Friday On The Rox: Will the Colorado Rockies go shopping?

 

Happy Black Friday everyone, and on today, the day after Thanksgiving, I ask, will this be the winter where the Rockies finally make a splash in the market? Jim Bowden of ESPN has written several times that the Rockies could trade Carlos Gonzalez.

The Rockies began their complete rebuilding program when they dealt fan favorite and team leader Troy Tulowitzki to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. They are doing a great job in the amateur draft and are starting to compile a nice stable of starting pitching prospects. They could move veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez this offseason as they control him for only two more years, and his trade value will never be higher than it is right now.

This week at BSNRockies.com we’ve had our own Chris Schmaedeke argue that the “Colorado Rockies need to hold on to Carlos Gonzalez.” Next week our Nick Tremaroli will argue the opposite. But Bowden sees CarGo as a perfect trade fit, writing, “Gonzalez, 30, could be a shorter-term impact solution at what is now a below-market deal over the next two seasons (an average annual value of $18.5 million). Gonzalez can play all three outfield positions and proved he was finally healthy again last year when he hit 40 home runs and drove in 97 runs.” In yet another article, he writes that he could see CarGo being dealt to the Mets for Zack Wheeler and Brandon Nimmo.

While the Gonzalez trade talks loom a bigger story perhaps is what will the Rockies look for in return, will this be the only trade they seriously consider, and could they be a major player in the free agent market?

MLBTR predicted that the Rockies would sign Byung-ho Park and Austin Jackson. While Park is already out of the picture, and Jackson is still on the market, I’d be surprised if Jackson ends up a Rockie.

One name that has circulated throughout our friends on the blogosphere is Ian Kennedy. Bobby DeMuro does a really good job talking about this on Purple Row. The conundrum is interesting, not only from a free agent pitching standpoint but because Kennedy was extended a qualifying offer, so the Rockies would lose a draft pick.

Meanwhile, a whole list of free agents was compiled by MLB.com’s Thomas Harding of pitchers who could perform at Coors Field. He brings up Johnny Cueto, Ian Kennedy, Mat Latos, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, and Dillon Gee as possible fits for the Rockies.

From a trade partner perspective the Cleveland Indians matchup with the Rockies really well. Patrick Saunders from the Denver Post talks about it here. If the Rockies were to trade Corey Dickerson or CarGo names like Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar or Trevor Bauer could be in the mix coming back for the Rockies.

There are many players the Rockies could bring in, and they need help in many areas. That was my point by sharing to you all these stories of writers brainstorming ways the Rockies could try to use the market to get better. The real question is will they use the market to get better? Each of the past few offseasons has been very quite for the Rockies signing Kyle Kendrick, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer while making little to no trades. And if they were to make a deal it happened to be somewhat minor, for instance, the Jairo Diaz, and David Hale trades last offseason.

The Rockies have money, both now and long term, however, it may be better used if it was invested in the minor league system. This club has shown a major commitment to their farm system the past few years and they need to follow through on their commitment as the fruits of it are just starting to bear. I’m not sure that spending 15 to 20 million dollars a year for four years is a wise investment for the Rockies who will be an under-500 team next year barring a miraculous resurgence. The trade market might be a slightly different story with younger, cheaper (dollar-wise) options available. No matter what, the Rockies have never shown to be a major player in the offseason, and it would be somewhat shocking to see this year be any different.

Notes:

• Former Rockies utility man Charlie Culberson signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers.
• Brandon Barnes avoids arbitration and signs one-year deal with the Rockies.
• John Axford cleared waivers and is a free agent.

Links:

Baseball America / Michael Lananna // Colorado Rockies Top 10 Prospects

Here’s how they ranked the Rockies crop of prospects.

• 1. Jon Gray, RHP
• 2. David Dahl, OF
• 3. Brendan Rodgers, SS
• 4. Jeff Hoffman, RHP
• 5. Ryan McMahon, 3B
• 6. Kyle Freeland, LHP
• 7. Tom Murphy, C
• 8. Trevor Story, SS/2B
• 9. Antonio Senzatela, RHP
• 10. Raimel Tapia, OF

The Rockies are a borderline top five system already, and with next year’s high draft picks their rankings are bound to improve.

Purple Row / Cameron Goeldner // Kyle Freeland, Carlos Estevez and Raimel Tapia wrap up strong Arizona Fall League campaigns

Our buddy Cam wraps up the Arizona Fall League from the Rockies perspective. White Sox prospect Adam Engel was named MVP and the Scottsdale Scorpions were champs, but the Rockies had a solid fall with their team, the Salt River Rafters.

Rockies Zingers / Ryan Hammon // Star Pitcher: A New Hope

Hammon writes, “today’s post isn’t about Tyler Matzek’s rise and fall (and rise and fall); it’s about a remarkably similar player and story that doesn’t seem to be generating nearly as much excitement this offseason as Matzek inspired last year: the rise of Chad Bettis.”

I covered this a while back too, and Hammon does a great job talking about the Colorado Rockies, perhaps, best pitcher in 2015 (cough Ranking The Rockies cough.)

MLB.com / Cut4 // A comprehensive list of all of the things baseball fans have to be thankful for this year

Some cool fun light reading on the 2015 season.

Twitter’s Top Five:

https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/669229477042462721

The Star of David (Price) pic.twitter.com/l9pS8F6OrP

— Smile Bradish (@BlueMetropolis) November 24, 2015

Someone told me today that you burn bridges by trolling.
I told them, "no, you actually live under bridges when you're trolling."

— Jake Shapiro, but festive 🎁 (@Shapalicious) November 26, 2015

https://twitter.com/patrickghidossi/status/668285418199080963

Top Tweet:

pic.twitter.com/3PE2djajAA

— nick (@nick_pants) November 21, 2015

Music for the weekend:

This song was released earlier in the year as a collaboration between Bleachers’ and FUN’s Jack Antonoff and Grimes. In the first week of November she released her new record “Art Angels.” It has a unique dream pop, R&B and electronic hip-hop sound.