- While Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon’s name came up in trade rumors during the winter, GM Jeff Bridich didn’t show any interest in dealing him for anything but a massive return. Should a trade come together in the next two years, Blackmon’s final seasons of team control, it seems he’d understand. “I just think they value me pretty high, I guess, and that’s why nothing happened,” Blackmon told Thomas Harding of MLB.com. “I think that’s good. But it’s my opinion that if a deal had come along where they had gotten a deal worth more than what I was worth, then they would’ve made the deal. And I would expect that to happen.”
Rockies Rumors
Camp Battles: Colorado Rockies
The Rockies made several moves this winter geared toward putting a contender on the field, but face a tall task to unseat the Dodgers and Giants as the leading team in the NL West. While there’s not a ton to sort out in camp, there are a few notable battles that could impact Colorado’s hopes.
Here are the key camp competitions for the Rockies, who are the second entrant in MLBTR’s new Camp Battles series.
CATCHER
Tony Wolters
Age: 24
Bats: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’21 season
Options remaining: 2
Tom Murphy
Age: 25
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
Dustin Garneau
Age: 29
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
After relying heavily on veteran Nick Hundley for the past two seasons, the Rox are set to hand off the field generalship to some much less experienced players. Wolters emerged after coming over through a waiver claim, providing solid defense behind the dish while adding value on the basepaths. He’s not much of a hitter — he posted a 75 wRC+ over 230 plate appearances and never did much more in the minors — but seems to have the trust of the organization.
Vying with each other to share time with Wolters, or possibly even take primary duties, are Murphy and Garneau. The former has shown quite a bit of bat in the upper minors and in his brief MLB time, though he’s still a work in progress behind the plate. The latter raked last year at Triple-A, but seems clearly third in line.
There’s still perhaps an outside chance that Colorado will make a move for Matt Wieters — if not some other veteran — before camp breaks. But if that doesn’t come to pass, the plan likely involves hoping that Murphy takes charge while leaning on Wolters to the extent necessary.
Prediction: Murphy is given every opportunity to win semi-regular time, but ends up in a time-share with Wolters.
CLOSER
Adam Ottavino
Age: 31
Throws: R
Contract Status: 2 years, $9.1MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Greg Holland
Age: 31
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $6MM with 2018 mutual option ($10MM or $1MM buyout)
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Jake McGee
Age: 30
Throws: L
Contract Status: 1 year, $5.9MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Mike Dunn
Age: 31
Throws: L
Contract Status: 3 years, $19MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Jason Motte
Age: 34
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $5MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
These five veterans all have substantial late-inning experience, with most having handled the ninth inning for at least some significant stretch. The only one that hasn’t — Dunn — just signed a contract that includes incentives for games finished, though that hardly means he’s been promised a full-blown shot at the job.
Ottavino seems the obvious choice: he has been nails over the past two seasons, with a 1.93 ERA and 11.6 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. But he has managed only 37 1/3 total innings in that stretch, owing to Tommy John surgery, and his health will be monitored closely all year long. The veteran Holland is a wild card, as he’s returning from his own TJ procedure and has a long record of dominating from a closer’s role. McGee is looking to bounce back from a subpar 2016 campaign, while Motte could be turned to if he can rebound from his own struggles and the need arises. Unless Ottavino falters, though, it seems the job is likely his.
Prediction: Ottavino
STARTING ROTATION (ONE SPOT)
Jeff Hoffman
Age: 24
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 3
Jordan Lyles
Age: 26
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $3.175MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
German Marquez
Age: 21
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
Kyle Freeland
Age: 23
Throws: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 or ’23 season (not yet on 40-man)
Options remaining: 3
The Rockies finally have some hope in the starting staff, but the fifth slot remains undetermined as camp opens. Fortunately, there are a host of intriguing arms that figure to compete for the job, with the losers expected to remain on hand if a leak springs during the season.
Both Hoffman and Marquez struggled in their MLB debuts, but are seen as talented hurlers and obviously have caught the eye of GM Jeff Bridich. If neither grabs the reins in camp, though, it’s plenty possible that they’ll be left in Triple-A for added seasoning when the season opens. That could leave room for a comeback for Lyles, who struggled badly in 2016 and may otherwise end up in the bullpen. Though Freeland has only a dozen Triple-A starts under his belt, that’s more than Marquez, so he too could factor with a big spring — though going to him would require opening a 40-man spot.
Prediction: Hoffman
Rockies Re-Sign Mark Reynolds
FEBRUARY 14: Reynolds would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster, and can add up to $2MM via incentives, per Heyman (via Twitter).
FEBRUARY 1, 7:50pm: Colorado has announced the deal, noting that it unsurprisingly includes an invitation to MLB camp.
7:05pm: The Rockies have agreed to a minor-league deal with first baseman Mark Reynolds, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. His potential salary and opt-out opportunities remain unreported at this time.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, at this stage at least, that Reynolds couldn’t find a 40-man spot. There just wasn’t enough demand to account for all of the available power-hitting, first base/DH types that were on the market. Righty sluggers Mike Napoli and Chris Carter remain unsigned, as do a variety of lefty bats.
That said, Reynolds has also put together a string of relatively disappointing seasons. He hit at an approximately league-average rate in his 441 plate appearances for Colorado — the .282/.356/.450 batting line was obviously influenced by the altitude — but launched only 14 long balls and didn’t quite capitalize on his opportunity at regular playing time. It was an improvement, at least, over the prior two seasons, when Reynolds combined for a .213/.301/.396 slash over 865 plate appearances with the Cardinals and Brewers.
[RELATED: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]
For the Rockies, the low-risk addition creates some interesting possibilities. When a southpaw takes the hill, the club can now utilize Reynolds at first while bumping Ian Desmond into the outfield in place of one of the team’s many lefty-swinging outfielders. (It should be noted, though, that Reynolds carries minimal lifetime platoon splits and actually struggled against southpaws last year.)
Of course, Reynolds will need to make the roster first. Though he’s no longer the prolific home run hitter he once was, Reynolds still packs some punch. And he does typically draw solid defensive ratings for his glovework at first base. But he also offers nothing in the way of defensive versatility, meaning that the organization may have to decide between carrying a bench bat or an extra reliever as camp draws to a close.
Hoffman, Parra, Murphy Among Key Players To Watch In Rockies Spring Training
- Righty Jeff Hoffman, outfielder Gerardo Parra and catcher Tom Murphy top the list of Rockies who have much to prove in Spring Training, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. Hoffman is slated to compete with German Marquez for the Rockies’ fifth starter job and could provide the team with a jolt of upside if he lives up to the billing that made him one of the keys to the Troy Tulowitzki trade. Parra is coming off an extremely poor 2016 season in which he batted just .253/.271/.399 despite playing half his games in Coors Field; he’ll need to prove himself in the second year of the three-year, $27.5MM contract he signed with the team last January. And Murphy needs to show he can call a good game behind the dish so that he can Tony Wolters can make the Rockies’ catcher position an asset despite that duo’s lack of experience.
Bowden: Rockies Should Move David Dahl To Center Field
- Both the Marlins and Pirates have made changes to their outfield alignments this offseason, and the Rockies should follow suit, opines Jim Bowden of ESPN.com. Specifically, the club ought to flip center fielder Charlie Blackmon – who has spent most of his career manning the middle – and left fielder David Dahl, Bowden argues. Blackmon, 30, has been a plus defender in left (three Defensive Runs Saved, 3.2 Ultimate Zone Rating), albeit over only 574 innings, but a negative in center across a 3,126-inning sample size (minus-15 DRS, minus-27.1 UZR). Dahl, meanwhile, drew near-neutral grades (minus-1 DRS, 0.4 UZR) in a combined 481 innings at all three outfield positions in 2016, his rookie campaign. At the time of Dahl’s July promotion to the majors, Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser noted that the 22-year-old possesses “superb defensive skills” and should be the Rockies’ long-term answer in center.
Rockies Not Interested In Byung Ho Park
- The Rockies won’t be making a move for recently-designated Twins first baseman Byung Ho Park, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets. Colorado made a big splash to sign Ian Desmond to fill its first base need and also recently signed Mark Reynolds to a minor league deal as further positional depth. Barring an injury or an outfielder trade (which would shift Desmond’s role), Park doesn’t seem like a fit for the Rockies.
Market Notes: Trends, Wood, Rays, Rockies
Looking at this winter’s free-agent market broadly, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes (Insider link) that it produced generally poor results from the players’ side. The trend, he and the agents he spoke with suggest, is one of elite players continuing to earn while others are increasingly forced into one-year pacts. That could, in turn, continue to suppress the market for sub-elite players next year, since there’ll again be a larger pool of talent. This certainly seems to be an area that warrants a closer look once the market fully settles out. As of three years ago, the trend had been in favor of multi-year deals as teams competed to land talent on the open market.
Here are some more market notes:
- With southpaws flying off the board, things are “heating up” for Travis Wood, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). It’s possible he’ll choose his landing spot by the end of the weekend, per the report, though it’s still not clear whether he’ll be heading for a rotation or pen spot (let alone where that might be).
- Despite picking up Logan Morrison and Rickie Weeks, the Rays still intend to remain involved on some of the better hitters still available, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (links to Twitter). In particular, slugger Chris Carter and even catcher Matt Wieters seemingly remain of interest to Tampa Bay. Another righty bat, notes Topkin, might step into a platoon in the first base and DH spots. The club could take a look at Byung Ho Park, who was just designated by the Twins, and others under consideration include Mike Napoli and Franklin Gutierrez (who’d spend time in the outfield).
- The Rockies are unlikely to make further additions to their major league roster, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding suggests in response to a fan inquiry. Even if someone like starter Jason Hammel represents a screaming value, Harding hints, the organization may not have the roster or payroll flexibility to give out a MLB deal.
Mark Reynolds Turned Down $3MM Offer To Play In Korea
- “Several teams” remain in contention for free agent catcher Matt Wieters, tweets the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin, who relays that “there’s no good read” on whether he’ll sign with the Rays. Along with the Rays, the Orioles (Wieters’ only MLB employer to date), Angels, Rockies, Reds, Nationals and Astros have drawn recent connections to the 30-year-old.
- Before re-signing with the Rockies on a minor league deal Wednesday, first baseman Mark Reynolds turned down $3MM to play in Korea, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Accepting that offer would’ve easily made Reynolds the highest-paid player in Korea, topping former major league right-hander Dustin Nippert’s $2.1MM, notes Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency (Twitter link). It’s likely that the powerful Reynolds also would’ve had his way in the hitter’s paradise known as the Korea Baseball Organization, but neither that nor the payday could entice the 33-year-old to leave the States.
Cubs Acquire Eddie Butler, Designate Dylan Floro For Assignment
The Cubs announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Eddie Butler from the Rockies in exchange for minor league righty James Farris. Butler had been designated for assignment over the weekend.
The trade also includes the Cubs sending their top international bonus slot, No. 28 overall, to the Rockies in exchange for a lower slot — No. 74 overall. The swap of international slots adds an additional $255K to the Rockies’ international signing pool. To make room on the roster for Butler, the Cubs designated right-hander Dylan Floro for assignment.
Butler, who’ll turn 26 in March, once rated among the game’s top 50 prospects in the eyes of Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus, but the right-hander’s stock has tumbled substantially since that time. Butler has logged consistently impressive ground-ball rates as a professional but has never missed bats or been able to demonstrate exemplary command at any level. In parts of three big league seasons with the Rox, he’s struggled to a 6.50 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 48.6 percent ground-ball rate. His work in Triple-A (5.01 ERA, 4.3 BB/9, 3.1 BB/9 in 159 innings) doesn’t look much better on paper.
As recently as the 2014-15 offseason, though, Butler ranked as Baseball America’s No. 77 overall prospect, and prior to that he rated 24th overall. Butler’s career has been slowed by some shoulder troubles to date, but when his prospect status was at its best, BA’s scouting reports (subscription required/recommended) lauded his power sinker and “extraordinary” changeup while giving him credit for three plus pitches and a solid-average slider. His velocity has taken a step back since that time (perhaps due to the shoulder woes), but Butler does have a minor league option remaining. As such, he’s likely to open the season at Triple-A Iowa and look to get his career back on track, potentially serving as a depth piece for a Cubs team that will look to deploy a six-man rotation in the latter stages of the season. Chicago also lacks a defined fifth starter at this time, with lefties Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson set to vie for that job in Spring Training.
This marks the second DFA of the winter for the 26-year-old Floro, who made his Major League debut with the Rays last season. In 15 innings with Tampa Bay, Floro posted a 4.20 ERA with 14 strikeouts and four unintentional walks to complement a strong 54.7 percent ground-ball rate. Floro also averaged a respectable 92.5 mph on his fastball and enjoyed a successful season at the Triple-A level, logging 50 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 56.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s walked just 1.3 hitters per nine innings in his minor league career, so there’s definitely some appeal in his blend of strong control and ground-ball tendencies. Floro, though, fell all the way to Chicago on waivers just two weeks ago, so there’s a chance that the Cubs will be able to pass him through unclaimed this time around and retain him without dedicating a 40-man spot.
The 24-year-old Farris split the 2016 season between Chicago’s Class-A Advanced and Double-A affiliates, working to a combined 2.59 ERA with 10.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate in 66 innings of relief. Farris also fired nine scoreless innings with an 11-to-2 K/BB ratio in the 2016 Arizona Fall League. Farris has never rated among the Cubs’ top prospects in recent years and didn’t make the cut on yesterday’s Cubs rankings from ESPN’s Keith Law, either. The former ninth-round pick averaged 91.7 mph on his fastball this season and 83 mph on his changeup, per PITCHf/x data at MLBfarm.com.
Rockies Agree To Minor League Deal With Domonic Brown
The Rockies have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Domonic Brown, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
The 29-year-old Brown was once lauded as one of the five best prospects in all of baseball, coming off a season in which he batted .327/.391/.589 in 93 games between Double-A and Triple-A as a 22-year-old. Brown debuted with the Phillies late that season but didn’t hit much, and he struggled to produce in both 2011 and 2012 as well. In total, the former 20th-round pick batted .236/.315/.388 across his first 147 Major League games, but he looked to have turned a corner in an All-Star 2013 season.
That year, Brown hit .272/.324/.494 with 27 home runs and, from May 1 through mid-August was among the most productive hitters in Major League Baseball. However, Brown’s excellent production was bookended by a pair of feeble stretches at the plate, and he was unable to replicate that production during a 2014 campaign that saw him post a disappointing followup line of .235/.285/.349.
In all, Brown’s brief run of production in 2013 now looks like an outlier, but he’ll hope for a rebound and a return to the Majors in 2017 after struggling through 126 games with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate last season (.239/.303/.336). Of course, the Rockies hardly present an easy path to the Majors. With left-handed hitters David Dahl, Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez all set to comprise the starting outfield for manager Bud Black (plus lefty Gerardo Parra as a fourth outfield option), there are no obvious spots for Brown to make the roster. Instead, it seems likely that he’ll look to rebuild some confidence in the hitter-friendly confines of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (more specifically with Colorado’s affiliate in Albuquerque).
