Barring a last-minute change of heart from owner Dick Monfort, the Rockies are not prepared to undertake significant changes to their front office, reports MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. Likewise, that decision-making group seems set to try to build a contender while relying primarily on the same major pieces that remain under team control.
Senior VP of Major League operations Bill Geivett spoke with Harding on the club’s roster. “We like the team that we have,” he said. “When the majority of them are out there, we feel good about our chances. At the same time, we look at next year and we know our pitching staff, we need to improve, and we need to be able to score runs on the road.”
While not surprising under the circumstances, Geivett indicated that the team has no intentions of dealing its two biggest stars (and two biggest contracts) shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. “If we’re going to win, they’re going to need to be part of it, too,” he explained.
Geivett said that the club’s focus was on improving a pitching staff that was among the least effective in baseball last year. “We need impactful starting pitching,” said Geivett. “We’re not going to check his ID. We don’t care how old he is. We don’t care how much time he has. In order to compete against the teams we play with, we know starting pitching is essential.”
Those comments certainly seem to indicate that Colorado will not be concerned with the future in looking for arms for 2015. At the same time, the club is reportedly not preparing to increase its payroll, and current commitments seem to leave fairly little to spend. Adding another starter would obviously help, given the massive uncertainty that permeates much of the team’s rotation (to say nothing of the bullpen), but it it is far from clear that such an acquisition — in and of itself — would make the team a likely contender.
Geivett himself has a lot riding on the coming season. Monfort made clear recently that he holds Geivett responsible for the product that takes the field at Coors. On the other hand, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post recently reported, internal team sources are frustrated with the owner’s own intrusion on baseball decision-making.
If their was ever a team that needed an altitude adjusted dome……
Yep, and it starts from “the top”… the owner. Wake up Mr. Short Pockets, you’re playing in the NL West. If SF can wake from the bottom up, so can Denver. AZ. actually looks to having a new winning formula now. Build it, they will come.
Easier said than done, but they need per arb arms to lead the rotation. Even flashing a wad of cash might not ever attract a top flight sp pitching at altitude. I don’t think development is pure luck… but CO must do this to get quality starters
Agreed. Money is not the crux though. Maybe for the likes of NYY, Angels or the Dodgers, but it catches up with all eventually. Yankees have much rebuilding to do, no? NYY has their formula of bringing in the “headliners”. It’s short term at best. They won for two decades with the “core four” etc. Yep, youth prospects with good genes. I’m not sure I see a formula in Denver, except Vet Loyalty, till the legs fall off. Am I wrong?
The Farm… build the Farm. The overhead- worth the expense.
Quality pays. It does not cost
It’s lightning in a bottle high end young pitching coupled with the right ground ball inducing veteran innings eaters. It wasnt all pitching in 14…they also couldn’t fill out a healthy lineup.
I mean, if you look at the roster on paper over the past couple of seasons…you see a team that could compete with maybe another sp. Injuries have killed…but its like they play half a season and then tank. Any other climate I’d say… go after Shields hard… but no way he goes to Denver.
They are always going to struggle with pre arb-arms. Advanced baseball metrics are awesome yet they will always understate the necessity of nurturing young pitchers though. Confidence needs to be installed in them and one mistake at Coors field is so much more unforgiving. Young guys trying to develop their psyche in a new environment tend to start doubting themselves and it follows them on the road. Hitters just can’t wait to get home to break their slump. Consistency leads to success. The 500 club at Fenway that cut down on Wind currents was the best thing that ever happened to the Red Sox.
I can’t really recall any prearb pre free agent arms that tanked because of Coors. Their best teams in Colorado were with Jimenez and Francis. You’d think Coors would be counter balanced with added games in the larger NL West parks.
I can’t even recall all the pre arb arms that struggled there. Two or four moderate successes there over a 20 year period means little. You can’t convince me otherwise. Quality arms have been messed up pitching in that place…..in the head.
The fact is…a good team can win with Coors as a home field….it’s been done before.. Either by injury or lack of talent…the Rockies just haven’t put the team on the field. Right now they are much like watching a car stuck between gears.
Monfort must be bent on usurping Loria as the worst owner in baseball.
Hard to win when you can’t develop pitching or attract it through free agency
Monfort, Loria, and Wolff are all fighting for the #1 spot.
When healthy, their 8 will score and score some more. Hasn’t happened and shouldn’t bank that it ever will. I’d consider drooling trades for Tulo & Cargo @ Winter Meetings. Is there anybody smart enough in Denver to rake another team’s prospects?
Some of the issue is that, especially with Tulo, some of the teams that might match up like the Yankees don’t have the prospects potentially to deal.
I also feel that Montfort is concerned about attendance. The Rockies need some names to draw. This certainly isn’t the new post expansion Denver market. Not saying I agree from a baseball standpoint, but it’s better to lose 90 games at the ticket booth with Tulo than it is to lose 105 without him. This isn’t Chicago where they will sell out through a total rebuild.
not sure they sell out in Chi daily…. but certainly stronger attention to each game than the Rockies. Mucho issues regarding the ballpark and rights as well… The Cubs need to get all that resolved so they can move forward as a big market team.
That said – Rockies brass must not just try to tread water with LAD & SF…. that has proven futile
Is there anyone smart enough to rake other teams for the Rocks elite players? If not, keep them for possible deadline deals? Let them be promo draws throughout the season?
If all stay healthy, they’ll kick some butt big time. Hasn’t happened nor should anyone expect it 2015
And then we come to the pitching staff………..
No, the Cubs haven’t sold out, especially in early Spring…but couple their global market..merchandise..etc…and the Cubs are well able to punt a few seasons after hiring top notch front office staff. Colorado is in much the same scenario as MN
Denver is such a great sports town– the fans deserve better than this. This team is completely irrelevant and difficult to root for
And the Rockies will once again have a 90 loss season next year….wake me when this saga is over.
Rockies don’t anticipate major changes, and most of us don’t anticipate a competitive Rockies team. Funny how sometimes those things work out…
If they can add some pitching and stay healthy… there’s no reason to think they can’t be competitive on sheer health bounce back alone. That team was shelled with DL moves in 14
That is the main thing in my opinion, but do you really think that after all this time, CarGo and Tulo will ever learn how to stay healthy? Maybe one of them gets lucky one more time for a full season, but it is a major problem when your two top hitters are both highly injury prone. They should try like hell to sell one of them for the right return.
I doubt Tulo can stay healthy. He’s admitted that he has to work hard to stay on the field. For their benefit they need him to play a full season to see what they can do as a team, and a minimum boost his value.
I’ve often speculated that the Rockies should switch their way of constructing their team from holding onto good offense and crying that pitching didn’t want to play in Denver.
Rather, they should produce the good hitters and trade them for pitching. Tulo, any other batter and used-Cargo should be traded purely for pitching-pitching=pitching. Replace them with cheap vets trying to re-build their value. Even scout carefully overseas for good Japanese players and assume they will bring similar numbers to their time in JLB because of the altitude. Hitters in Denver MUST be expendable for pitching. It seems the only way. I mean, look at Michael Cuddyer. He went from a solid hitter (around .780 OPS last 3 years in Minn) to a batting champ with Colorado (around .930 OPS).
I see the Rockies constantly valuing their hitters and thinking good hitters in Colorado are all-stars. Let other teams think that and trade them for pitching, the always missing element that the Rockies need.
Also, investing more in their medical staff should be a no-brainer. Keeping players healthy at altitude is difficult. More days off for key players and better physical training will help. That’s why the wind seems to get pulled out of the Rockies sails each year, the altitude doesn’t make going strong down the stretch easy. Targeting free agents who are sitting out, like Morales or Drew is another strategy to employ. Getting fresh legs mid-season would be helpful to the team.
I like this idea in theory. you can’t decline a trade until you are in the league for how many years? I believe it’s at least 7 or 10.
It’s 10 years and you have to be with a team for at least 5 years, unless you have a good enough agent to negotiate a non trade clause into you’re contract.
Their way of saying they don’t expect to contend next year.