Where have all the stars gone? Rockies in dire need of finding more for 2022

When the lockout comes to end at some point in 2022 and Major League Baseball can have free agent signings and trades of typical offseasons past, the Colorado Rockies will need to not only improve their lineup in the power department, but will also need to add a notable name. 

On Opening Day of the 2019 season, the Colorado Rockies were coming off consecutive postseason berths for the first time in franchise history and had a roster full of All-Stars who fans could easily identify and proudly wear jerseys to support.

During a 6-3 win in Miami, the starting lineup that day featured six players who had been selected or would be selected to the All-Star Game at some point in their career: 1B Daniel Murphy (2014, 2016-17), 3B Nolan Arenado 2015-2019, 2021), SS Trevor Story (2018-19), LF David Dahl (2019), CF Ian Desmond (2012, 2016) and RF Charlie Blackmon (2014, 2017-19).

Overall, a total of nine players in purple from 2019 have been chosen to participate in the Midsummer Classic, including RHP Wade Davis, RHP Germán Márquez and 1B Yonder Alonso. 

Both 2B/3B Ryan McMahon and LHP Kyle Freeland were in the Opening Day lineup and players like 2B Brendan Rodgers, RHP Antonio Senzatela and OF Sam Hilliard could all reach their potential during the first three months to also earn them that special selection.  

During the previous 2017-18 seasons, Colorado sported 10 with players like Carlos González, DJ LeMahieu, Matt Holliday, Greg Holland, Pat Neshek and Jonathan Lucroy amongst the fold.

In four different years, the Rockies sported a franchise-record of 13 All-Stars: 2003, 2004, 2011 and 2012. However, none of those more star-studded rosters produced any postseason appearances. Rather, they combined to lose an average of 92 games. 

The 1999 and 2000 seasons were the least represented bunch – five each – in the club’s first 28 years of existence. Only Larry Walker and Todd Helton featured on both squads.

The 2021 team had only Blackmon, Story and Márquez. With their star shortstop set to sign a long-term deal elsewhere, only Blackmon and Márquez remain in 2022.

Active Roster

Colorado’s clubhouse is filled with players still yet to reach their potential, all of whom could help increase the total of All-Stars on the 2022 roster.

Besides McMahon and Freeland, 2B Brendan Rodgers is finally coming into his own after injuries sidelined him for much of 2019-20. He played 102 games in 2021 and batted .296 with 15 home runs and 46 runs batted after May 21, an output worth a valuable 1.9 fWAR.

The starting rotation features two more pitchers, each with a different handedness, that could also boost the roster’s notability. On a year-to-year basis, RHP Antonio Senzatela has been consistent. The 26-year-old had a string of great starts from August 11 to September 26 that contributed to a 3.00 ERA with eight of his nine games being Quality Starts. Similarly successful in 2021 was newbie LHP Austin Gomber, who was an ace over eight starts from May 4 to June 19, with a 2.19 earned run average and an outstanding 13-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (52 K, 4 BB). 

If veterans like 1B C.J. Cron and C Elias Díaz are capable of putting together a first-half similar to what they did in the second-half of last season, the number of All-Stars on the 2022 roster could double.

Offseason Acquisitions

Once MLB and the Players’ Association work through the details of the collective bargaining agreement, a trade or – more than likely – a free agent signing will do most of the heavy lifting to ameliorate the situation. The priority for Colorado is to increase the power production in the middle of the lineup. 

While irrelevant if that bat has ever appeared in the All-Star Game, such a player could kill two birds with one stone. 

Four-time All-Star 3B/OF Kris Bryant has been linked to Colorado via MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, but the Las Vegas native may simply be out of the organization’s prize range, especially after unloading the remaining $199 million from 3B Nolan Arenado’s contract to the St. Louis Cardinals. MLB Trade Rumors projects Bryant to get six-years at $160 million, and Ben Clemens of FanGraphs predicts eight-years at $200 million for the 30-year-old star. 

Holding one’s breath for a signing of 1B Freddie Freeman, SS Carlos Correa or 1B Anthony Rizzo would not be wise either, as all three players are marquee free agents looking to break the bank.

OF/1B Kyle Schwarber has been a popular name bandied about for the Rockies. He’ll play next season at age 30 after earning his first All-Star appearance this past season, despite having a questionable defensive profile. Following a trade at the July 30 deadline to the Boston Red Sox, the former catcher started at DH in 14 of his 41 games in the American League. His price tag should be in a suitable range for Colorado.

On the shortstop market, only SS José Iglesias had a resume punctuated with a star, his 2015 season with the Detroit Tigers. 

INF Josh Harrison was selected to represent the Pittsburgh Pirates twice (2014 and 2017), and C Wilson Ramos attended a pair of All-Star Games in 2016 and 2018 with the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively. The Rockies might be interested in a utility player of Harrison’s caliber, but C Dom Nuñez is poised to reprise his role as the backup backstop. 

Should the designated hitter come to the National League, options like Nelson Cruz and Albert Pujols could intrigue. The 41-year-old living legend needs just 21 home runs to become only the fourth player to ever reach 700 career home runs. 

In the starting pitching department, LHP Clayton Kershaw and RHP Zack Grienke are still unattached. After seeing RHP Justin Verlander land a two-year, $50 million deal and RHP Max Scherzer earn a three-year, $130 million, the two former Dodgers’ hurlers may be costlier than initially imagined. (Coming to Coors Field would be a tax unlike anything seen since the days of LHP Mike Hampton in the 2000-01 offseason.)

LHP Yusei Kikuchi came to Denver as an All-Star for the first time, but Colorado’s history of Japanese-born pitchers is minimal, at best. (The last Japanese player in team history was 2B Kaz Matsui in 2007, and the last pitcher was Mac Suzuki in 2001.)

RHP Carlos Martínez (2015 and 2017) has been to a pair of Midsummer Classics, but is currently down on his luck following two disappointing seasons in St. Louis. RHP Michael Pineda (2011) was an All-Star in his rookie season a decade ago and is coming off three successful seasons with the Minnesota Twins (3.80 ERA, 4.2 bWAR). 

The relief market is rife with options that would not only give Colorado more name recognition in the bullpen, but would also bolster a corps still in need of a reliable closer for 162 games.

RHP Dellin Betances has been a name whispered around the halls of 20th and Blake. The four-time All-Star (2014-17) has just 36 career saves in parts of 10 seasons with the Yankees and Mets of New York, but much of that was due to the presence of more senior closers on the roster and lack of opportunities highlighted during a tumultuous February 2017 arbitration hearing. 

Betances has not pitched much in the last three years, throwing just 13.1 innings due to a pair of shoulder impingements and a tear of his achilles tendon. If healthy, he’s a legitimate threat to roster balance to the back of the bullpen. 

For a left-handed option with a great pedigree, LHP Andrew Miller (2016-17) would be interesting. He was disappointing during his three years with the St. Louis Cardinals, but the volatility of relievers suggests he’s long overdue for a bounceback.

Of course, several of those options won’t exactly light up the phone lines in the ticketing office with season ticket requests. Bringing back Story would undoubtedly go a long way for improving name recognition, but that ship appears to have sailed. 

The 2021 All-Star Game was the first since 2012 that only one Rockie was selected to participate. And when it happened back then, it was the fourth year in a row.

Colorado addressed the issue by signing OF Michael Cuddyer, as well as less garish options in RHP Roy Oswalt and RHP Jon Garland before the two 13-year veterans called it a career.

When the offseason restarts, what comes next for the 2022 roster is anyone’s guess.