Who Might The Rockies Put On The Trade Market?

The playoff picture in both leagues is tight enough that few teams are locked into selling. The Rockies are one of the exceptions. They’re again the worst team in MLB, sitting 18 games under .500 while being outscored by 99 runs. It’s not quite as bleak as last year, when they were arguably the worst team of all time, but they’re likely on the path to a fourth straight 100-plus loss campaign.

That theoretically opens the door for the Rox to get a jump on the trade market. Colorado and the Angels might be the only teams that can’t cling to any hope about a 2026 turnaround. If almost every team remains reluctant to deal from the MLB roster two months out from the deadline, that could create an opportunity for the couple clearly non-competitive teams to move earlier.

It doesn’t seem that’s Colorado’s approach, however. President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post over the weekend that the team’s trade talks thus far have been preliminary. “We haven’t canvassed the league or anything like that, but we are starting to have some conversations if there is a potential match,” DePodesta said.

Colorado’s baseball operations leader wouldn’t speak in absolutes when asked if anyone on the roster was untouchable, though he implied there are a few core players they’re unlikely to trade. “There would be certain guys that would be really, really hard for us to move. I think that’s probably true of any team,” he told Saunders. “There are guys that we feel are hopefully foundational players for us going forward.”

He followed up by noting that the front office needed to be “opportunistic” if teams called about certain players while saying “there are a lot of guys that we’re not actively shopping.” DePodesta didn’t specifically highlight anyone in that group, though it seems safe to assume they’re not going to trade currently injured starter Chase Dollander.

Power-hitting catcher Hunter Goodman is under club control through 2029 and would be one of their better trade chips. The Rockies have shied away from trading players with that kind of remaining club control at the last handful of deadlines. Those came under previous front offices but the same Monfort ownership group.

24-year-old shortstop Ezequiel Tovar was supposed to be a foundational piece of the rebuild. He’s signed for $51.5MM between 2027-30 and is hitting .209/.259/.323 on the season. Tovar is a gifted defender but hasn’t shown any signs of improving an overaggressive approach in the batter’s box. Even if the Rockies could find a team willing to take the rest of the contract — which seems unlikely given how poorly he’s hit over the past couple seasons — the return would be so diminished that they probably won’t move him.

Which players on the Colorado roster are they likely to shop over the coming weeks?

Reliever Antonio Senzatela is the most obvious candidate. The righty has gone from struggling starter and fringe roster player to quality late-game arm. Senzatela carries a 1.98 earned run average across 36 1/3 innings on the season. His 21.4% strikeout percentage is still a bit below average but easily a personal best. Senzatela’s average fastball has jumped two ticks to 97.3 mph, and he’s getting strong results on a low-90s cutter which he added late last season.

Senzatela is playing on a $12MM salary, around $7MM of which is still owed. That’ll drop to roughly $3.5MM by the August 3 deadline. There’s a $14MM club option for the 2027 season that still seems a little too expensive. Teams will probably view Senzatela as a rental, and while he’ll likely be the third or fourth best arm in a contending bullpen, he should net the Rockies a couple mid-level prospects.

There aren’t many other obvious trade candidates in the bullpen. There’d certainly be teams interested in taking a flier on Seth Halvorsen, who is controllable for five seasons and has a triple digit fastball, but those traits are similarly appealing to Colorado. Jimmy Herget and Brennan Bernardino aren’t going to net more than an organizational depth type.

Colorado made a handful of one-year free agent rotation additions as potential deadline candidates. None of Jose Quintana, Michael Lorenzen or Tomoyuki Sugano has pitched well enough to get much interest from a contender.

Quintana suffered an elbow sprain that’ll likely take him out through the deadline. Lorenzen has an earned run average above 8.00. Sugano’s 3.92 ERA is solid on the surface, especially given the Coors Field effect, but it comes with one of the league’s worst strikeout rates (13.6%) and continued home run concerns. Statcast has Sugano with a 7.52 expected ERA based on the lack of whiffs and amount of hard contact he allows.

Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy are each in their arbitration window and could get some interest as complementary outfielders. Moniak, currently out with right ankle tendinitis, has raked at Coors Field over the past season and a half. He doesn’t hit lefties or provide much defensively but could be a strong side corner outfield platoon target. He’s playing on a $4MM salary and could jump into the $7-8MM range next season, assuming he’s tendered a contract for his final arbitration season.

McCarthy is making just $1.525MM and controllable for two years after this one. He can play center field but is probably best suited in left. McCarthy has alternated solid and awful offensive seasons but is back on the upswing, batting .282/.324/.453 in 188 plate appearances. The center field trade market is thin enough that a team like the Rays, Astros or Guardians could view him as a viable regular.