the season ended he was DFA’d.

One other note: Urías is a righty, leaving Crim the lone infield lefty.

What does the salary look like?

According to Spotrac, he signed a one-year deal for $3.15 million with the Orioles. He has one year remaining before becoming a free agent, so he would probably be a more cost-effective signing than Willi Castro with his projected two-year, $14 million contract. (MLB Trade Rumors projects Urías will earn a $4.4 million salary.) Plus, if he has a good season and takes to Coors Field, the Rockies could potentially move him at the trade deadline.

Is this happening?

One of the strange things about this offseason is that no one has any idea what Paul DePodesta has in mind in terms of roster building — just speculation.

But if the Rockies decide to sign a utility infielder, they could do worse than Urías.

Presumably, since the holidays are over, the Rockies will begin making moves soon, and we’ll have a better idea of the plan.

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