SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Early mornings and car horns usually don’t make a perfect pair, but Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy couldn’t help putting the two together during his first few days of spring training.

Traded in January from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Rockies, McCarthy was familiar with Colorado from playing in the same division for five seasons. He was also familiar with the layout of Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. After all, the Rockies and Diamondbacks share the spring training facility, with each franchise having a different set of headquarters and practice fields while splitting time at the main stadium.

Knowing he now would be driving to the other side of the complex, McCarthy said he couldn’t help taking a detour through the Arizona side of the facility during his first few days of Rockies spring training.

“I just drive through that side and lay on the horn at like 6:30 in the morning,” McCarthy said with a laugh. “I’ll see (Arizona outfielder) Alek Thomas or someone else and I’ll roll down the window and yell at them.

“I’ve gotten away from it now, but the first two or three weeks, I was like, ‘This is so funny.’”

McCarthy, selected 39th overall by the Diamondbacks in the 2018 MLB draft, appeared in 431 games over five seasons for Arizona. Those five seasons included plenty of ups and downs, including a 2024 campaign when McCarthy looked like a cornerstone for the Diamondbacks moving forward, slashing .285/.349/.400 in 495 plate appearances.

However, last season, McCarthy took a step back, batting just .204 in 222 plate appearances while bouncing between Arizona and Triple-A Reno.

There were questions swirling in the offseason around McCarthy and his fit in Arizona’s plans moving forward. Those questions were answered when Colorado traded minor-league pitcher Josh Grosz for him.

The move not only added another outfielder into the mix for Colorado but also gave McCarthy a fresh perspective.

“I feel like I’ve had a decent amount of success in the big leagues and obviously some shortcomings,” McCarthy said. “It gives you time to reflect on your preparation and what goes well.

“When I help the team win, it can be in a bunch of different ways. It isn’t normally me slugging and crushing home runs. I don’t want to say that will never be a part of my game. That would be great. But I think on a consistent daily basis, it’s about putting together good at-bats, swinging at the right pitches and getting on base for the guys behind me.”

The 28-year-old McCarthy has evolved into a player who knows his strengths and knows what he can bring to the team, and that was an attribute that caught the eye of manager Warren Schaeffer.

“The way this culture that we’re trying to develop is every single day these guys come in knowing exactly what they need to do to get better, to help our team win, to find a place on our team. We need complete clarity with these guys on a daily basis,” Schaeffer said. “Jake McCarthy knows that. I think he’s gone through stints in his career where that might have slipped a little bit, maybe try to get a little too much power and change his game a little bit. But this camp, he has really shown that he knows who he is.

“The bunt game, the run game, get on base, score runs for us, play good defense. That’s who he is. We don’t need him to be more than that. That kind of a player and a team helps you win ball games.”

When McCarthy gets on base, he can be a weapon for the Rockies. Last season, his sprint speed (defined as “feet per second in a player’s fastest one-second window” on individual plays) was 29.9 feet per second, placing him in the 99th percentile among all MLB players. For MLB players, elite is considered 30 feet per second, meaning McCarthy’s speed can be a huge asset not only on the bases but also in the spacious outfield at Coors Field.

“He affects the game in a lot of different ways,” said Rockies outfielder Jordan Beck, who will likely see more time in right field to allow McCarthy more opportunities in left field. “I knew that he was fast before, but, man, he can run.”

Heading into Thursday’s play, McCarthy led the Rockies this spring with six stolen bases. That’s a good sign for a Rockies team that plans to be more aggressive on the bases after finishing 23rd among MLB’s 30 teams in stolen bases in 2025.

It’s just one of the changes the Rockies hope to see in 2026, and it’s those changes that have McCarthy feeling comfortable on the other side of the Salt River complex.

“I think we’re all in the same boat personally,” McCarthy said. “I didn’t love how I played last year, and I think you ask a lot of the guys in here about the season they had, and we all want to prove what we’re capable of this season. We’re all eager to prove people wrong.”