Latest On Rockies’ Trade Candidates

After already dealing Ryan McMahon to the Yankees, the Rockies are open for business heading into Thursday’s deadline as one of the few true sellers on the market.  Another trade with the Yankees could be a possibility, as The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty reports that New York has interest in Colorado reliever Jake Bird among many other names on the bullpen market.

Bird’s first three Major League seasons (2022-24) saw the right-hander post a 4.53 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate across 177 innings for the Rockies, all in a relief capacity apart from three pseudo-starts as an opener.  His 4.05 ERA and 9.1% walk rate in 53 1/3 innings in 2025 are pretty comparable, but the big difference is a strikeout rate that has leapt up to 26.7%.  Above-average whiff and chase rates support the increase in missed bats, and Bird’s solid barrel and grounder rates have also helped him limit damage at Coors Field.  Interestingly, Bird’s home/road splits this year are actually much better in Denver (2.48 ERA in 29 innings) than away from home (5.92 ERA in 24 1/3 innings).

A 3.19 SIERA paints an even more flattering picture of Bird’s improved performance, as a .352 BABIP has inflated the reliever’s ERA.  Adopting the sweeper as his primary pitch seemed to have unlocked both Bird’s strikeout ability, and it has helped his curveball regain its 2023 status as a plus offering.  Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake is a known proponent of the sweeper, which likely adds to New York’s interest in the Rox reliever.

Bird will reach arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter, so he is controlled through the 2028 season.  The Rockies are also reportedly open to offers on two other controllable relievers in Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen, as Colorado’s willingness to take a broader approach to the deadline represents a change in direction for the organization.  The Rockies had been traditionally wary about even moving pending free agents at the deadline, yet the new low of the team’s dreadful 27-78 record seems to have convinced the organization that larger changes are necessary.

Even controllable relief pitching only has so much present value to a team that may be years away from contending, so it makes sense for the Rox to consider moving some of their bullpen arms.  Given the natural volatility of relief pitching and Bird’s lack of a track record, selling high on his current success might well be a wise move for GM Bill Schmidt.

Beyond the bullpen arms, Colorado is getting hits on other players on the roster.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes that Hunter Goodman, Brenton Doyle, Kyle Freeland, and Austin Gomber are all getting varying degrees of trade attention, though it is very unlikely that Goodman or Doyle are moved.  Goodman is enjoying a breakout season that resulted in an All-Star citation.  Doyle is struggling through a rough year that has seen his bat and center field glovework both take big steps backwards from 2024, but the Rockies don’t seem likely to sell low.

Goodman and Doyle are both controlled through the 2028 season, whereas Gomber is an impending free agent and Freeland is under contract through the 2026 campaign.  Freeland is owed around $5.33MM for the remainder of this season and then $16MM in 2026, with a $17MM vesting player option available for 2027 if Freeland tosses at least 170 innings next year.

This price tag makes it pretty unlikely that Freeland will be dealt, unless Colorado was to eat most or all of that remaining salary.  The southpaw has a 5.24 ERA over 101 1/3 innings in 2025, and a 5.03 ERA in 840 2/3 frames since Opening Day 2019.  Because Freeland has spent his entire career in Denver’s thin air, there’s a bit of an x-factor in gauging how well he could perform outside of such a hitter-friendly environment, even if his lifetime splits aren’t too drastic (4.85 ERA at home, 4.24 ERA on the road).  Rival teams might not be intrigued enough by this potential upside to the take the plunge on a trade unless the Rockies indeed covered a lot of Freeland’s salary, which might not make it worth it for a Rox team that still needs someone to eat innings.

Gomber is much less expensive and a rental player, so a rival team might have more willingness to take a flier on the southpaw as a depth arm.  Feinsand notes Gomber’s superior road splits to his work at Coors Field, but the overall results haven’t been great, as Gomber has a 5.14 ERA in 578 1/3 innings since joining the Rockies prior to the 2021 season.  That includes a 6.03 ERA in seven starts and 34 1/3 frames this year, as shoulder problems kept Gomber off the mound until mid-June.