MLB Trade Deadline: Rockies trade Givens for a pair of young pitchers; more to come?

On Wednesday, the Colorado Rockies traded RHP Mychal Givens to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Noah Davis and RHP Case Williams.

Acquired less than a year ago from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade that shipped out prospects 1B/3B Tyler Nevin, IF Terrin Vavra and OF Mishael Deson, Givens hopes to continue his successful season as the third reliever acquired by the Reds in the past week. He’ll finish his career in the organization with a 4-2 record in 41 appearances with a 3.69 ERA (39.0 IP, 16 ER), 18 walks and 40 strikeouts.

If Givens’ 10 months with the organization seems like a quick turnaround, consider the early career trajectory of the re-acquired Williams: drafted by Colorado in the 4th round in 2020 out of Douglas County High School in Castle Rock, CO before being traded to the Reds in November with RHP Jeff Hoffman for RHP Robert Stephenson and OF Jameson Hannah. The 19-year-old is now back in the Centennial State after eight months with Cincinnati.

During his first season of pro ball, Williams has gone 2-5 with a 5.55 ERA (47.0 IP, 29 ER), 33 walks and 34 strikeouts in 11 starts and one relief appearance for the Reds’ Low-A affiliate. The scouting report hasn’t been favorable according to Baseball America – the fastball is in the lower 90’s and the secondary pitches are below average at this point – the Rockies obviously see potential in the 19-year-old and there’s still plenty of time for significant development to take place.

An 11th round pick in 2018 out of UC Santa Barbara, Davis has gone 3-6 with a 3.60 ERA (65.0 IP, 26 ER), 35 walks and 77 strikeouts in 13 starts in High-A this season. The 24-year-old has limited opponents to a .193 batting average, the lowest opponent batting average across the level. His career has been limited to only 107.1 innings due to the cancellation of the minor league season during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to having Tommy John surgery in college before being drafted. According to Baseball America, Davis has a chance to be a no. 4 or 5 starter should the changeup continue to develop despite ongoing health concerns such as shoulder soreness in 2020 and blisters this season.

Williams’ back-and-forth between Colorado and Cincinnati is not the first time the two teams coveted the same player in separate trades. In 2000, the Rockies acquired LHP Gabe White before shipping him back to the Queen City in a deal in 2001.

Whether or not higher-profile players like SS Trevor Story or RHP Jon Gray get traded by Colorado remains to be seen, but interim GM Bill Schmidt has gotten the ball rolling and may be able to remove the interim title should he push all the right buttons before the final hours of the MLB Trade Deadline on July 30.