Rockies' Blackmon 'perplexed at first' by Parra deal

For months now, pundits have been waiting for the Colorado Rockies to trade one of their outfielders, so incumbent center fielder Charlie Blackmon was, admittedly, a bit surprised when his club inked Gerardo Parra to a three-year, $27.5-million deal earlier this week.

"I was a little perplexed at first," Blackmon told Nick Groke of the Denver Post. "I didn't see it coming. I didn't know that was in play."

"... But after looking at it, he's a great player. He has one of the best arms in the league. He can only make us better."

Parra, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, is tentatively poised to join Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, and Corey Dickerson on Colorado's 25-man roster, though all three holdovers have surfaced in trade rumors this offseason. Sources told Jon Heyman of MLB Network in November that Gonzalez is available again, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier this month that Blackmon and Dickerson are in play, as well.

After finalizing Parra's deal, however, Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich attempted to downplay trade expectations, noting that "having too much depth is a good thing."

"I know it's popular to expect a trade, but it's tough to put odds on it right now," Bridich told reporters. "The last thing I want to do is apologize for bringing more talent into this organization."

If Bridich opts not to make a trade, manager Walt Weiss will be tasked with finding playing time for four outfielders accustomed to taking the field every day, all of whom hit left-handed and posted above-average offensive numbers in 2015.

Blackmon isn't worried about the increasingly crowded outfield, though.

"We'll find a way to make it work," he said.