Uncertainty at shortstop is unfamiliar territory for the Rockies. Troy Tulowitzki held down the position for almost a decade, including a handful of seasons where he was among the best position players in the sport. Colorado traded Tulowitzki to the Blue Jays midway through the 2015 campaign, but they had a highly-regarded replacement waiting in the wings.
Trevor Story burst onto the big league scene with six home runs in his first four MLB games in April 2016. Essentially from that point forward, the position was his. Aside from a strikeout-fueled slump in his sophomore season, Story offered solid to plus production on both sides of the ball throughout his time in Denver. The most recent Colorado Opening Day shortstop not named Tulowitzki or Story? Clint Barmes, in 2006.
For the first time in a long time, the Rox now have a real question mark at shortstop. Story hit free agency. The club tagged him with a qualifying offer and has expressed some hope in a reunion, but there’s no indication that’s likely to happen. Assuming Story doesn’t return after the lockout, where could the Rockies go from here?
Unlike after Tulowitzki’s departure, Colorado wouldn’t appear to have a minor league replacement ready to step in. Only two of the top ten prospects in the farm system, according to Baseball America, are shortstops. One of them, Ezequiel Tovar, is 20 years old and finished the 2021 campaign in High-A. The other, Adael Amador, is 18 and has yet to advance to full season ball. So the Rockies will either need to move one of their current big leaguers up the defensive spectrum or replace Story externally.
Internal Options
- Brendan Rodgers — A former #3 overall draftee and top prospect, Rodgers has appeared in the big leagues in three consecutive seasons but finally got his first extended MLB run last year. He held his own, hitting .284/.328/.470 across 415 plate appearances, starting a bit more than half the team’s games in the middle infield. The bulk of Rodgers’ work came at second base, and while that was partially in deference to Story, it also seems the club believes him better suited for the keystone. In November, Thomas Harding of MLB.com wrote that the front office’s “preferred plan is to keep Rodgers … at second base.”
- Ryan McMahon — McMahon’s coming off a very nice season. He hit a capable .254/.331/.449 over 596 trips to the plate. More impressively, the 27-year-old rated as a Gold Glove caliber defender during a season split between second and third base. After the season, general manager Bill Schmidt expressed his belief McMahon could handle the rigors of regular shortstop duty. That’s not without risks, though. The California native moved to third base in high school and has never started a professional game — MLB or minor league — at shortstop. And while moving McMahon might effectively plug a hole at shortstop, it’d leave the team searching for third base help (perhaps explaining their interest in Kris Bryant?).
- Garrett Hampson — If Rodgers and McMahon stay put at second and third base, respectively, that’d seemingly leave Hampson as the favorite for shortstop playing time among internal candidates. The speedster has bounced all around the diamond as a big leaguer. He was a primary middle infielder coming up through the minors, though, and he’d likely be a capable if unspectacular option defensively. The bigger question may be whether the Rockies are content to live with Hampson’s bat in the lineup regularly. Despite playing his home games at altitude, the 27-year-old is a .240/.298/.383 hitter in a bit more than 1,000 career plate appearances.
- Alan Trejo — Trejo is the least experienced of the bunch, with only 28 big league games under his belt. The 25-year-old is probably better suited for a utility role than the regular shortstop job. He has a decent minor league track record but has never appeared on an organizational ranking at BA.
Free Agents
Aside from Story and Carlos Correa, free agency doesn’t offer much in the way of solutions at this point. Andrelton Simmons is still an elite defender but coming off a miserable season at the plate. José Iglesias had a decent offensive showing but ran into uncharacteristic troubles with the glove. While Jonathan Villar can still moonlight at shortstop, he’s probably better suited for second/third base duty.
Trade Candidates
There are a few shortstops who might be available in trade. The D-Backs would surely listen to offers on Nick Ahmed. The Phillies might find an upgrade over Didi Gregorius. The A’s are likely to try to find a taker for Elvis Andrus. All three players will make fairly notable salaries in 2022, though, and none are definitive improvements over Colorado’s internal options.
The Rockies could act more aggressively in an attempt to land a younger, affordable player from teams with greater infield depth (i.e. the Royals’ Adalberto Mondesi or the Rays’ Taylor Walls). But that’d require parting with young talent from a farm system that Baseball America placed among the league’s bottom five in August. Coming off a 74-87 season, that’s probably not the most advisable course of action either.
Figuring out shortstop has likely been a point of emphasis this winter for Schmidt and his staff. Whether they elect to rely on an internal option without much MLB experience at the position or look outside the organization for help, it’s hard to envision a scenario where they enter 2022 as confident in their shortstop group as they’ve been for quite some time.
I can’t imagine anyone wanting to go there in the first place. It’s pretty obvious that Trevor Story wants out of there, so who knows what that front office is like.
I can’t imagine anyone wanting to go to the Mets and their trainwreck front office and owner, so I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Baez left his bestie Detroit after all.
Time to overpay more old guys yet?
Is ragging on the Mets your only purpose in life? They’re cleaning up their act this offseason, and they’ll be taken seriously for a change. At least my team can afford what we need.
No one cares about the Mets outside of NYC. They may as well be the Brooklyn Cyclones. And my team just won the Championship, so I don’t get your last comment. You guys bought all of those players and still aren’t near as good as the Braves. Lindor was quite the deal for a .250 hitter in decline though, congrats. And you got your tenth choice for GM. LolMets
It’s better to be lucky than good — your team was literally the worst team to win the ws since the 06 cards — you should probably worry about whether your cheap franchise will pay freeman before lashing out bc you really aren’t that good as evidenced by your whopping 88 wins last season
Lol I love when people insult other people they don’t even know Over a sports team that Doesn’t know we exist. I especially love it when people attack someone else’s team like it’s an insult to them personally
Who cares about regular season wins? Lol I bet you think batting average and pitcher wins matter too. Pathetic.
I hope they dont sign Freeman if he insists on a sixth year.
Poor Out of Line 2, all up in his feelings trying to compensate for something.
Says the dude who literally referenced batting average in his post…and yeah silly me I forgot that your franchise is so incredible that it’s won exactly the same amt of ws as the Mets since 62 when the Mets became a franchise
Sid bream aside from this past yr when was the last time the braves went to the WS?? These Braves fans got big headed bc they got lucky and won a ws lol they just sound like clowns now… now that they won one the will go back to choking for the next 25 years lmfao. Braves are the definition of choke artists. If the Braves were a stock they’d be highly shorted and rightfully so. Soon to be a joke again just like they had been for the last quarter century lol
Going the whole way back to 1962 to make the math work…..lol, cool. And no Championship since 1986. Winning percentage since 2010 of 48.7%% Playoffs made twice. No titles
Braves 51.8%. 6 playoffs earned. One title. Hell if we are going back to 1962 for the Mets championships, how about we talk about their 9(!!!lol) total playoff appearances?
I can tell I hit a nerve with all you sensitive Cyclones…..er Mets fans. Kind of funny. Yankees will always be your biological fathers.
And you can buy Braves stock dope, they are publicly traded.
@SidBream You overstate the “no one caring outside of NYC.” As much as the Dodgers have a devoted fan base, because of the mild weather-one finds many transplant fans of Mets, Cubs, etc at Dodger home games. It’s a reality of places like SoCal and Florida.
But don’t let nuanced reality get in the way of your rant.
You’re not smart, witty, or clever enough to hit a nerve — you’re just a miserable internet troll with stale rehashed takes
I’m a troll but you are the one that resorts to name-calling. Slow down man, I’m taking notes here!
Sid Bream – I think your take is simplistic. And dated. I don’t live anywhere near New York and I’m interested in the Mets (even if they aren’t my #1 team). And they’ve made great strides both in the FO and on the field.
If you’re a Rockies fan (judging from your whiplash reaction), you have much greater problems to think about. If you’re a Braves fan, careful . . .Mets could easily take you this year.
And 88 wins. You kinda got lucky, didn’t ya?
Oh no, random internet person thinks my thought are simplistic AND outdated? Not sure how I will shake that. The fact that you aren’t a Mets fan but “interested” in them does nothing but prove my point.
I am only interested in the Braves. Luck didn’t have anything to do with this season, unless you count the bad luck. On the bright side, the Mets spent vast amounts of money they will likely regret, lost Javy Baez who left his best friend to sign with one of the worst teams in the league because they have better fans, and had to settle for their 10th choice for almost every front office position. And even after all of that, in NY, people still talk more about Luke Voit.
And the Mets won’t finish higher than 4th. So you should be careful. Whatever being careful in your scenario even meant.
Sid Bream – Oh my, my, we are touchy. And aren’ t you also a “random internet person.”
I’m not touchy at all, not like you Cyclones fans. And I’m not a random internet person to me, silly.
Just occurred to me though, guess I may be touchy if my team was the worst in a city full of so many teams. Even the Liberty are better than the LOLMets.
They shouldn’t overextend for Freeman. Albies and Acuna are on team friendly deals that will allow them to be good for awhile. They need to retain Riley and pitchers.
You could have said the same thing about the Mets three months ago…
EDIT: the above poster beat me to it
Umm… I can. The ballparks high altitude plus the knowing that they will be given a lot of money from one of the more desperate spenders.
IMO Story was heading to TX and Seager to NY
for the much needed lefty. I couldn’t be anymore wrong now that Yankees are acting like a small market team and allowing the Mets to grab all the headlines.
Colorado is literally the fastest growing state in the country. Everyone wants to move there (and, as a sad ex-resident, I can tell you for very good reason). The park is packed all the time, fans are great. Seems to me a really nice place to be a multi-millionaire for a few years.
Unless they want to win
too dang cold!
No it’s not.
In the summer and fall, it’s too cold?
If you had the opportunity what team wouldn’t you play for dumb question.
What team wouldn’t a person play for as a professional athlete dumb question.
Move Rodgers back SS, let McMahon play 2B and add a 3B. Or add a short term option like Iglesias, Simmons, or Villar. Rockies are probably looking at last place (unless the Diamondbacks are awful again) so they may as well see if they can get something they can flip later
Rsox:
The Rockies have not been a last place team in any of the past six seasons. Over the past six years, cumulatively, the Rockies were better than the Diamondbacks and Padres.. In 2021, the Rockies were only five wins behind the Padres and were a full 22 wins ahead of the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks have done nothing to suggest that they will be better. Mediocre, yes, but the Rockies are not a bad team and certainly not a last place team.
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Giants 107 29 77 73 64 87 = 437
Rockies 74 26 71 91 87 75 = 425
Diamondbacks 52 25 85 82 93 69 = 406
Padres 79 37 70 66 71 68 = 391
Actually, the Cardinals need to sign Villar as a perfect utility infielder, as they could stand another lefty bat. https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2022/01/quo-vadis-albert-pujols-likely-not-st.html
It would seem very Rockies-like to trade Arenado and get rid of his salary just to sign Kris Bryant to a big contract during the next off season.
Would be a sweet move. They got a lot of value in that deal (including their next 3B, who tore up AA and AAA last year). If they get KB, he’ll probably play mostly OF and they’ll look to trade McMahon.
Now that I think about it, it wouldn’t be all that bad of an idea. Though I don’t see Bryant as an ideal fit.
A lot of value for trading a HOF-caliber player? Nyet! Plus, only time will tell. Gomber looked surprisingly good for a while but bad late. One other player in that deal might (big stress on “might”) become a productive, solid WAR player for Colorado. Losing the contract was nice but at what expense elsewhere?
The answer is in St. Louis and Paul D. could be a decent replacement for Story.
I highly doubt St. Louis will be a trade partner for Colorado considering how they dealt Arenado. They’d probably trade Marquez and some higher up prospect to get DeJong lol
As published earlier today, St. Louis has not even looked in a SS direction this off season. They are moving forward with who they have, and won’t be trading DeJong.
Mauricio Dubon might appreciate playing every day. Out of options at the Giants and stuck behind Crawford. What you got to give, Rockies ?
foppert – Wow! You read my mind. Giants fans know that Dubon is an excellent defensive SS (and CF). The problem has been his up and down bat, but it looks like he’s figured it out (.332/.410 OBP).
I’ve always liked the kid and would miss him, but I don’t see room for him on this years roster.
Problem is, Rockies have no one the Giants would want except Marquez (Dubon alone would not get that done.) And the Rockies have repeatedly stated they are not trading Marquez.
I don’t see a fit.
In addition to Tovar and Amador, Rockies just signed 18 year old Dyan jorge for 2.8M. They’re not looking for any long term commits at SS.
As a Rockies fan, I’d like to go after Kris Bryant and let SS figure itself out between Rodgers and McMahon. If we don’t go big, signing Simmons and trading for Kiermaier and Kimbrel would be interesting at least. Rockies definitely need a better closer than Bard if they’re going to make a postseason push in 2022.
I’d be surprised if the Rockies made a postseason push by 2025.
McMahon and Rodgers are not best defensively at shortstop. The Rockies would be dumb to go with them there. Mac at third, Rodgers at second, and keep looking for a SS.
The Rockies should build their farm, not deplete it. Sign a stopgap SS, trade Marquez at the deadline, let Rodgers and McMahon play second and third then trade one or the other next offseason. The franchise is about two or three years past due for a rebuild. It will be a rough 3-5 year stretch but with the current state of their division they aren’t likely to be making the playoffs in that time frame anyway. Use those years to build a future contending team.
I’ll throw a trade candidate out there: Amed Rosario
Rosario isn’t a good defender but he has a high contact approach that should work really well in Colorado. The Guardians have 10 guys on their 40 who can play SS (Rosario, Gimenez, Chang, Miller, Clement have seen the majors – Rocchio, Freeman, Tena, Arias, and Palacios haven’t. Although Palacios hasn’t played there in years so maybe just 9), and Rosario represents a decent but unspectacular player that they can easily move on from.
Rosario would be a nice addition.. provided he has a caddy: one of the many Guardian Pitching prospects NOT named Espino.. maybe two.. The Guardians are looking for corner outfield help and a catcher that is atuned to being the personal catcher for one or two specific guys in the Guardians rotation. This time sharing catcher needs to be defensive first and foremost..
Any ideas?
I don’t think the Guardians need to sweeten any deal for anyone on Colorado. Blackmon would be a good fit in Cleveland as a one year guy to bridge to Kwan/Palacios/Valera but obviously the money there is the big question mark as he’s due $22m.
I’ll do it for the federal minimum wage.
colorado minimum wage’s at $12.56. you are going to be rich!
Highest:
Or for the attention you so desperately crave.
I don’t know why you get so upset at my stupid comments. I literally just come on here when I’m bored at work. You live on here.
Sid bream aside from this past yr when was the last time the braves went to the WS?? These Braves fans got big headed bc they got lucky and won a ws lol they just sound like clowns now… now that they won one the will go back to choking for the next 25 years lmfao. Braves are the definition of choke artists. If the Braves were a stock they’d be highly shorted and rightfully so. Soon to be a joke again just like they had been for the last quarter century lol
As a Cubs and Dodgers fan, I credit the Atlanta ball club for doing exactly what a medium market team should do, they seized an opportunity. They managed to make some shrewd mid-season acquisitions to offset losing Acuna and Ozuna. The Dodgers and Braves were basically evenly matched in both 2020 and 2021. It is no surprise that each team won one of the two post-season match-ups against the other. The Dodgers tried using Max to offset losing Bauer and Kershaw and it was not good enough. I will not guarantee that the Braves will win their division again, but if they re-sign Freeman as I expect, they will will more regular season games in 2022 than they did in 2021. This is not to say that the Mets are not unimproved. The Mets are very improved. I just have to see both a healthy deGrom pitch 25-30 starts and a healthy Scherzer pitcher 25-30 starts before I crown a new division winner. Possible, definitely, likely, no. Better chance that Max is healthy and Jacob is not. I hope that I am wrong because even though the Mets are not my favorite team watching deGrom is a real treat.
Sir, this is a Wendy’s.
How did the Braves hurt you?
As a Braves fan I fully anticipate bed s’ing because all Braves fans should be conditioned for disappointment by now. But, let us have at least one off-season. You’re already fed up with Braves fans enjoying being the best team in the world for …. 4 months?
Maybe this will mean the Rockies will find a way not to play Rodgers.
Woah, If the Mondesi is in the trade market, I’ll love the Jays to make a move for him while also signing Bryant as well. Mondesi has the ability to play 2B, SS and 3B and has tremendous flexibility And speed while also having some pop. He does however, need to learn how to work the count for a better OBP and better pitches to hit!
1.Springer CF
2.Mondesi Jr. 3B-SS-2B
3.Vladimir Jr. 1B-DH
4.Bichette SS-DH
5.Bryant RF-1B-3B
6.Teoscar DH-RF
7.Lourdes Jr. LF
8.Moreno C
9.Biggio 2B-DH
A lot of flexibility as you can see which I loveeeee !
Mondesi and Bryant? I love the enthusiasm!
I don’t see why not as the Jays got a hand full of MID-INF prospects to offer KC. Signing Bryant shouldn’t break the bank either!
Now in terms of the Roxy’s, Signing Bryant will only make sense if they’re really planing to contend.
It’ll be ;
Tapia LF, Hilliard CF, RF?
Bryant 3B, Rodgers SS, Hampson 2B, McMahon 1B, Blackmon DH, C?
Plenty of questions marks not to mention the pitching is a disaster. Specially now with Gray gone. I think signing a bat don’t make sense unless more moves are Coming!
Tapia and Hilliard are problematic as starters. Both should be platooned.
That’s another issue too !
There might be a win-win trade to be had. A Blackman for Gregorius trade would solve the shortstop issue for the Rox and address an area of need for Philly while not changing the financial structure for either team. Both are sliding defensively, but hey. That’s baseball today.
I’ve seen worse ideas.
I think this is my first time on a Rockies article. It’s like I walked onto a school playground at recess. I’m waiting for the “my dad can beat up your dad” comment.
I don’t know if the Rocks have any starting pitching worth anything, but the Angels have some infield depth that could be trade worthy. We need the pitching.
@carylord, I hope that happens…Bring Chuck Nasty to Philly, insert Stott @ss…..
Rockies should have had a teardown last offseason, rebuilding their farm system, and then put out a 2021 roster of top prospects and cheap but flippable veterans. And they should do that now!
My favourite Rox’s line up in their primes!
1.Blackmon CF
2.LeMahieu 2B
3.Walker RF
4.Arenado 3B
5.Helton 1B
6.Story SS
7.González LF
8.Tulowitzki DH
9.C? Just about anyone!
I liked Iannetta.
“The bulk of Rodgers’ work came at second base, and while that was partially in deference to Story, it also seems the club believes him better suited for the keystone.”
Isn’t “the keystone” a combination of shortstop and second base?
Just use Hampson at SS and Rodgers at 2B. Both players suppose to be able to handle those two positions anyway, don’t they?. That’s how they came up!
LOL
Keystone has always been another way to say 2nd base, nothing to do with SS.
Boras may get the Rockies to bite on Correa.