The biggest waste of money in Denver sports is Ian Desmond.

The Rockies are paying Desmond $22 million in 2018. Are you kidding me? Desmond is higher paid than Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

Desmond’s bat isn’t worth 22 cents. Combine his woeful on-base percentage and alarming lack of power, and Desmond’s wins above replacement ranks 598th in the major leagues. He’s also miscast as a first baseman, although manager Bud Black keeps inserting Desmond’s name on the lineup card at the wrong position, because it echoes the misguided logic that prompted general manager Jeff Bridich to waste all that money on Desmond in the first place.

This, it seems to me, is a problem. What, if anything, can the Rockies do about it?

Well, firing the hitting coach won’t help. Maybe Duane Espy will be made the scapegoat for the team’s offensive struggles, but it’s not Espy’s fault that since April 5, Desmond has 10 hits in 85 at-bats (.117 batting average). That’s not a slump. It’s a catastrophe.

Ryan McMahon quickly showed he’s not quite ready for prime time at age 23, and was sent back to the minors to work on his craft. Carlos Gonzalez has volunteered in the past to take ground balls at first base, but that move would have no more potential than stopgap relief.

Bridich needs to do what should have been done no later than January, if the Rockies were truly serious about being a playoff contender. He needs to acquire a proven first baseman. I like Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox. Maybe other hitting connoisseurs would prefer Bridich go after star Joey Votto in Cincinnati.

But why wait until mid-summer to obtain help for Colorado’s sputtering offense? I would prefer to applaud victories rather than point a finger of blame at Desmond, wouldn’t you?

At this point in his career, with Colorado on the hook for $38 million to him beyond this season, what is Desmond?

He’s an amazingly versatile defensive player. So let the salvage project begin there. The Rockies are not the Yankees or Dodgers. Colorado can’t afford to admit the five-year, $70 million deal Bridich gave him in December 2016 was a mistake and simply move on.

Here’s what Black can do: Quit relying on Desmond as an everyday player at any single position, but keep writing his name on the lineup card as a super utility player.

Desmond made his name as a shortstop with the Washington Nationals, where he not only demonstrated a reliable glove at the game’s toughest position to field, but also hit .292 with 25 homers in 2012, earning him an invitation to the All-Star Game.

When forced to remake himself as an outfielder for Texas in 2016, Desmond’s work ethic not only drew praise from the Rangers, he adapted so well moving from the dirt to the grass that Desmond should no longer be viewed as a corner outfielder, but also trusted to roam the much larger territory in center field.

His command at first base has improved through pure tenacity, one of Desmond’s more admirable qualities. And here’s betting he could look smooth turning a double play at second base, given a little time to master the footwork around the bag.

When the Rockies acquired Desmond, I figured the deal only made sense if they were signing him to be a jack of all trades, in the mold of Ben Zobrist or Marwin Gonzalez, whose versatility has helped teams win the World Series in each of the last three seasons. Related Articles Kiszla: Hey, Fakers. The Nuggets just burst your bubble of invincibility with 114-106 victory

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We all now understand playing half a major-league schedule at 5,280 feet above sea level is tough on the body. Desmond could play five days a week for the Rockies, and in the process give much-needed rest and recovery time to Trevor Story at shortstop, DJ LaMahieu at second base, David Dahl in left field, Charlie Blackmon in center and Abreu (a guy can dream, can’t he?) at first base.

Sure, there would be complications in the math of getting Desmond on the field, because Blackmon is too valuable to sit down once a week, and there would be times when LaMahieu is swinging too hot a bat to take out of the lineup. But this isn’t advanced calculus; Black is more than capable of figuring out a position next to Desmond’s name in the seven hole of the batting order.

What have the Rockies got to lose? Desmond’s time in Denver seems doomed to end poorly as a first baseman.

But, at age 32, it’s not too late for Desmond to begin re-inventing himself as the best Swiss Army Knife in baseball.