Rockies Sign Infielder Melvin Mora

Just hours after hearing they missed out on Orlando Cabrera, the Colorado Rockies have found an alternative, signing utility infielder Melvin Mora to a one-year contract:

Melvin Mora agrees to one-year deal with Rockies.

Mora deal with Rockies worth $1.3 million. Will be super-utility.

Rockies blog Purple Row has some comments on the move:

Mora, who has spent most of his time at third base, gives the Rockies a bunch of flexibility off the bench, as he also has experience playing shortstop, second base, and all three outfield positions. Mora, as recently as 2008, has been a league average performer (in the tougher AL to boot) and really gives the Rockies some great late game options as a right-handed hitter off the bench with the threat of power.

38 years old, Mora's performance slipped rather significantly in 2009, losing just 25 points of batting average but 125 points of slugging as his homer total dropped from 23 to 8. He also hasn't played any position other than third base regularly since 2003. So the Rockies will be taking a known risk, as they hope that Mora still has some life left in his bat and his legs. Still, it's a low-money, low-risk contract, and should Mora fail to regain some of his prior ability, the Rockies should have little problem kicking him out of the way to make room for prospect Eric Young, a speedster utility sort who hit .299 last year in AAA.