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Rockies Agree To Terms With First Round Pick Benny Montgomery

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The Rockies have agreed to a $5MM signing bonus with first round draft pick Benny Montgomery, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s a touch below the $5.1769MM slot value that accompanies the #8 overall pick.

An outfielder from a Pennsylvania high school, Montgomery had been committed to the University of Virginia. Instead, he’ll join the Colorado organization and add a high-upside talent to the farm system.

Montgomery was a bit of a divisive prospect among public evaluators, ranking between 10th and 28th on pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. There’s little question about Montgomery’s physical gifts; he had among the best combinations of raw power and speed in the class. All three publications raise a bit of concern about Mongtomery’s atypical hitting mechanics — which McDaniel compares to those of Hunter Pence — but the Rockies were apparently comfortable he’ll make enough contact to be an impactful player.

Rockies Place Four Players On COVID-19 Injured List

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The Rockies announced they’ve placed four players — Antonio Senzatela, Jhoulys Chacín, Yency Almonte and Yonathan Daza — on the COVID-19 injured list. Left-hander Ben Bowden, outfielder Sam Hilliard and righty Antonio Santos have been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque, while reliever Zac Rosscup was selected to the major league roster. Additionally, manager Bud Black and first base coach Ron Gideon have been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Dodgers as part of contact tracing efforts.

Placement on the COVID-19 list does not signify that all four of the players involved have tested positive. Players can land on the IL for feeling viral symptoms or for exposure to the virus.

Rosscup was selected to the roster as a COVID replacement player. Under the 2021 health and safety protocols, he can be removed from the 40-man without being exposed to waivers upon the return of one of the players he’s been selected to replace. The 33-year-old southpaw has a 5.16 ERA/3.80 SIERA in parts of six big league seasons. He’s been almost unhittable this year in Triple-A, pitching to a 0.52 ERA over 17 1/3 frames with an excellent 37.3% strikeout rate.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2021 Home Run Derby?

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A busy week for Major League Baseball kicked off Sunday with the Futures Game during the day and the first 36 picks of the 2021 MLB Draft in the evening. It’ll continue with Day Two of the draft today and the annual Home Run Derby this evening.

Tonight’s eight-player field consists of top seed Shohei Ohtani, followed (in order of MLB’s seeding) by Joey Gallo, Matt Olson, Salvador Perez, Pete Alonso, Trey Mancini, Trevor Story and Juan Soto. One half of the bracket will see Ohtani/Soto and Perez/Alonso in first-round matchups, while the other half will see Gallo/Story and Olson/Mancini. We’ll take a very brief look at each participating slugger’s season to date (sorted by their first-round matchup) before opening up polls on who fans are rooting for and who they expect to take home the trophy.

  • Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Angels: Ohtani has been the talk of baseball in 2021, leading MLB with 33 home runs while also pitching to a 3.49 ERA with a 30.7 percent strikeout rate on the mound.
    • .279/.364/.698, 33 home runs
    • 93.7 mph average exit velocity, 119 mph max exit velo, 26 percent barrel rate
  • Juan Soto, OF, Nationals: Soto hasn’t matched his 2019 power output, but he’s the youngest entrant in the field and has been one of baseball’s elite hitters from the moment he homered in his first big league at-bat back in 2018.
    • .283/.407/.445, 11 home runs
    • 92.6 mph average exit velo, 115.3 mph max, 10.8 percent barrel rate

—

  • Joey Gallo, OF, Rangers: After a slow start, Gallo looks well on his way to another 40-homer season. He’s hitting .308/.479/.838 with 15 home runs since June 4.
    • .239/.402/.522, 24 home runs
    • 92.4 mph average exit velo, 115.1 mph max, 19.6 percent barrel rate
  • Trevor Story, SS, Rockies:  Story will take the field hoping for an upset win that could serve as something of a Coors Field farewell with the trade deadline and free agency looming.
    • .249/.323/.442, 11 home runs
    • 90.7 mph average exit velo, 110.2 mph max, 9.2 percent barrel rate

—

  • Salvador Perez, C, Royals: The seven-time All-Star gets better with age. He’s ripped 32 home runs in just 519 plate appearances dating back to the beginning of the 2020 campaign.
    • .275/.300/.501, 21 home runs
    • 93 mph average exit velo, 114.2 mph max, 14.3 percent barrel rate
  • Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets: Alonso will defend his 2019 title — there was no 2020 Home Run Derby — in the midst of a hot streak. Eleven of the Polar Bear’s 17 big flies have come since Memorial Day weekend.
    • .250/.328/.478, 17 home runs
    • 92.7 mph average exit velo, 117.1 mph max, 15.7 percent barrel rate

—

  • Matt Olson, 1B, Athletics: Since 2017, the underrated Olson leads all full-time first basemen with 126 home runs, and he’s on pace to top his career-high mark of 36.
    • .282/.371/.567, 23 home runs
    • 92 mph average exit velo, 115.3 mph max, 14.4 percent barrel rate
  • Trey Mancini, 1B/OF, Orioles: That Mancini was able to return to the field at all after being diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in early 2020 is remarkable; a derby win would be a feel-good story for baseball fans everywhere.
    • .256/.331/.460, 16 home runs
    • 88.5 mph average exit velo, 113.9 mph max, 12.9 percent barrel rate

Who do you want to see win the 2021 Home Run Derby? (Link to poll for app users)

Who do you think will win the 2021 Home Run Derby? (Link to poll for app users)

Home Run Derby Field Finalized

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The eight-man field is set for the 2021 Home Run Derby. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini, Royals catcher Salvador Pérez, Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo will compete in the event.

Ohtani has been perhaps baseball’s biggest story in 2021. The two-way star has a league-best thirty-one home runs and looks like the early favorite to win the AL MVP award. Alonso, who won the most recent Derby in 2019, will be looking to defend his title. The right-handed slugger has popped fifteen homers this year. Story figures to be the fan favorite with All-Star festivities taking place in Denver. The 28-year-old has hit 11 longballs this season. It’ll be an emotional sight to see Mancini on such a big stage. He missed all of last season battling colon cancer but made it back this year and has popped fifteen homers.

Pérez has been the game’s most powerful catcher. He leads all backstops with twenty homers and he’ll get the starting nod behind the plate for the American League in the All-Star game. Olson has also hit twenty dingers this year and will represent the playoff-contending A’s in the All-Star game. Gallo, who’ll join Ohtani, Pérez and Olson on the AL All-Star team, has been on an absolute tear over the last month, bringing his season total in homers up to twenty-three. Soto only has ten home runs this season, but he’s been one of the game’s best hitters since reaching the majors as a 19-year-old in 2018.

The Home Run derby will take place at Denver’s Coors Field on Monday, July 12.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Gallo’s inclusion.

Rockies Halt Trade Talks Until At Least End Of All-Star Break

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The Rockies look to be one of the prime sellers at this year’s trade deadline, though it doesn’t seem like the club will be swinging any deals soon.  According to The Athletic’s Nick Groke, the Rox have told other teams that they won’t be participating in trade negotiations about any player “at least until play resumes after the All-Star break.”

The club has two priorities in the near future — the amateur draft that runs from July 11-13, and then the All-Star Game itself in Denver in six days’ time.  Several other executives around the league have observed that the later date for the draft (usually held in early June) has thrown a wrench into trade discussions for many clubs, as many front offices don’t expect to fully turn their attention to upgrading the big league roster until the draft is complete.

For Rockies interim GM Bill Schmidt, he previously served as the team’s VP of scouting and has been running Colorado’s drafts since 2000, so it makes some sense that he would remain particularly focused on that aspect of the job.  The Rockies have the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft, which gains increased import considering that the team definitely needs premium minor league talent to aid a rebuild that may be coming sooner rather than later.

This being said, however, it seems frankly bizarre that the Rockies are seemingly willing to entirely cease trade talks for such an extended amount of time, especially during what seems like such a critical juncture point for the organization’s future.  Ten days can be an eternity during deadline season, and the market could shift dramatically due to several factors (injuries, a team getting hot and deciding to buy, a team deciding to sell after a losing streak, etc.) that can emerge quickly.

It stands to reason that some teams have already been in touch about what it might take to acquire Trevor Story, Jon Gray, or other trade chips, but those potential offers on the table could evaporate quickly, so the Rockies could be costing themselves by not engaging in talks for over a week.  Considering that the likes of Story, Gray, and Mychal Givens are all free agents after the season, the argument can be made that the Rockies should look to move these players sooner rather than later, in order to maximize their return from a team eager to have these players on their roster for an additional amount of time.

Part of the issue could be that Colorado’s front office is simply understaffed.  “Sources from two opposing front offices said their teams don’t know exactly whom to contact when they want to reach the Rockies about trades,” Groke writes.  Assistant GMs Jon Weil and Zach Wilson have both resigned in the two-plus months since Jeff Bridich was removed as the team’s general manager, which elevated Schmidt into the interim role.  As Groke has reported, the Rockies spread the duties of departed employees around to current staffers, rather than hire any new people into the organization.

Bud Black: German Marquez Won’t Be Traded

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Starting pitching is at a premium this deadline season perhaps more than ever before, but Rockies skipper Bud Black rather decisively stated that one of the more coveted options on the market will be staying put. In an appearance with Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link, with audio).

“He’s on a multi-year deal, so we have him a couple more years,” Black said of Marquez. “…He’s not going anywhere. Even though it might be out there — there might be some noise — we let our guys know, these guys aren’t going to be traded. That’s how our owner feels. That’s how so many people in our organization who are the decision-makers feel about German — and a few other guys, too.”

Obviously, Black doesn’t have final say over baseball operations in Colorado, but he’s no doubt in regular contact with interim general manager Bill Schmidt and the front office regarding the team’s direction as the July 30 trade deadline approaches. Absolutist statement such as this are rare this time of year, as most clubs take an open-minded approach to the deadline, but it seems the Rockies are none too keen on parting with their top starter. They’ve been unwilling to commit to a rebuild in recent years, and that doesn’t appear to have changed for the time being — in spite of a front office exodus that has seen GM Jeff Bridich step down and assistant GMs Jon Weil and Zach Wilson resign.

On the one hand, it’s understandable that any club would be reluctant to part with the 26-year-old Marquez. Under the contract extension he signed in April 2019, he’s being paid $7.5MM in 2021, $11MM in 2022 and $15MM in 2023 before the Rockies must decide on a $16.5MM club option (or a $2.5MM buyout) for the 2024 season. Pair that affordable contract with Marquez’s generally strong track record, and he has the makings of a core piece.

Despite pitching his home games at the hitter-friendly Coors Field, Marquez has pitched to an ERA comfortably south of 4.00 in three of the past four seasons. He’s sitting on a 3.59 mark at the moment and has combined an excellent 54.5 percent ground-ball rate with roughly average strikeout and walk percentages (24.2 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively). He’s also extremely durable. Marquez has only had one trip to the injured list since breaking into the Majors in 2016 — a brief stint for arm inflammation at the end of the 2019 campaign. He averaged 30 starts per year from 2017-19, made all 13 of his starts in 2020, and hasn’t missed an outing so far in 2021.

On the other hand, however, there’s a clear argument that these are the exact reasons the Rockies should be looking to move Marquez. Nolan Arenado is now in St. Louis. Trevor Story and Jon Gray will either be traded in the next 24 days or will very likely depart via free agency this winter. The Rox are on a collision course with their third straight losing season and their ninth playoff miss in 11 years. The farm system is ranked among the thinnest in baseball, and the top of the NL West looks more formidable each year. A Marquez trade could be the catalyst for a reshaping of the team’s farm system and its long-term payroll outlook.

That, however, simply hasn’t been the modus operandi for owner Dick Monfort. Even on the heels of a 71-91 recird in 2019 and an offseason in which he brought in zero help for the big league roster, Monfort proclaimed that the 2020 Rockies would win 94 games.

“I interpolated ’07, ’08 and ’09,” Monfort told the Denver Post in early February 2020. “I had an analytical staff go through and interpolate those numbers — and so in 2020, we’ll win 94 games and lose 68.” (Obvious, unforeseen circumstances rendered that prediction impossible to come true, but the 2020 Rockies went 26-34 — a .433 winning percentage that was actually worse than their 2019 percentage.)

Fatal optimism has been a hallmark of Rockies ownership, and the wholehearted dismissal of even considering a Marquez trade so far in advance of the deadline looks like a continuation of the status quo. It’s possible, of course, that a club blows the Rockies out of the water with a strong initial offer they can’t ignore, but such strong comments from Black make that decidedly unlikely.

It should be noted that an unwillingness to trade Marquez right now does not mean the Rockies will be similarly closed to the notion this winter. Schmidt is only the interim general manager in place of Bridich, and it would be sensible for Monfort to want a transaction as substantial as a Marquez trade to be engineered by whoever is hired to oversee baseball operations on a permanent basis. That’s a luxury the Rockies don’t have with regard to potential trades of Story, Jon Gray and C.J. Cron, all of whom are impending free agents, so it’ll fall to Schmidt and his lone remaining assistant GM, Zack Rosenthal, to spearhead any such negotiations.

White Sox Reportedly Interested In Trevor Story

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The White Sox “have serious interest” in star Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Colorado isn’t expected to trade Story — to the White Sox or anyone else — before the All-Star Break, Nightengale adds.

At first glance, the Sox would appear to be an odd fit to acquire a high-end shortstop. They already have an All-Star caliber player at the position in Tim Anderson. The idea under consideration, though, would be for Chicago to add Story with the idea of kicking him over to second base for the remainder of the year.

Chicago has already lost incumbent second baseman Nick Madrigal for the season on account of a hamstring strain that required surgery. The position has been manned by Danny Mendick and Leury García since then, and it’s clearly an area at which the Sox front office is hoping to upgrade. Chicago has been tied to both Diamondbacks infielder Eduardo Escobar and Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier in recent weeks. Those remain plausible scenarios, although Nightengale writes that Escobar’s recent battle with a nagging right quad injury has cooled Chicago’s interest in him somewhat.

While it might be surprising to hear of a team contemplating a trade for a plus defensive shortstop only to move him off the position, the idea becomes more sensible when considering the league context. Most contending clubs already have an entrenched in-house shortstop. That could cause teams to look for more creative ways of installing Story into the lineup to plug other holes on the roster.

Story hasn’t played anywhere other than shortstop during his MLB career. He had a little bit of time at second and third base during his days as a prospect but hasn’t logged a single inning at another position since 2015. Nevertheless, there’s reason to believe he’s equipped to take on another spot on the dirt.

Second and third base are less demanding positions to handle than shortstop. A team acquiring Story and moving him to second temporarily wouldn’t be all that dissimilar from the Blue Jays signing former A’s shortstop Marcus Semien to man the keystone in deference to Bo Bichette. Semien has adjusted to that transition swimmingly.

A player’s willingness to take on new positions can vary person-to-person, of course. But there’d be ample reason for Story to embrace a move off shortstop if it helps facilitate a trade. Not only would he leave the 36-48 Rockies for a chance to compete for a postseason berth, a midseason deal would remove the possibility of Story being tagged with a qualifying offer before he hits free agency at the end of the year.

Teams other than the White Sox are certainly also in the mix for Story, so a trade of some sort continues to look very likely. The 28-year-old isn’t amidst his best season, hitting .255/.328/.445 with ten home runs across 296 plate appearances. He was among the best players in baseball over the past three seasons, though, combining for a cumulative .292/.355/.554 slash line.

Athletics Unlikely To Pursue Trevor Story

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The Athletics are unlikely to pursue Rockies star shortstop Trevor Story in advance of the July 30 trade deadline, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Instead, Passan suggests Oakland could look to add “an impact bat” in the outfield.

Strictly from an on-field perspective, a Story pursuit would make a lot of sense for the A’s, who trail the Astros by half a game in the AL West. Oakland shortstops (almost exclusively Elvis Andrus) have hit just .229/.272/.306 (62 wRC+) across 309 trips to the plate this season. Andrus has been better over the past couple months after an absolutely horrible April, but he’s still put up a below-average .265/.305/.352 mark since May 1. Story’s having a down season (.259/.332/.446) by his lofty standards, but even his disappointing year is far better than Andrus’ performance so far. And Story was one of the best shortstops in the sport from 2018-20, during which time he hit .292/.355/.554.

The bigger obstacle to the A’s landing Story always seemed to be finances. The two-time All-Star is making $17.5MM this season, his final year before free agency. A team that acquires Story at the deadline would owe him around $6.1MM for the stretch run, assuming the Rockies don’t pay down any of the deal to ensure a better trade return. For a player of Story’s caliber, that’s more than reasonable, but it’s also a higher amount than the low-payroll A’s seemed likely to take on midseason.

Nevertheless, reports emerged last month suggesting Oakland could be a player for Story’s services. If they’re indeed out of the running, that removes one of the few contenders with an obvious hole at shortstop. All six current division leaders (Red Sox, White Sox, Astros, Mets, Brewers and Giants) already have answers at the position, as do the Blue Jays, Mariners, Nationals, Phillies, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers and Padres. The Rays have a glut of highly-regarded infield prospects at or near the big league level, and they don’t seem particularly likely to assume Story’s salary either. It’s debatable whether the Angels, Cardinals or Reds are close enough to contention to acquire an impending free agent.

As Passan notes, that leaves the Indians and Yankees as the cleanest fits for Story. Whether Cleveland’s ownership would greenlight a significant midseason acquisition of salary is an open question, though. New York, meanwhile, spent the entire offseason maneuvering their way just below the first luxury tax threshold. Owner Hal Steinbrenner suggested this morning he’d consider going over that mark, but it remains to be seen whether that’s the case and/or whether the team is even close enough to contention a month from now to make that kind of acquisition worthwhile.

Lack of obvious fits notwithstanding, the Rockies still seem likely to eventually find a landing spot for Story. One of the shortstop-needy clubs on the fringes could yet play their way into definitive contention. Clubs without an obvious roster fit could come up with a creative way of working him into the fold- perhaps by moving Story or their incumbent shortstop over to second or third base for a few months.

The Rockies could recoup draft pick compensation via a qualifying offer if they hang onto Story all year, but it’s probable they find a more valuable prospect package in a trade in the coming weeks. It’s possible that offer will wind up coming from a team that, at first glance, doesn’t seem to actually “need” a shortstop.

Roster Notes: Mariners, Tigers, Indians, Rockies, Mets

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The Mariners have reinstated Marco Gonzales from the paternity list, the team announced. Donovan Walton has been optioned to Triple-A to create the roster spot. Gonzalez was gone for just a couple of days, and he’ll step right back into his rotation spot. Walton, meanwhile, has appeared in 21 games and posted a .205/.254/.365 line.

Let’s make the rounds and check in on some roster moves and injury updates…

  • The Tigers and Indians will play a doubleheader today, meaning both teams get to add a 27th man for the day. The Indians have brought up infielder Owen Miller, per Mandy Bell (via Twitter). The Tigers, meanwhile, will add Derek Hill, who only recently has been healthy enough to return from the injured list.
  • Ryan Castellani has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, the Rockies announced. Castellani made one start for the Rockies this year, tossing 3 1/3 innings and allowing two earned runs. The 25-year-old will look to put together more productive outings in Triple-A where he owns a 7.82 ERA across 35 2/3 innings.
  • Mets infielders Jonathan Villar and J.D. Davis will both begin rehab assignments with the Syracuse Mets today, tweets Tim Britton of The Athletic. What began as a hand contusion has ended up keeping Davis out for all but 14 games of the season thus far. Villar filled in ably for much of the year, but he, too, went down with a calf strain. Both now appear to be on the mend.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/27/21

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The latest minor moves around the league:

  • Right-hander Joe Harvey has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The 29-year-old reliever was designated for assignment by the Rockies earlier in the week. He hasn’t pitched in an MLB game this season, but he combined for 21 1/3 innings of 4.22 ERA/5.25 SIERA ball with Colorado and the Yankees between 2019-20.
  • Outfielder Mason Williams has also elected free agency after clearing waivers earlier this week, per his MLB.com transactions log. The 29-year-old garnered brief time with the Mets this season, appearing in 17 games while the big league team was dealing with a series of outfield injuries. Williams has reached the big leagues in each of the past seven seasons- logging time with both New York clubs, the Reds and the Orioles along the way- but he’s only tallied a total of 289 MLB plate appearances. The left-handed hitter owns a .265/.308/.366 line with four home runs at the highest level.
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