Rockies Notebook: Cron's trade value, available outfield options and Arizona's compelling swap

At the Winter Meetings in San Diego earlier this month, GM Bill Schmidt made it clear that the Colorado Rockies would not be targeting any of the prime left-handed hitting free agents that should have topped his quintessential offseason wish list.

Brandon Nimmo’s market was already getting too exorbitant ($162 million was the final number for a player who had never sniffed an All-Star Game appearance), Cody Bellinger would find a more suitable situation with the Chicago Cubs and Kevin Kiermaier decided to opt for the Toronto Blue Jays’ pursuit of winning the American League East.

That left Michael Conforto as the only remaining left-handed hitting outfielder that could move the needle enough to improve Colorado’s situation. 

More than a year removed since his last big league action and following shoulder surgery in April that still raising some concerns, Schmidt feigned interest on a 29-year-old who wouldn’t fill their secondary need of playing center field. 

“My anticipation is he’s at a point where he’s looking multiple (years). It’s like he didn’t miss a year,” Schmidt said before adding, “What happened?”

San Francisco scooped up Conforto with a two-year, $32 million contract in the wake of the Carlos Correa calamity that saw the 28-year-old shortstop break ties with the Giants following questions about his physical.

Only Nolan Jones, acquired from the Cleveland Guardians in November, and switch-hitting Michael Toglia can hit from the left side and reasonably play outfield on a daily basis. Toglia is the first baseman of the future for the Rockies, so Jones and Zac Veen, who finished 2022 at Double-A Hartford, are the only options when looking ahead to 2024 and beyond.

Charlie Blackmon, in the sixth and final year of his extension, played only 51 of his 135 games last season in right field, spending a majority of his time as the team’s designated hitter.

Other left-handed hitting options remain available on the market. The trade route could allow Colorado to add players like Alex Verdugo of the Boston Red Sox, Max Kepler of the Minnesota Twins and the switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but such a move would require parting with more valuable player assets than expendable ones.

Aaron Hicks of the New York Yankees has three years and $30.5 million remaining on his deal and, depending on how much money the Rockies would be willing to pay, could come with a prospect kicker to sweeten a trade.

In free agency, several options could either make Colorado’s lineup more potent or improve their defense, but none are likely to provide both. David Peralta, Corey Dickerson, Dom Smith and Jackie Bradley Jr. are four of the more promising players looking for major league deals.

Few Teams In Cron’s Zone

If you gander at any roster projections for Opening Day 2023, you may find either Toglia or Jones  – or both – slated to begin their campaign in the Pacific Coast League with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.

While many believe Toglia is already capable of providing Gold Glove caliber defense at first base, the presence of C.J. Cron makes it hard for the 24-year-old out of UCLA to find playing time on the infield dirt. Were that to happen, Cron could become the primary designated hitter. Since that’s often where 36-year-old Blackmon will be stationed for what could be his final season in purple pinstripes, Toglia will be forced to play more right field until the situation changes.

Jones is also capable of patrolling right field. Should either of those players make the 26-man roster, that would force Sean Bouchard to open the year with the ‘Topes.

All in all, it’s somewhat of a logjam for playing time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the easiest solution viewed by some is to trade Cron.

Cron, 32, is in the final season of his two-year extension signed at the end of the 2021 campaign. Last summer, Schmidt was unable to find a suitor at the trade deadline for Cron even after the first baseman was selected to represent the Rockies in the 2022 All-Star Game. 

Much of that reason dealt with a hand injury sustained on a hit-by-pitch in Arizona on July 8. Cron came out of the contest with the Diamondbacks and rested the next two days. When he returned, he hit just .197 and struck out 36% of the time leading up to August 2. The concerns by teams were legit, especially as his production in the second half led to just eight home runs.

Despite finishing with 57 home runs and 198 RBI between 2021-22, other clubs have shown a preference to find such production at first base with cheaper options that don’t require trading away any prospect capital. 

Take the Carlos Santana signing by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who will pay the 36-year-old $6.75 million for 2022 despite a clear demise in offensive output his last three season. Or the Oakland Athletics who selected Ryan Noda from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in the Rule 5 draft despite the 26-year-old having never seen a pitch in the big leagues. 

The Cincinnati Reds signed Wil Myers for $7.5 million this upcoming season, slightly more than Cron’s $7.25 million, as an insurance policy against Joey Votto becoming more of a DH-type.

Veterans like Eric Hosmer, Brandon Belt and Yuli Gurriel are all still available looking for one-year deals while more upside candidates like Trey Mancini and Miguel Sanó could garner multi-year pacts. 

Either way, the demands and trade offers from the other 29 organizations regarding Cron are more lackluster than a player of his ability has shown in the past two seasons. For Colorado to get anything, Cron will have to prove it once again.

Rogers Reunion

One of the other pivots the Giants made following the implosion with the Correa signing was bringing in free agent reliever Taylor Rogers.

The 32-year-old left-hander signed a three-year contract with San Francisco worth $33 million.

The most interesting part of this transaction is that Taylor and his twin brother Tyler will now be a part of the same bullpen. The two are reunited on the same team for the first time since 2009 when the pair played together at Chatfield High School in Littleton.

Earlier this year in April when Taylor was still a member of the San Diego Padres, the two became just the fifth pair of twins to appear in the same game and the first since 1990 when Jose and Ozzie Canseco suited up for the Oakland Athletics. 

Assuming all goes as planned, Taylor and Tyler will be the first set of twins to pitch on the same team in the same game. Considering the duo will be together for the next three seasons – Tyler still has three more years of club control by the Giants – they should easily set the standard for sporting excellence by twins. 

Arizona Rising

The future of the Arizona Diamondbacks got a little bit brighter on Friday when they sent OF Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays for OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and C Gabriel Moreno.

Varsho had a breakout season in 2022, hitting 27 home runs in his first full season. Not only did the 26-year-old provide stellar defense in the outfield, he also went behind the plate to catch 31 times for Arizona in 2022. 

Gurriel Jr. will be a solid right-handed hitting option for Arizona. Just 29-year-old and playing in his final season before entering free agency, he could break out in a big way.

Over his last three seasons, Gurriel Jr. has a 3.1 bWAR when accounting for 650 plate appearances. Should he stay healthy enough to play 155 or so games and make even more progress, the Dbacks could have a valuable midseason trade chip or, in a less likely scenario, find themselves gaining a draft pick should Gurriel Jr. receive and decline a Qualifying Offer for an outstanding 2023.

For Arizona, the deal centers around Moreno, who is the top catching prospect in the entire sport and was ranked as high as the third-best prospect in Baseball America’s top 100 at the end of the year. 

Moreno, 22, has a career .310 batting average in the minors and showed his ability to hit in 25 games with Toronto last season, going 22-for-69 (.319) with a .356 on-base percentage. He sacrifices power for contact at the plate, but gives up nothing behind the dish as his defensive prowess is further reason to suspect he’ll be an All-Star at some point. 

The reason for the trade is a simple one that benefits both clubs: trade from depth to improve an area of weakness.

Arizona had four outfielders – including Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy and Corbin Carroll – and Toronto had three above-average catchers in Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen. The Diamondbacks improved their catching corps with six seasons of club control for Moreno and the Blue Jays got a left-handed hitting outfielder in Varsho for the next four years.

“The Diamondbacks have some very good looking young players,” Schmidt told MLB Network at the Winter Meetings. “They’re a little bit ahead of us in the process.”

And now, the chasm between Arizona and Colorado following the Moreno acquisition has grown even greater.