Trevor Story is widely seen as one of the top trade candidates in baseball, and if the Rockies don’t move him prior to the July 30 trade deadline, they reportedly can’t count on him returning as a free agent for 2022 and beyond. Story doesn’t plans to re-sign with the Rox when he hits the open market this winter, sources tell Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post.
The two sides hadn’t discussed an extension as of February 23, according to Story, though it isn’t known if any negotiations took place during March or even beyond Opening Day. That said, given the amount of discussion that would go into working out a long-term deal worth well north of $200MM, the fact that the Rockies had yet to broach the subject even by late February of Story’s walk year could be seen as a sign that the team wasn’t counting on Story sticking around.
Frankly, it would be more surprising if Story did have designs on a return to Denver, considering that the Rockies are struggling through another losing season and seem closer to a rebuild than a return to contention. Interim GM Bill Schmidt told Saunders and other reporters that the team has been showing some improvement on the field, and felt that the Rockies were just a few clutch hits away from having a much better record than their current 24-36 mark. Even if Colorado was a few games closer to the second NL wild card slot than its current 10.5-game deficit, however, that still shouldn’t change the equation about how the Rockies seem overdue to reshuffle their roster.
Regardless, it’s clear that the Rockies haven’t publicly thrown in the towel on the 2021 season just yet, as Schmidt said that it’s “not necessarily” the case that Story or Jon Gray would be dealt. Trade discussion has yet to pick up in general, as Schmidt said that “some clubs have reached out and expressed (interest), if we get to that point. But there has not really been anything to talk about…There is nothing really to follow up on.”
Saunders doesn’t feel the team would move Story prior to the All-Star Game in Denver, so it will likely be over a month before trade speculation can really begin in earnest on Story, Gray, or any other Rockies. Plus, Story has to take the first step of just getting back on the field, as the shortstop has been on the 10-day injured list since May 28 (retroactively) due to right elbow inflammation. Colorado manager Bud Black told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that Story is expected to be ready for the start of the Rockies’ series with the Marlins on Tuesday.
When and if Story’s trade market picks up, both MLB Network’s Jon Morosi and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale expect the Athletics to be involved. Oakland is leading the AL West despite getting sub-replacement player value from Elvis Andrus at shortstop, as Andrus is hitting only .214/.259/.273 through 201 plate appearances. Most of those struggles were contained to the first month of the season, as Andrus has hit a more respectable .295/.337/.385 over 83 PA from May 7 to June 5, but there is little doubt Story would be a much bigger upgrade for an A’s team that has postseason aspirations.
Payroll would be a major factor in any potential Story/Oakland deal, as the shortstop is owed $17.5MM for the 2021 season and will still have approximately $5.92MM in remaining salary by late July. While it doesn’t seem like a huge splurge for an All-Star shortstop, it remains to be seen what the budget-conscious A’s have available to spend, or if they feel the value of having Story for a World Series push is worth both the salary outlay and the prospects the A’s would be sending to Colorado in a trade.
A few years ago, I thought they had quite the team, but now that is gone
Before or after they blew their load on out of position players and questionable reliver contracts?
Part of the problem with teams like the Rockies is that they struggle to find players to accept their load. Many players on the “open market” just aren’t going to sign there unless they receive a very large overpay. It’s a difficult position to be in
Then you don’t sign them. EVERYONE knew that Desmond was a landmine before the ink dried.
signing outside pitching help wasnt a bad idea. the reality is all of the guys they signed worked out worse then expected. look at McGee, Shaw, and Davis this year. overall all productive.
Horrific
*ring ring*. Hi Rockies, this is John mozeliak… let’s do more business lol.
Wade Davis has an fWar of -0.2, McGee .2 and Shaw .1. (their ERAs are pretty decent, I guess, but that’s a lot of luck). I don’t care what your definition of, “productive” is, that’d be far worse production/$ than what they were paid by COL, but please, continue.
How so? Not signing Story is the right call for the Rockies. They’ll get some prospects back for him and Gray and have almost no salary commitments on the books after next year. With SD and LA in their division, that’s clearly the right call and what any team in their situation would do (and what AZ, which IS in the same situation) is about to do.
Every team has bad free agent signings…. You don’t hunt the free agent market for value, you enter out of necessity.
Ideally you home-grow 60+% of your talent thus cutting down the swings you have to take in free agency . Col is not hitting near this mark, that’s their biggest problem
The Royals made Bull- Penning fun for a while, Col has always had to try strange in-lines to the pitching dept due to Coors, it didn’t work..Not the end of the world
They were 1 Sept Arenado shoulder inj away from winning the West just 3 years ago with all those bad inks
Rebuilds are tough, No need to kick the dog while…..
@seamaholic – Remember that they still have $10M/yr for the next 5 years on the books (including 2021) for Arenado. This counts against their CBT threshold. He might be their highest paid ‘player’ next year outside of Charlie Blackmon.
Mr. Mozeliak doesnt use a telephone. He communicates directly and solely through the microphone in his bow tie.
The Cardinals could definitely be mot just a division contender but a perinatal NL pennant contender with the addition of both Storey and Gray!!!
But—— What players would that move cost them? Plus—- would they be able to sign them both long term??
Storey would love to follow Arenaldo to the Cardinals dugout!!! Same for Arenaldo’s other buddy Jon Gray.
Even though John Mozeliak has not had that great of success in sign productive Free Agents as his past trend shows——
Mozeliak has done well in some recent trades. (The Arenaldo trade especially!)
Hopefully Mozeliak can pull the lucky rabbits foot out of a hat to obtain these 2 players!!! Setting up a very bright future for the young Cardinals for the future!!
I know!!! Extreme Wishful Thinking!
WAR for relievers is a joke. When the developer of the stat says its not relevant until you get to 450 IP, quoting it for reliever production even in multiple seasons is not going to tell you anything. WAR gives you nothing for relievers until you start talking about career numbers for guys with 8+ seasons.
ERA, FIP, SIERA. SO/9 or SO%, OPS Against. Those give you relevant information about reliever performance.
Both Trevor Storey and Jon Gray would fit nicely with the Cardinals. I’m sure their ole buddy Nola Arenaldo would agree!!! Then ——National League Championship—- here we come!!!
I mean thats really where they faltered right. I dont remember who else was a free agent that year but if they picked 2 different relivers or a position player i wonder if nolan is still here aswell
The reliver contracts were stupid, but I at least kind of understand their thinking there. Signing Desmond to move him to a less valuable defensive position made no sense.
They don’t want Arenado there anymore. Not with the Dodgers and Padres in their division. Last thing they need is a $35m third baseman in his 30’s as they rebuild (the Cards are about the find that out, too).. And they got what looks to be a very solid mid-rotation starter with 4 years of control in Gomber, and some prospects, for their trouble.
Those prospects, honestly, all suck. So in essence, the Rockies traded Arenado and $50 million for Austin Gomber (who has looked good). Hardly an equitable deal. Arenado will likely play his typical stellar defense, drive in a hundred runs and give the Cardinals a chance to win the division. Colorado is a clown show ownership and front office outfit.
People still haven’t figured out Arenado with the no trade and opt out wasn’t worth anything? Rockies as the marlins did with the Yankees as does any team getting rid of a player in their 30s making over 100m fleeced the cardinals and it’s not debatable.
To say the Rockies fleeced the cardinals and it’s not debatable is just ignorant lol
Not really news. The Rockies are not likely to sign any big money deals again any time soon
Story will be in his age 29 season next year when a potential long-term contract begins. If he is looking at “well north of $200MM”, he must be thinking he is worth $30-35MM per year…and he would be paid that into his mid-30’s. So…Is he worth that kind of money and what team would sign up for that? It will be interesting. I’m not sure I would sign him to that deal. Seems a bit high to me.
It indeed WILL be interesting, Id even say SUPER interesting
Tatis and Lindor just lit off a full arsenal of fireworks in the movie theater this past Spring …
I agree I don’t think the bunch will be worth it.
I could see less bidders than players unfolding resulting in some 1+ player options /high AAV type inks.
How’s it going to come across when 3/5 of these guys put up better numbers than Lindor this year….
Expect Siemen and Chris Taylor to be getting all the “early” calls, they’d be smart to wait a little Imo
I, for one, Do not want my Dodgers inking Seager for 300
You know whose happy, Boston…they got the best of the lot for highway robbery.
With the way Gavin Lux has performed in Seager’s absence the Dodgers may be better off putting that money to use elsewhere. I could see Farhan going after Seager, i can also Arte signing another big money contract.
Even if Story is looking for $30 million per year at his age 29 season he’s probably not going to get a 10 year contract. A four year deal worth around $120 million isn’t terrible for many teams. The Astros come to mind as a possible suitor if they let Correa walk. The Angels, Reds, Brewers, Yankees, and of coarse the obligatory Blue Jays could all have varying degrees of interest
@ Cap & Crunch – Unfortunately for Boston, Xander has an opt out clause in his deal after the 2022 season. If he sees Story, Correa and Seager sign for around $30M/yr., he’s going to want a raise of his own come 2023. He might be in the best position of all of them. He becomes the 1 premiere option at SS for 2023, a year after the new CBA has been signed too. They’ll need to pay Devers & possibly E-Rod too over the next two seasons so they should really enjoy Xander @ $20M/yr while they still can.
Seager isn’t going anywhere, and you shouldn’t want him to. Friedman has indicated that recent spending will not inhibit the Dodgers’ plans to keep their homegrown stars. Seager is likely their third baseman of the future.
@Tooth- Yup aware, was more the grand total value of the contract, tad different as X was an extension but I always Lump X in with that group and compare them
He’s a team friendly dude and from what I see very fair, He’ll get bumped but I bet its still more team friendly than a lot of these others when all is said and done
@ Chief – Yup, Star (s) – I prefer Kershaw and Taylor is all . Not an issue of “can’t ” its an issue of “should”
In other news water is wet. Carry on folks
And nobody was surprised.
Not planning to re-sign: not news.
Planning not to re-sign: news.
There’s a big difference. This ain’t news.
Pretty obvious. Now that it’s out in the open though there’s really no excuse not to trade him.
you don’t say
I think if the Brewers can get Story to switch to third. With the young pitching, Yellich, and some young cheap players under control. We could see them make run at him in his contract demands
Why move him to third hes a great defender. Include adames in the deal or flip him to third
Why? They need pitching.
The Brewers? All they have is pitching.
He means Colorado needs pitching
It’s cute how Schmidt acts like they still have a chance.
I believe the owner remarked last offseason or the one prior that they felt they were a 90-win club then finished last. It’s almost if they think everyone else is stupid enough to believe them.
They WERE a 90 win club the year before that (in 2018), with basically the same group. It wasn’t remotely out of line.
They didn’t sign a major league free agent and didn’t make any trades. It’s not like they dipped a little from 94 wins in 2018. They went 71-91 in 2019, didn’t add or change, and expected a 23 win turnaround because they did it a decade before.
Spent the last year
Rocky Mountain Way
Couldn’t get much higher
Out to pasture
Think it’s safe to say
Time to open fire
Holy crap!
The A’s are going to be involved?
Man, that A’sFaninUK (not to be confused with A’sFaninLondonUK…which yeah; confusing) guy flipped out on me when I disagreed with his “Story to A’s” take.
It was mostly about Oakland taking on that kind of money. Their future seems uncertain & they hardly threw any money around over the winter. & Story will be ~ $10MM in added salary.
I guess I still have to question it due to that.
But it also certainly appears that it’s not completely out of the question.
Huh.
“ Payroll would be a major factor in any potential Story/Oakland deal, as the shortstop is owed $17.5MM for the 2021 season and will still have approximately $5.92MM in remaining salary by late July. ”
More like 6M
Woops.
It’s right there in the last paragraph.
& prospects could be added to pay even that down. It’s really not all that onerous of a sum is it?
Well.
This has all certainly been educational for me. I was probably just a little giddy after seeing 3 whole runs through a mere 5 innings.
I’ll tighten up.
It still would be a surprising move to an extent just with their history. But with the fact they won’t trade Story until post ASB holding his market up, I would be surprised if money alone held a trade up for Story.
One scenario where both situations happen is if As only want to add say 3M (making numbers up for a point) not 6M, and the additional prospect cost to get that money kicked in stops a deal. I’d be surprised honestly, the numbers just aren’t that big for how big of an upgrade Story presents
Wow, a call out post? Grow up and get a life.
It goes like this: I post a well-informed commentary, you reply “youre dumb and wrong” and then I prove you wrong and IM the guy “flipping out”? That is called “gaslighting” and it happens on this site constantly, you are literally doing it right now with this childish callout post.
Grow up, for real. Dont EVER make a post calling out another poster ever again, understood? Its sociopathic. Stay within the comment thread and move onto the next topic.
Its also highly insane you keep note of these ANONYMOUS commenters, as if there’s some kind of “win/loss” – you win nothing from having a take, just fire it off and move on, its far better for your mental health!
A’sfaninUK:
“…I post a well-informed commentary…”
You mean like claiming Zaidi fired Scott Kazmir because his friend died? That you posted without a shred of evidence? Not only was that not “well-informed”, it was a down-right despicable, unfair, accusation, that appears to stem from a less than unbiased point of view.
If you want others to see your posts as “well-informed. try being a little more objective. You don’t always have to be right.
“Well-informed” is questionable. You’re kind of hard to miss with all the vitriol you spew.
Vitriol is an understatement. Mans acting like he doesn’t flip out, but is essentially doing the yelling version of a comment directed at someone, and seemingly taking what they said personally.
Dude, hardly.
Chill out. I gave reasons financial & historical why I disagreed. I have never posted anything close to “youre [sic] dumb & wrong”.
Ever. To anyone.
Acknowledged my surprise that you were perhaps on to something. A “call out post”?
I don’t even know what that means.
I will forget some posters day to day.
But I clearly recall this instance because you claimed to “flag” me “for trolling” (heard nothing from the mods, btw).
So yeah. It was memorable for being so completely over the top.
But your current response strikes me as kinda crazy sounding.
If that isn’t some online version of “flipping out” I really just don’t know what would be.
Take a deep breath, bro. It appears the A’s are quite likely in on Story. No reason for…well, whatever all that was.
Cut him a little slack. After all, dude has some SERIOUS issues. Clearly suffering from some form of narcissistic personality disorder. Look how unhinged he gets over something so insignificant. It’s pathetic. Constantly projecting his inadequacies onto everyone else and completely lacking any form of self awareness. Seek help, A’sfan!
Hello, Texas!!!
The one team (or one of 4 teams) that’s worse than the Rockies? Not very likely!
It’s his hometown. He still lives here in the off season. The Rangers will have only 33 million on the books and they have been pretty open about Story anchoring their infield.
My list for Braves:
1. Marte – D-Backs
2. Story – Rockies
3. Cas – Reds
4. Winker – Reds
Otherwise, don’t bother (more likely with this organization)
Marte’s gonna cost LOADS.
in our dreams…… ownership to cheap, they might even let Freddie walk.
Yeah bud. Marte I believe is under control, for the few 3 or 4 seasons. Until 2025 seasons I believe.
Given Dansby’s recent turnaround and that he’s controlled through next season makes it unlikely the Braves would be suitors for two months of Story. And past weekend aside, they don’t want to move Riley to the outfield when he’s finally getting into a groove offensively and defensively at third.
Personally, I think the plan will be to welcome TDA back around mid-August and find a low-cost outfielder and bullpen arm via trade. Unfortunately, have given up on this front office pulling the trigger on significant trades.
I don’t really see why the Braves would go after Marte of the Diamondbacks. He plays 2B/SS/CF. They have all that covered and I expect Waters to be up by the end of the year. They just took 2 out of 3 from the 60 game regular season “world champion” Dodgers. I guess the Dodgers didn’t have Muncy but the Braves are down TDA and Ozuna. I’d rather see them extend Freeman another 2-3 years or the Braves won’t be contenders after this year.
Wow, they took 2/3 from the Dodgers. That must mean they will finally get over .500 this season. This mindset is precisely the reason this team fails every year. You can’t keep slotting in rookies to fill clear holes and expect to win.
Even when a player is good and young, the apologist fans still argue they are not a fit. When a player is on the market – “they are too expensive.” When the player is available through trade, “they are too expensive in prospects.”
So which it?
Instead, let’s fill in the roster with Heredia’s and Almonte’s and pray it works out? or maybe let’s put in rookies like Pache and Waters and be patient.
I understand fans really have no real say and it is up to ownership. However, the mindset of slotting in prospects to fix a WS-inspiring team is not the answer.
Ozuna is lost for probably the rest of the year. I hope he never plays for the Braves again after what is reported to be police body cam damning evidence.TDA is out the majority of the season and probably won’t be resigned as Contreras is doing ok. Ynoa is out for a extended time and broke a bone in his pitching hand. Soroka is probably also done for the year. If a couple guys didn’t make terrible decisions this team is a deep playoff team. This cheap team is horribly handicapped by being owned by a corporation that a hall of fame player who played his entire career for the Braves just exposed as only caring about making money.
Got news for you. Pretty much every owner in this sport (or any pro sport) is the same. It’s just that some are corporations and others are individuals. The Dodgers are owned by a hedge fund. You think they don’t want to make money?
The Braves are just a marginal competitive team that had a couple good years in 2019 and 2020 when things went right, but aren’t in the same class as the real elite teams.
The 2019 and 2020 Braves were not marginally competitive. They were elite teams that had a real shot to win the World Series those years. Those teams are not the same as this team, which due to many factors, has certainly regressed. The bullpen went from being a top five to bottom five unit. The lineup got weaker even before the TDA injury and Ozuna stuff just by having the pitcher hit which, in turn made the bench weaker.
There’s still enough talent to win the weakest division in baseball so far. None of these teams have taken hold when they could’ve created some serious distance the first two months.
The dodgers are without Muncy, Pollock and Seager; and Bellinger just got back. Not to mention all the pitching still out
Take out 1/3 of your lineup including 2+4 hitter… does taking 2 of 3 from that team in early June really mean anything?
Funny you still add quotes to World Champion. I doubt you would have done that if the Braves didn’t blow that series and they won the title. Right?
Tampa would struggle to get all this done. Let alone Atlanta
Winker- v good
Reds are nearly back at .500 with Votto due back and Moose after. They may not be in sell mode and Castellanos may not be a piece at the deadline.
Given that the apparently couldn’t afford a real SS, I don’t see them as buyers either.
Perhaps they would look to take Simmons off the As hands as part of their deal.
Castellanos has an opt out that looks like a pretty solid bet to be exercised. So unless they think this team is making a playoff run, this may be the last chance to get long term value
Why would it be their last chance. They could QO him and get back compensation for him so any trade would have to be worth more than that.
I stand corrected. Thought he had been QO’d last time, didn’t realize he was traded so ineligible back then. Had to look it up.
With that acknowledged, castellanos should fetch more than a non-first rounder draft value, especially with the year he’s had. But it is less of a sure fire thing than I thought
Winker isn’t going anywhere
The only guy on this list they have the prospects to get is Story, and that’s only because he’s in his walk year. Everyone else is miles beyond what the Braves can offer without completely stripping their farm system. But he’s the one they need least. Swanson is perfectly fine. He’s not their problem.
blah blah blah. People say the same nonsense all the time. The same thing was said about Arenado. Fans overrate returns all the time.
Pache or Waters + any 2 of Davidson/Wilson/Wright/Muller + one of their catchers and SS’s will be enough to get Marte.
Ian, I’m just glad you’re not the Braves GM.
Marte is good, don’t get me wrong. But why trade that package for a guy who plays premium positions when you don’t need help at premium positions? The Braves need a COF, and Casty would come WAY cheaper. You’re essentially buying a Lamborghini to commute to work.
if the A’s got Story, that infield would be stacked
Criswell, and Pineda.
That’s a pretty good offer (unusual for this site). I actually think it’s a slight overpay for a few months of Story, but it’s in the realm. Teams don’t usually trade international signees so soon after being signed, though.
For a 1/2 year of Story I wonder what if would take for the Brewers. Its exactly what they need. Maybe Turang, Ray and Reese Olson? Turang could be a replacement next year and is not needed given the Adames acquisition, Ray has shown flashes but has a high K%, and although Olson is outside the T30, velo is now in the mid 90s, and producing gaudy numbers in High A at a young age.
Brewers would be completely stupid to give up Turang for a half year rental. Not happening.
Ray and Olson….sure.
It stuns me that Rockies ownership and management think they are “a few hits” away from being competitive. All but a few players are AAA at best. So tired of watching players come up and play well, only to watch them leave to play for a competitive team.
Rangers need to be all in for Story. Great player for new Stadium to turn the Franchise around.
That is the rumor and Story is from Tx.
Why do fans always think it matters in the slightest where a player is from? Story hasn’t lived in Dallas in years, and I’m sure will take the highest offer this off-season, whether it’s in Texas or not.
It’s his hometown. He still lives here in the off season. The Rangers will have only 33 million on the books and they have been pretty open about Story anchoring their infield.
@seamholic- I don’t always understand that, either. If you’re talking about a player in the twilight of their career, yeah, sure, maybe they want to play closer to home. Most players are going to take the most money or go for the best chance to win, though.
The Rangers aren’t contenders if they add Story.I’d say winning is a factor for him or else he’d entertain re-upping in Colorado if the Rox laid down a strong offer? And one would have to believe Colorado would be capable of doing that.
There is zero need for Texas to trade for Story. They can’t make the playoffs this year, so why would they give away prospects for ~ 2 months of Story? It’s highly unlikely that Story gets traded and agrees to an extension with the acquiring team while being so close to free agency. He’s going to test free agency and that’s when Texas should strike. Let the A’s spend the prospect capital (and make them weaker down the road) for a chance to win in 2021. Texas can lock him up to a long term contract in 2022 free agency while losing no prospects or draft picks as Story can’t be tagged with a QO if he’s traded mid-season.
Tbf, he didn’t say winning team. He said better than their 12 game under 500 record.
There’s a lot of room there before they become a winning team
It’s easy to dislike Rockies’ mgmt. and those were a poor choice of words. The entire interview was cringe-worthy and felt like he is so disconnected with his team. Can they just let Charlie Blackmon be the team’s official spokesperson?
The Brewers need him more than any team in baseball, IMO.
Tell me a reason why he would be re-sign with Rockies. They’re just gonna trade him and treat him like Nolan.
Same reason Nolan did, dump truck full of $.
Yep. Not that it makes any sense whatsoever for the Rox to try and extend him, but if they offer the cash, why wouldn’t he sign, and insist on a no trade clause so he can pick his destination? Best of both worlds. I’m 100% certain Arenado knew he was not going to get all those dollars from the Rockies when he signed. But it was smart anyway. Same thing for Stanton and the Marlins.
End of Story.
This is the year to deal him with hitting down. Bats are going to get a little more premium. If they are smart they start trying to line up the market by the end of this month.
The winter will be interesting. There will be more shortstops looking for megadeals than teams looking for shortstops. The teams losing these guys will not be looking to sign a pricey replacement. Small market teams and those in the rebuilding mode are also likely to pass. Which teams does that leave?
The teams that currently have those elite shortstops will be without elite shortstops. You think the Astros won’t sign someone (maybe Correa himself)? Or the Dodgers? The Yanks will, for sure. There will be plenty of buyers.
Dodgers already have Lux. There is no need to overspend for someone else. The Yankees have payroll issues that might keep them from taking on another big contract. It will be a limited market.
And 5 stars suppresses the market, not inflate. These guys will be fighting+negotiating for the same dollar
He isn’t making the same mistake Arenado did. Although Nolan still found his way out.
Nolan didn’t make a mistake. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Blu Jays
The A’s won’t trade for a player they will actually have to pay, and will be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, as usual.
They wouldn’t have to pay much because he would be a half-season rental.
They didnt get knocked out in the first round last year!
@Ted – Sure they will. The A’s did it with Jon Lester and they have made other substantial rental deals in the past as well. If Billy thinks they have a chance to win it all this year, he will go for it and Story makes a lot of sense for Oakland. The Rockies are not going to receive a mega-package for 2 months of Story no matter who trades for him. If they wanted premium assets for Story then they should have traded him last year. They’ll be lucky if they get a Top 100 prospect in the deal now.
More like Dave Forst. Billy is more involved in economics than roster decisions.
I called the Story rumor months ago and of course got gaslit and called names over it, SIGH.
One of these days you will understand I knew things you didnt…
Is your arm sore from patting yourself on the back so much?
This makes him a 100% trade candidate this year.
My only hope is that the prospect package from whatever team is loaded with POSITION PLAYERS instead of pitchers. The Ubaldo Jimenez trade and the Troy Tulowitzki trade were both led by pitching prospects and neither worked out well. The Matt Holliday deal was led by Carlos Gonzalez and became arguably the best trade in team history. Who knows how the Arenado deal will end up? It looked bad when it was made, but that is meaningless in the grand scheme. If Montero or one of the other prospects becomes a star, it’ll be just fine.
The big point is that the weakest part of the Rockies right now is their offense. Sounds weird, but its true. The bullpen has always been weak, and it probably always will be weak. It’s just the nature of the beast. But the Rockies have always been best when they were winning and losing games 9-7 instead of trying to win or lose 3-1.
Arenado trade already ended up being historically terrible. One of the worst deals ever. It was so bad – the GM didn’t make it through the first two months of the season and he will never gm again. It was so bad it makes the Rockies the worst ran organization in professional sports. So don’t fool yourself.
Set the bar low on returns. It’s a buyers market
You cannot judge a prospect trade until at least the prospects work their way through the system. It will never be regarded as a deal that maximized Arenado’s value. But calling it the worst ever after just a couple months is just foolish. Gomber has been pretty good this year and any of the 4 prospects could become a gem.
And at shortstop it is NOT a buyer’s market. Sure there are several great soon to be FAs that could have been dealt, but it won’t happen. The Dodgers are not trading Seager. The Mets have locked up Lindor. The Astros are unlikely to deal Correa. And the Cubs are in first place and thus are unlikely to deal Baez. Story is all that is left for any teams in need. The A’s and Yankees are both in need and that doesn’t include any injuries that might occur between now and the deadline.
The Rockies are in a good position right now. At least regarding this.
Done
Using the Rox’ Arenado haul as a comparable, the As prospect package for Story should consist of Nobody, Never Will Be, and Who.
You might want to rethink that after you actually check out what the guys the Rockies got are doing this year.
That would require effort and an ability to read.
Any of them producing in AA or higher ? Until that happens – it was a list of nobody’s.
Um, yes Austin Gomber is producing at the major league level.
Yes. Gomber is producing in the majors. 112 ERA+. Good middle of the rotation starter so far.
Piss the Rockies fan base off. Trade Story to the Cardinals for 4 unknown prospects.
That wouldn’t piss us off. At this point, that is probably the best case scenario because we could at least start rooting for St. Louis this year.
Now trading him to the Dodgers or Padres or Giants for unknown prospects would possibly cause Coors Field to mysteriously catch fire.
Shocker
He should sign there make them sign a giant onerous contract they’re just gonna trade him in a couple years like Nolan anyways
Rockies better start that rebuild. They aren’t even close to the Giants, Dodgers or Padres even with lots of clutch hits lol.
There was a gym coach named Schmidt in a high school I attended. The nickname bestowed upon him by the students was Chickenshmidt.
I bequeath this nickname to disgruntled Rockies fans.
Let’s be honest. The Rockies need to be burning up the phone lines right now trying to get Story traded ASAP. The earlier they trade him, the better the haul will be. If it gets down to the last few days and everybody knows the Rockies have the option of trading him or getting 1 draft pick after he laughs off their QO, their leverage is gone. If he goes out tomorrow and (God Forbid) gets a fairly serious injury that puts him out for 6-8 weeks, their leverage is shot. Pick up a phone and see if you can fleece somebody in to throwing in an extra prospect in return for an extra couple weeks of his services.
If they keep him for the season – he will get a qualifying offer that’ll turn into an end of the first round pick (most likely). That’s a better return than they got for arenado. So they don’t have to trade him and based upon how incompetent their management is – may be the best route.
Call Billy bean begging to unload your best player to him- and you will end up w a handful of beans in return.
He’s not good away from Coors. The Rox best prospect offer will be the draft pick. If he is traded by the deadline, it will be mostly to dump salary from the Rox standpoint. They won’t be getting draft pick comparable value in trade.
Can you find a player in their prime that left the Rockies and didn’t hit well for the team they signed with or were traded to? I can’t.
Fact is Rockies hitters have the hardest job in baseball because they have to relearn how to pick up the movement of the ball off the pitchers hand every single time they leave Coors. Pitches move differently at sea level than at a mile high. So after playing 3 or 4 series at Coors and seeing the ball move one way, they go to any other ballpark and the ball moves completely differently. Add to that the fact that playing at a mile high makes it harder to recover from all the minor and major injuries players have every season and Rockies players have a rough row to hoe.
Story will be just fine hitting for another team regardless of what his road numbers are now just like every other player in their prime was after they left the Rockies.
Umm… Isn’t Story hurt and not having one of his better years? He may very well be a risky rental. Buyer beware. Just sayin’.
Shocker
Story has the same problem on the trade market as all of these Colorado sluggers – you can’t pay full price because you don’t know if their home/road splits are real or not.
Story is a 978 career OPS at Coors and 754 everywhere else. I can’t trade an elite prospect for that.
Very true, or sign him as a FA either.
Why do people bring that BS up about home/road slashes for Rockies time after time? Can you name a single player that left the Rockies in their prime and then hit for their new team like they did on the road for the Rockies?
Okay will they get more value in the draft pick compensation or players they trade him for? He is on pace for having his worst season.
Story is not that good away from Coors. Whoever signs him will be eating lots of $$$$ shortly into the contract.
Na na na na na na na na hey hey hey goodbye
Well, I am gobsmacked. An elite young player not wanting to re-sign with a dumpster fire? Truly shocking.
The new GM sounds just like the old GM. And it seems like they both believe Dick Monfort’s insane ideas that the Rockies are forever “just a tweak away” from being a 90+ win team. Remember his laughable statement about him believing the Rockies were going to win 95 games or whatever a couple years ago? It seems that he hires GM’s that somehow actually buy into his rhetoric. I’d bet Trevor Story doesn’t get traded because they honestly believe that they just need a little change in luck to compete with the big 3 in the division. If they do trade him, they’ll wait until the worst possible time and therefore receive a very insignificant return. There’s a reason Colorado has been horrible for a majority of the last several seasons, and it starts at the very top
Beating a dead horse, but nice move hanging onto both Gray and Story. Why would a team with .400 winning percentage not want to hold onto guys that are definitely walking? While I have long ranked them and Cincy together as the worst FOs, I think CO has definitely moved to #1.
Story will sign with the Rangers in the off season
Story just isn’t worth that much away from Coors Field. The A’s don’t have the prospects to trade to get him, either. The A’s have Nick Allen (currently on Team USA) primed at SS so I don’t see the rumor having any validity.
BS. So tired of hearing that home/road fallacy when it comes to Rockies players. Can you name even one player that left the Rockies in their prime then hit like garbage for their new team?
Strawman argument. Name a single Rockies player that left “in their prime”. But, I will put Matt Holliday. Hit 100 points lower in OPS after leaving Colorado and playing in Oakland.
To be fair, Holliday was traded and wasn’t really given a choice. The Rockies have never had a “star” player leave in their prime. Todd Helton stayed his whole career and Arenado like Holliday was traded. Tulowitzki was already one foot out of the game when he was traded. The closest i can think of is Vinny Castilla who left for Tampa Bay and was terrible til he was traded to Houston
It looked like LeMahieu’s success in New York had called into question the widespread belief in a Coors effect — for his first two seasons in pinstripes. Now his collapse in 2021 is undercutting that appraisal. Why he did so well in 2019-2020 is up for debate, but the bottom line is, his example this year isn’t likely to lessen any misgivings that GMs might have about how Story will perform away from Coors. Bad timing for the Rockies if they hope to trade him.
The DJLM story might be a little straightforward than that. His CO reputation is a lot better than his actual results. His OPS+ with CO was 93. His OPS+ now, two years later, is 88. He had two good years with the NYY, but his BABIPs of .349 & .370, and his HR/FB ratios of 19.3% and 27.0%, were all well above his career numbers.
He might just be in a slump, but we might also be seeing some reversion to the norm, exacerbated by the fact that he is almost 33 year’s old.
The entire Major Leagues of 2021 is having the worst hitting in decades, LeMahieu is no different. He isn’t in a personal decline, it is part of the overall funk for MLB hitters. Granted, his production dropped after CO, but not too much. Story, on the other hand, is a Coors product only and will likely fail when he leaves.
You say that DJLM is no different, but the numbers say otherwise. The league has fallen off by 21 points, but DJ has fallen off by 455 points. He was unlikely to match last year’s enormous output, but there is no way to ignore that this really could be a personal decline.
If one could point to a ridiculously low BABIP and/or HR/FB, then a case could be made for simply bad luck. But he is 32, and players do decline as they get older.
LeMahieu is just one in a long line of players that left the Rockies in their prime and hit well for their new teams. A small sample size theater early in 2021 is not going to change the fact that he has hit .318/.375.489/.864 with a 133 OPS + for the Yankees.
You really don’t know how to frame an argument, do you?
Using a 33 year olds decline to prove a 26 year old won’t be a valuable free agent is some stupid logic
As an A’s fan I can only PLEAD NOOOO!!!
Story’s splits are HORRIBLE!
.213/.308/.363 away from Coors.
I NEVER want to see him in an A’s uniform!
He’s never been better than OK away from Coors. The A’s already have an OK shortstop – (they used to have one of the best in Semien)
BS. So tired of hearing that home/road fallacy when it comes to Rockies players. Can you name even one player that left the Rockies in their prime then hit like garbage for their new team?
Matt Holliday.
Angels need to desperately pick up the phone and ask the Rockies what would it take to acquire both Jon Gray and German Márquez.
A player entering free agency not intending to sign with his original club? Shocking! (Sarcasm, for the sarcasm impaired.)
However, I would be surprised if story got north of $200 million a year. He’ll get a healthy contract to be sure but I don’t think you’ll pass that threshold. Rockies wouldn’t offer that but if they did he should take it.