Rockies GM Jeff Bridich chatted with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post about the status of his club’s offseason efforts. You’ll certainly want to read the article in its entirety, but we’ll discuss a few pertinent aspects here:
- Payroll is always a key consideration, of course, and Bridich says the team expects to operate at similar levels as it did in 2017, when it opened with just shy of $130MM on the books. As Saunders notes, the end-of-season number crept higher, though presumably the front office will attempt to keep some powder dry for possible mid-season acquisitions. That still seems to leave quite a bit of room to work with, as the team presently is only committed to about $90MM of salary once anticipated arbitration payouts are factored in. The interview did not touch upon considerations of extensions for existing players, but that could also impact the team’s willingness to take on long-term commitments in free agency. With core players like Charlie Blackmon, D.J. LeMahieu, and Nolan Arenado nearing the open market, it’ll be interesting to see whether there’s an effort to lock them up for the long haul.
- Bullpen and backstop remain the areas of focus, says Bridich. That’s no surprise given the indications already given to date; indeed, in MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook piece on the Rox, we highlighted these two spots and ticked through some of the possibilities. Bridich acknowledges that the team remains engaged with Greg Holland — who served as the closer in 2017 — and confirms that the team has “investigated” top free agent closer Wade Davis. It’s notable that the typically tight-lipped Bridich has made clear that the team is playing at the top of the relief market. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether the club can lure either of those arms to Denver, but it’s also worth noting that Bridich says trade options are on the table.
- There’s likely a need for greater relief depth, too, and both free agency and trade could offer opportunities. There’s no “magic number” of bullpen pieces that the team seeks to add, says Bridich, but he says “there is a possibility of multiple additions to the pen.”
- Behind the dish, it isn’t just a matter of chasing a return for Jonathan Lucroy — though Bridich says that’s still an option, as has previously been reported. He tells Saunders that he’s looking at “some potential catchers that are with teams that we have had some interest in over the years,” so it seems trade possibilities are in play. Per the report, Bridich acknowledged at least an awareness of the potential for Yasmani Grandal to be available, though of course it’s open to question whether the division-rival Dodgers would be amenable to sending him to a direct competitors.
- Bridich discussed the possibility of finding a new bat, suggesting that’s on the list but of lesser urgency. It still seems likely that the club will end up making some kind of addition at first base, but it is far from certain that it’ll be an everyday option since there are certainly some options on hand both there and in the corner outfield. Starting pitching is another consideration, though it too is evidently not seen as a key for the winter. The club has been linked to Jake Arrieta, though it’s possible that was mostly just due diligence.
- Saunders writes that the health of David Dahl is an important consideration to the corner mix. Dahl, who is still just 23 years of age, showed tons of promise in his debut in 2016, when he turned in 237 plate appearances of .315/.389/.500 hitting. But he missed all of last season and remains a bit of a wild card at this point. He is only just readying to begin swinging, though that’ll happen soon and could begin to give the team an idea of just how much it can count on him in 2018. Bridich did say the team “really [doesn’t] know” whether Dahl’s back problems will linger for the long term, though he adds that “things are looking good now.”
What could the Dodgers get back for Grandal from the Rox?
Preston Wilson?
Theres nothing the Rockies can realistically give LA to make it worth trading Yaz to a rival
Ryan McMahon?
McMahon has much more value than Grandal
Yes that’d be an awful trade for the Rockies. McMahon and a fringe prospect or two might get them a closer. They could sign Rene Rivera for less than what Grandal will make and get a similar output.
Dodgers obviously don’t want to pay 6-7M to a backup catcher, they can afford that so they won’t just give him up. I personally don’t think there is enough of a market for him to yield a trade.
In what world do you get similar output from Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera? Despite the obvious offensive advantage grandal has Rivera has never eclipsed 360 abs in a season and he’ll be 35. You wanna platoon him with tony Wolters this year? Clear gap in abilities between grandal and Rivera.
Dodgers would take that but the Rockies would never give him up. Hard to match up for a division trades , especially when both teams are going to compete
Grandal is a great pitch framer if he had at least on more year of team control then O think the Rocki should do it. However McMahon might be pushing it as he’s a one year rental.
Grandal is also great at card tricks, which is surprising since his hands are made of concrete.
I would think, if he’s healthy, Dahl would take over RF, where CarGo pl.ayed.
The Rockies are the worst organization in baseball, a nothing team, who cares.
yeah the rockies are just like the red sox, they get eliminated early in the postseason.
You care.
Worse than the Miami Marlins?
If marlins end up going full rebuild, i have to imagine they look at JT Realmuto too. Which wouldnt come cheap obviously.
Would love to see Realmuto to the Rox. Would definitely require a lot but Realmuto is a top 5 catcher in baseball.
Teams don’t trade good young and cheap catchers and on that rare chance that they do… clear out the farm system as it will cost a great deal.
Dahl will never be the player he was for part of season 2016. His career will be a less player if ar all a bad back will require a lot just to walk and run normally. I feal sorry foe him
He doesn’t have a bad back. His issue last year was a rib injury.
What’s a realistic package the White Sox could get for Jose Abreu and/or Avi Garcia? McMahon and a starting pitching prospect as a starting point?
Abreu AND Garcia? Not sure how that happens without Brendan Rodgers who the Rockies would never trade.
McMahon alone is too much. Abreu has barely $10m in excess value. He’s projected as a 3 win player and making $20m a year AAV. He’s not worth that much.
Hi Jeff, please link D.J. LeMahieu in the article like Blackmon and Arenado’s names so I can click it directly to Baseball Reference. I’ll check back later. Thank you!
2017
Yasmani 247/308/459 482 PAs 12.6 def WAR
Rene 252/305/431 237 PAs 7.6 def WAR
Double Rivera’s playing time and he could match Grandal’s defense and would n0t lag so far behind offensively to give good prospects and pay an extra 3-4M.
And for an idea of what Yasmani’s market is….
The only teams with deplorable catcher situations are the O’s, A’s, Rays, Dbacks, and Rox. Rays aren’t spending, so they probably would be satisfied picking somebody off waivers. O’s and A’s don’t figure to be competitive. Dbacks and Rox are division rivals. There’s 4 respectable options in free agency right now (Lucroy, Avila, Iannetta, Rivera).
Its hard to find a trade partner for Grandal, and for a team with WS aspirations, they might as well hang onto their backup catcher and maybe trade him at the deadline.