{"id":637368,"date":"2026-03-22T16:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/637368\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T16:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T16:00:34","slug":"this-week-in-purple-rockies-infielder-ryan-ritter-diversifies-his-on-field-portfolio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/637368\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Purple: Rockies infielder Ryan Ritter diversifies his on-field portfolio"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a busy spring training for Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan Ritter<\/a>, who made his MLB debut in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to playing second, third, and short, he\u2019s also spend some time in the outfield. But, as he told Purple Row, he\u2019s ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n

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Lessons learned in 2025<\/p>\n

While there were any number of lessons to be learned in the Rockies historically bad 2025, for Ritter, it was about learning to pace himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a long, very long season,\u201d Ritter said, \u201cso just making sure that I\u2019m really taking care of my my sleep, my meals right after the game and just staying strong all year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he, like many MLB players, found himself losing too much weight during a grueling season, Ritter is on track to do better in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just know that this year, that\u2019s not gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to spending the offseason in the weight room, Ritter also began working on setting a sustainable routine \u2014 even if it\u2019s a little dull.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis year, I have a good routine,\u201d he said. \u201cI make sure I do the boring things every day, just keeping it simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching and spring training changes<\/p>\n

So far, Ritter likes the changes put in place by the Rockies front office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great,\u201d he said, pointing to all the new coaches and players. \u201cWe\u2019ve been all getting along really well here, and it\u2019s been very competitive, but it\u2019s how you want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ritter, he appreciates the \u201csmall things\u201d happening in camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to learn and improve on every part of my game. So I definitely like hearing from them more often this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exploring the outfield grass<\/p>\n

Ritter has spent most of his MLB career playing the infield. But with the Rockies emphasis on versatility<\/a>, they\u2019ve given Ritter a shot at showing what he can do in the outfield.<\/p>\n

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But Warren Schaeffer and his staff didn\u2019t give him much notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day I found I was playing left field, it was like, \u2018Hey, you play left before?\u2019 I said, \u2018No.\u2019\u201d And then bench coach Jeff Pickler<\/a> told Ritter it was his time. Ritter took a few outfield reps, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just been making it part of my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coaching staff has helped with the transition and he become a more diverse utility player.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coaches get me prepared from pregame work, and I just use my athletic ability to make it work,\u201d Ritter said.<\/p>\n

Clearly, the Rockies are seeing what Ritter can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve played a game this year where it\u2019s been back-to-back the same position,\u201d Ritter said. \u201cSo they\u2019re definitely putting me in positions to play all these different positions, and it\u2019s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He added, \u201cI\u2019m getting more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, when asked his favorite position, Ritter had a quick answer: \u201cI played infield my whole life, so I\u2019m a shortstop at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, it seems likely Ritter will break camp with the Rockies given his flexibility. For a player in only his second MLB season, it\u2019s a positive sign.<\/p>\n

To Read (Rockpiles)To Read (State of the Position)<\/p>\n

Full Stream<\/a><\/p>\n

To Read (Other)Weekend Discussion Topics<\/p>\n

Who will be the fifth starter? Who will be the backup catcher? Who will be the starting first basemen? Who will make the bullpen? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n

Please keep in mind our\u00a0Purple Row Community Guidelines<\/a>\u00a0when you\u2019re commenting. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a busy spring training for Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan Ritter, who made his MLB debut in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2405],"tags":[5,14336,49,167,52,4316,1022,4,516,67097,168,18107,151,1605,129],"class_list":{"0":"post-637368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-rockies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-brett-sullivan","10":"tag-chicago-white-sox","11":"tag-colorado","12":"tag-colorado-rockies","13":"tag-coloradorockies","14":"tag-kyle-freeland","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-nicky-lopez","17":"tag-purple-row","18":"tag-rockies","19":"tag-ryan-ritter","20":"tag-spring-training","21":"tag-the-rockies","22":"tag-willi-castro"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116273667537715512","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}