Carlos Gonzalez cold start makes him even harder to trade

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies have gotten off to a very good start in 2017, posting a record of 5-2 so far while winning both their first road and first home series’ of the year.

There have been a few troubling signs here and there — the base running remains suspect, and a particular bullpen move is baffling, to say the least — and as good as the record is, a little bit of difference on some of those small issues could have us looking at an undefeated Colorado Rockies team. How crazy is that?

Well, it’s pretty crazy when you consider that the Rockies entered the season with the second-most players on the DL in MLB and even more so when you take a look at who those players are. Ian Desmond, David Dahl, Tom Murphy, and Chad Bettis all factored in to be regular contributors on this club. Only Murphy had his “starting” status in doubt, but even then he was going to get to play a decent amount like backup catchers always do, as we have seen with Dustin Garneau.

So, the Rockies are clearly off to a great start, pretty much no matter how you look at it. But that doesn’t mean that every individual player is and yes, we’re talking about Carlos Gonzalez.

Once a superstar, he may longer be elite, and that may be just fine.

But Colorado finds themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or as Ulysses Everett McGill would say, they’re in a tight spot.

One of the things GMs are paid to do is take a step back every once in a while and view their players as assets. It can seem cold and calculated because it kinda is. It can drive the hardcore fans crazy; the people who just want to cheer on their favorite players and don’t want to have to take their jersey’s down off the wall. But that jersey might be coming down one way or another with Gonzalez who is playing out the final year of his contract and could leave in free agency following this season.

And the Rockies can’t just let that happen.

This offseason, we posited that the Rockies actually could afford to ride out the CarGo contract, pay him the $20 million he is due for this year, and when some other team comes in with an offer he can’t refuse and they can’t match this winter, have a toast, shake hands, and say so long and thanks for all the fish.

And there are still a lot of ways this could play out, but Gonzalez’ poor production early in the season begs the question; How much is CarGo worth in a trade right now? In a vacuum, getting something for CarGo is better than getting nothing and still losing the player. But his current .167/.192/.250 slash line while striking out at 27 percent isn’t helping Jeff Bridich who loses leverage every day his star outfielder fails to perform.

Now, this could easily just be a normal slump. We are still firmly in small sample size territory. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if, in three weeks, CarGo is back to being one of the most feared hitters in baseball and is smack in the middle of one of his patented hot streaks. But every day that goes by where he remains cold means less incentive for other GMs to offer anything of real value in exchange for Gonzalez.

There is a long, long, way to go before the trade deadline, but right now, Carlos Gonzalez doesn’t look like the final piece to anyone’s playoff dreams. This gives Bridich a very tight window if the ultimate move is to trade Gonzalez, though does give him a bit of leverage on the other side if the goal is to re-sign him to a team-friendly contract, more or less allowing CarGo to finish out his career in Colorado.

With all the talented outfield prospects they have, that still feels like an unwise investment at this time unless he would be willing to move to first base.

So let’s break down the outcomes:

1. Cargo stays a Rockies and stays an OF, getting probably $80-100 million for his age 32-35 seasons. This could block Raimel Tapia or Jordan Patterson or present roster problems with David Dahl, Gerardo Parra, and Charlie Blackmon. It also limits the budget for other parts of the team.

2. CarGo gives the Rockies an incredibly friendly deal this offseason and signs for 4-5 years for under $80 million. Let’s also say he opens himself up to playing more positions (1B) and the Rockies keep one of their franchise faces without hurting the budget too much.

3. CarGo continues to play poorly but the Rockies trade him by the deadline anyway for a few mostly under the radar pitching prospects.

4. CarGo turns it around in a hurry, starts hitting like his old self, and the Rockies move him for some more exciting prospects, again most likely in the pitching department.

5. CarGo plays out 2017 (at whatever production level) and it is his final season in Colorado.