Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Austin Gomber

Rockies Designate John Curtiss, Select Josh Rogers

By | at

The Rockies are making a series of roster moves today, relayed by Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette on X. Right-hander Peter Lambert has been recalled while left-hander Josh Rogers has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, right-hander Justin Lawrence has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain while fellow righty John Curtiss has been designated for assignment. Lawrence’s move is retroactive to May 26. Additionally, left-hander Austin Gomber has been bumped from his start due to some soreness but won’t be placed on the IL. The club also announced that Matt Koch has been outrighted to Triple-A.

The club is seemingly looking to get some fresh arms into a fairly taxed pitching staff, especially with Gomber missing his start. The lefty was supposed to take the ball today said today that he wouldn’t have been able to give it his all, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com on X. “I just felt like I would have been probably at like 85% today,” Gomber said. “Where we’re at right now, still being in May, it was probably smarter to just buy a couple days.”

Anthony Molina will be taking the ball instead, though his last appearance was a single-inning outing on May 17. His previous appearance was 3 2/3 innings but that was all the way back on May 8. That means he’s only thrown one inning in more than two weeks, which likely limits how much the Rockies can reasonably expect out of him today.

The bullpen will likely need to be leaned on heavily today, but each of Jalen Beeks, Tyler Kinley, Victor Vodnik and Nick Mears have thrown three times in the past five days. With the group fairly strained overall and Lawrence now going on the IL, today’s moves get them some reinforcements.

Curtiss, 31, is bumped off the roster as a result, just a few days after being added to it. He made one appearance on Saturday, allowing two earned runs while recording just one out. Prior to his selection, his Triple-A results weren’t especially strong, as he had a 6.75 ERA in 21 1/3 innings.

The righty had a decent run with the Rays, Marlins and Brewers in 2020 and 2021. Over those two seasons, he tossed 69 1/3 innings  with a 2.86 earned run average, 24.1% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in September of 2021, which wiped out his 2022.

He was back on the mound with the Mets last year but had a 4.58 ERA in 19 2/3 innings, striking out just 19.8% of batters faced. He was placed on the 60-day injured list in August due to loose bodies in his throwing elbow. He underwent surgery shortly thereafter and was outrighted off their roster at season’s end. The Rockies will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers.

Taking his spot on the 40-man is Rogers, who gets back to the big leagues for the first time since 2022. The 29-year-old southpaw signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in the offseason and has made nine Triple-A starts this year. He has a 5.44 ERA in that time, with a 14.6% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate.

Rogers has 88 innings of major league experience, scattered over the 2018 to 2022 period with the Orioles and Nationals. He has a career ERA of 5.42, striking out 11.6% of batters while walking 9.3% of opponents. Since he’s been stretched out this year, he should be able to give the club some length out of the bullpen.

Koch, 33, was designated for assignment on Friday when Curtiss was selected. Today’s outright indicates that he passed through waivers unclaimed. He has been previously outrighted in his career, which gives him the right to elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he has chosen to do so. He has a 5.18 ERA in 168 2/3 major league innings.

Rockies Select Victor Vodnik

By | at

5:45 pm: The Rockies have officially selected the contract of Victor Vodnik from Triple-A (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, Austin Gomber has been placed on the 60-day IL with lower back inflammation. With only 23 games remaining on the Rockies’ schedule, this move means the end of Gomber’s season, giving him the chance to rest up and set his sights on a healthy return in 2024.

1:27 pm: The Rockies are planning to place left-hander Austin Gomber on the 15-day injured list and select the contract of right-hander Victor Vodnik from Triple-A Albuquerque, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Gomber hasn’t pitched since Aug. 28 after his last start was scratched due to back discomfort. Stints on the injured list can only be backdated up to three days from the time of placement, so the IL stint will presumably be retroactive to Sept. 5.

A timetable for Gomber, 29, isn’t yet clear. He’s tied with fellow southpaw Kyle Freeland for the team lead with 27 starts, though both pitchers have ERAs north of 5.00 — 5.50, in Gomber’s case. This year’s 139 innings represent a new career-high at the MLB level for Gomber, who currently has a 14.4% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate, 41.6% ground-ball rate and 1.68 HR/9.

While Gomber’s numbers on the year don’t stand out, he’s steadily improved as the 2023 campaign has progressed. The lefty was rocked for 22 runs in his first four starts this year and struggled for much of the season’s first two months. Since June 14, however, he touts a far more palatable 3.91 ERA in 78 1/3 frames. His 14.8% strikeout rate in that time is still one of the lowest in baseball, but his 4.9% walk rate is excellent and Gomber has significantly tamped down his home run issues during this stretch as well (1.15 HR/9). The Rockies can control him for another two seasons via arbitration.

As for Vodnik, he’ll be in line for his Major League debut. The flamethrowing 23-year-old went from Atlanta to Colorado in the deadline swap that sent righty Pierce Johnson to the Braves. He’s pitched 53 2/3 innings this season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 3.35 earned run average with a hefty 29.9% strikeout rate against a more troubling 13.4% walk rate. Vodnik reaches triple digits with his heater, and scouting reports at FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America all credit him with a plus changeup that helps him induce weak contact on the ground. Command issues are a concern, and BA’s scouting report notes that he’ll at times tip his changeup, thereby undercutting the pitch’s effectiveness.

Vodnik is not yet on Colorado’s 40-man roster, so the Rox will need to make a move to create space. If the Rockies don’t believe Gomber will return this year, he could be placed directly on the 60-day IL. Kris Bryant, currently on the 10-day IL, has already missed 47 days and could be another 60-day IL option, depending on his own outlook. The Rox have also already passed Cole Tucker through waivers once this season, and he was only selected back to the MLB roster a couple days ago.

Rockies Notes: Gomber, Kinley, TV Deal

By | at

The Rockies will place Austin Gomber on the 15-day injured list, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). The left-hander was scratched from his start over the weekend because of back discomfort. He hasn’t pitched since August 28.

Colorado has yet to announce the move, which’ll presumably be backdated by the maximum allotted three days. It isn’t clear if Gomber will be able to return within the final three weeks of the season. He has made 27 starts on the year, ranking second on the team with 139 innings pitched. Gomber owns a 5.50 ERA with a well below-average 14.4% strikeout rate overall, though he showed a bit of progress in the second half. After carrying a 6.40 ERA into the All-Star Break, he has allowed 3.86 earned runs per nine across 49 frames.

It’s certainly not overwhelming production, but Gomber has likely done enough down the stretch to put himself on track for a season-opening spot in next year’s rotation. Only Kyle Freeland looks assured of a rotation job going into the winter, leaving Colorado with plenty of work to do on that front in the offseason.

There’s not much more certainty in the bullpen, which entered play Wednesday ranked 29th with a 5.27 ERA. Among the players the Rox are counting on for key relief roles next season is Tyler Kinley. The right-hander returned from a flexor surgery in August. He briefly landed back on the IL last month and has been limited to eight innings over 10 appearances this year.

Nevertheless, the Rockies are installing Kinley as their closer for the stretch run, as Harding writes. One of the more experienced arms in a young relief group, he turned in 24 innings of 0.75 ERA ball before the injury a season ago. The Rox signed Kinley to a $6.25MM guarantee last offseason, keeping him under contract through at least the 2025 campaign.

The roster isn’t the only thing in flux for the organization going into the winter. The club’s in-market broadcasting is uncertain beyond this season. Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports that AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain has notified its employees it’ll be shuttering operations at year’s end. The club’s local broadcasting picture for 2024 is to be determined.

Newman writes that it’s possible the Rockies land on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which is responsible for carrying Nuggets and Avalanche games in the area. MLB could also take over the broadcasts and stream them on the MLB.TV platform in-market for an additional fee, as it has done for the Padres since San Diego’s RSN contract with Diamond Sports Group collapsed in May.

Rockies Notes: McMahon, Montero, Trejo, Gomber, Senzatela

By | at

The Rockies reshuffled their infield during Spring Training. After losing Gold Glove second baseman Brendan Rodgers to a potential season-ending shoulder injury, Colorado announced plans to kick Ryan McMahon over from third to second base. McMahon’s versatility freed the hot corner for Elehuris Montero, but the Rox are considering pulling the plug on that experiment after a rough first few weeks.

Manager Bud Black announced yesterday that Colorado was “going to take a step back and take a look at our situation at third” (link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). McMahon has gotten the nod there in each of the last two games after starting his first 16 contests at the keystone. That has pushed utilityman Alan Trejo into the lineup at second base and relegated Montero to the bench.

The moves come in response to defensive struggles for the 24-year-old Montero. He’s been charged with three errors while recording only 13 assists in 88 innings at the hot corner. Statcast has pegged his glove as two plays below average in that limited sample. Defense has long been a question mark for Montero, who developed a reputation as a bat-first corner infielder as a prospect. Saunders writes that Colorado could consider optioning him back to Triple-A Albuquerque to get more consistent work on defense.

McMahon is one of the sport’s best defensive third basemen. There’s no question he’s a sizable upgrade with the glove over Montero. The move subtracts one of Colorado’s more interesting young hitters from the lineup, though. Trejo, who could stand to receive the biggest uptick in playing time, is a stable glove-first infielder but doesn’t bring much to the table offensively.

Montero initially joined the organization a little over two years ago in the Nolan Arenado trade. He and left-hander Austin Gomber were the top talents in a return that was widely panned from Colorado’s perspective. While Arenado has performed at an MVP level in St. Louis, the Rockies haven’t yet gotten much big league production from Montero.

Gomber at least provided the Rox with back-of-the-rotation innings in 2021. He worked to a 4.53 ERA — a respectable figure for a pitcher calling Coors Field home — through 115 1/3 innings during his first season with the club. He had a harder time last year, struggling to a 5.56 ERA while getting kicked to the bullpen midseason. The former fourth round pick has returned to the starting five this year but gotten off to a very tough start..

After giving up nine runs in a loss to the Pirates this afternoon, Gomber owns a 12.12 ERA through four outings. He’s allowed five home runs in 16 1/3 innings of work. The 6’5″ hurler candidly acknowledged after today’s appearance he’s having a hard time maintaining confidence through these struggles (link via Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette).

Gomber took responsibility for his disappointing performance and pointed to his subpar command in the early going, but he also noted he’s felt some pressure given the monumental trade in which he was acquired. “I’m not trying to be (Arenado),” Gomber said. “I’m just trying to be myself, but I feel like I’m having a hard time staying in that lane right now.”

It’d obviously be unreasonable to expect Gomber (or any player in that deal) to offer the kind of value Arenado brings to the table. Yet the Rockies are certainly expecting more than the southpaw has shown so far. They’ve been desperate for reliable rotation work. Rockies starters entered play Wednesday 28th in the majors with a 5.40 ERA; they’ll end the night with the league’s second-worst mark.

While the rotation figures to be problematic all season, Colorado should at least get a boost whenever Antonio Senzatela gets back on the mound. The righty has been targeting a May return from last summer’s ACL tear. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he’s expected to begin a minor league rehab stint with Double-A Hartford on Sunday.

Antonio Senzatela Targeting May Return From ACL Surgery

By | at

Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela had an unfortunate end to his 2022 season. The right-hander tore the ACL in his left knee while attempting to track down a grounder in mid-August. He underwent surgery that initially came with a six-to-eight month recovery timetable.

Six months removed from the injury, it seems things are mostly on the expected course. Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette writes the Rockies anticipate Senzatela returning to a big league mound in May. He’s certain to start the season on the 15-day injured list but seems unlikely to land on the 60-day IL barring a setback.

Once healthy, Senzatela will surely reclaim his old spot in the rotation. Colorado placed a strong show of faith in the Venezuelan-born hurler last offseason, inking him to a five-year, $50.5MM extension. The deal, which bought out as many as four free agent years, kept him around on the heels of a 4.42 ERA showing over 28 starts in 2021. That was respectable production for a pitcher who spends half his outings at Coors Field, his second consecutive season of solid output towards the middle or back of a starting staff.

Last year proved more challenging even before the injury. Senzatela gave up a little more than five earned runs per nine innings across 19 starts. His 49.4% ground-ball rate was down a couple percentage points from his peak, albeit still better than average. Senzatela’s strong command and pitch-to-contact profile mostly remained intact, but last year’s .383 batting average on balls in play against him inflated his ERA despite generally similar underlying marks to seasons past.

The Rockies are hoping for bounceback years from the bulk of their rotation after doing very little over the offseason. Germán Márquez and Kyle Freeland each posted down seasons last year. Senzatela is typically their #3 rotation option, though that’ll probably fall to José Ureña to open the season. The back of the rotation spots are especially uncertain.

Left-hander Austin Gomber looks to have the inside track on of those jobs. Allentuck writes that Colorado will move Gomber back into the rotation mix after kicking him to the bullpen for the second half of last season. The 28-year-old southpaw’s results weren’t much different in either role. Gomber posted a 5.75 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate as a starter and a 5.11 ERA with a 17.8% strikeout percentage out of the bullpen.

Given Colorado’s need for innings at the back of the rotation, moving Gomber back into a starting role makes sense. He’d pitched reasonably well over 23 starts in 2021, posting a 4.53 ERA with a solid 23.2% strikeout rate over his first 115 1/3 innings in Colorado. That’s the only season in which Gomber has started at least 20 big league games, though he still has a more established track record than other back-end candidates like Connor Seabold, Ryan Feltner, Ryan Rolison and Peter Lambert.

Rockies, Austin Gomber Avoid Arbitration

By | at

The Rockies and left-hander Austin Gomber have agreed to a $1.65MM salary for 2023 and thus avoided arbitration, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. This comes in just under the $1.8MM figure that was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. The Rockies subsequently announced that they have indeed signed Gomber to a one-year deal.

Gomber, 29, was a Cardinals draftee but he came over to the Rockies prior to the 2021 season as part of the Nolan Arenado trade. His first season with Colorado went well, as he made 23 starts and tossed 115 1/3 innings. He posted an ERA of 4.53 in that time along with a 23.2% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 44.3% ground ball rate.

Last year, however, he wasn’t able to be quite as effective. By the middle of June, he was sitting on a 6.43 ERA through 12 starts. He spent more time in the bullpen from that point on, making five further starts and 16 relief appearances. He had better results in the second half and pushed his season down but it still settled at a high level of 5.56.

Disappointing results aside, Gomber crossed the three-year service mark and qualified for arbitration for the first time. He’ll get a modest raise this year and will be in line for two further trips through arbitration after that before reaching free agency. It’s possible he may get a shot to retake a rotation job since the club has been fairly quiet in that department this offseason. Antonio Senzatela suffered a torn ACL last year and will likely miss the beginning of the season. Until he returns, the rotation projects to be Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland and José Ureña, with Gomber, Ryan Feltner, Peter Lambert and Noah Davis the candidates for the back end.

Rockies Place Austin Gomber, Connor Joe On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

Sep. 5: As expected, the Rockies have indeed moved Gomber to the 60-day IL in order to select Feltner, per a team announcement. Right-hander Antonio Santos was optioned to make room for Feltner on the active roster.

Sep. 4: The Rockies announced a series of roster moves today, including the placement of left-hander Austin Gomber and first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe on the 10-day injured list.  According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, Gomber will be moved to the 60-day IL tomorrow when the Rockies select the contract of right-hander Ryan Feltner from Double-A, as Feltner will make his MLB debut by taking Gomber’s spot as the scheduled starter against the Braves.

Right-hander Jordan Sheffield has been activated off the 60-day IL, making his return after first hitting the IL on June 5 due to a right lat strain.  In addition, infielder Joshua Fuentes has been called up from Triple-A.

Gomber is suffering from spondylolysis, or a stress fracture in his lower back (also known as pars defect).  The 60-day IL placement will end Gomber’s first Colorado season on a painful note, though he did make a solid accounting of himself in his first full season as a starter.

Acquired from the Cardinals as part of the Nolan Arenado trade, Gomber provided some silver lining for disgruntled Rockies fans by posting a 4.53 ERA/4.28 ERA over 115 1/3 innings.  Gomber missed a month due to forearm tightness, and it’s fair to speculate that Gomber’s back problems may have impacted his recent performance, as the southpaw has a 8.50 ERA over his last four starts and 18 innings.  Looking at the Statcast numbers, Gomber’s strikeout and walk rate are roughly middle-of-the-road, though he has been good at limiting hard contact.

Joe left Friday’s game due to his injury, which has now been termed as a right hamstring strain.  As manager Bud Black told reporters (including The Athletic’s Nick Groke), “it’s not a definite season-ending injury,” so Joe could potentially see some more action in 2021 if his hamstring cooperates.  Signed to a minor league contract last winter, Joe has hit well over 211 plate appearances with the Rockies, batting .285/.379/.469 with eight home runs.

Feltner was Colorado’s fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, and the Ohio State product will make the jump to the majors without the benefit of any Triple-A experience.  In 110 combined innings at high-A and Double-A ball this season, Feltner has a 2.62 ERA and 27.53% strikeout rate over 20 starts.  The big league promotion is a nice late birthday present for Feltner, who turned 25 last Thursday.

Rockies Place Austin Gomber On 10-Day IL Due To Forearm Tightness

By | at

TODAY: Gomber has been placed on the 10-day injured list, the team announced.  In corresponding roster moves, righty Joe Harvey’s contract was selected from Triple-A, while right-hander Jordan Sheffield was moved to the 60-day IL.

JUNE 19: Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber left tonight’s start after two innings due to left forearm tightness, the team announced.  The removal was made “for precautionary reasons,” specifically.  Gomber stayed in the game long enough to make a plate appearance in the bottom of the second inning, dropping down a sacrifice bunt.  (MLB.com’s Thomas Harding noted that Jhoulys Chacin was already warming up in Colorado’s bullpen before Gomber’s at-bat, so it doesn’t appear as though the injury occurred while Gomber was at the plate.)

Injuries have already led to one big setback in Gomber’s career, as he missed the entire 2019 season due to shoulder and biceps problems.  A forearm issue is naturally of major concern, and it could be that the Rockies were simply acting as quickly as possible in removing Gomber at the first hint of trouble.

The 27-year-old Gomber carried an outsized spotlight entering the season, as he was the only player with MLB experience amongst the four-player package the Rockies received from the Cardinals in the Nolan Arenado trade.  Colorado fans were notably displeased about pretty much every facet of that deal, though Gomber’s recent numbers have provided a silver lining.  After a slow start to the season, Gomber had caught fire, posting a 1.28 ERA over his last seven starts and 42 1/3 innings heading into tonight’s outing against the Brewers.

Gomber is under team control through the 2025 season, giving the Rockies either a rotation building block or potentially even a future trade chip (i.e. not at this year’s trade deadline) depending on whether or not the team embarks on a wide-scale rebuild.  A serious forearm injury, of course, would interrupt either of those scenarios.

Latest On Potential Nolan Arenado Trade

By | at

8:24pm: Third baseman Mateo Gil will also be part of the Rockies’ return, Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic tweet.

8:15pm: Left-hander Austin Gomber is one of the players who will go to Colorado, Goold tweets. Nightengale reported Friday that Gomber was likely going to be in the trade.

6:51pm: Colorado and St. Louis seem to be on the verge of a major trade centering on star Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, but it’s not yet clear whether the deal will go through as early as Monday night. The swap still hasn’t been submitted for approval to the union and the league office, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who adds that “it will take at least another day, if not longer” to become official. On the other hand, though, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that all parties could sign off on it sometime tonight.

Regardless of whether this trade takes place Monday, it does appear it’s going to happen. According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Rockies and Cardinals had “intense moments” during negotiations this past weekend, but the blockbuster is still likely to go through by Tuesday. Furthermore, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the Cardinals are optimistic the transaction will occur.

Because of the complicated financial hoops the teams have to jump through to complete this trade (Colorado is set to absorb $50MM of Arenado’s remaining money, some of which will be in deferrals), it remains unclear whom the Rockies will receive in return for the longtime face of their franchise. But Arenado – who has a no-trade clause – seems eager to head to St. Louis, as he has given his written consent for a trade to the Cardinals, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. Arenado is in line to receive an extra year and another $15MM tacked on to the six seasons and $199MM on his Colorado contract if the Cards do acquire him.

Cardinals Agree To Acquire Nolan Arenado

By | at

10:32pm: Arenado will receive another guaranteed year on his contract for roughly $15MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who adds that he could waive his no-trade clause as early as Saturday.

8:51pm: The Cardinals and Rockies have swung an enormously impactful trade centering on Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was among those to report. The Rockies will send around $50MM to the Cardinals in the deal, according to Rosenthal, who adds that it likely won’t be official tonight and perhaps won’t go through this weekend.

Arenado has a full no-trade clause, though Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic reported earlier this week that he is likely to waive it in order to join the Cardinals. The five-time All-Star also has an opt-out clause in the seven-year, $234MM extension he signed with the Rockies before the 2019 campaign. But Arenado would still be able to opt out after 2021, he’d get an additional opt-out after ’22 and he would keep his full no-trade clause, Rosenthal tweets. He still has $199MM left on his pact over the next six years.

This has been a low-profile winter for St. Louis and the rest of its competition in the National League Central competition, but the Cardinals have suddenly come alive after a long slumber. Before agreeing to acquire Arenado, they re-signed right-hander Adam Wainwright, and indications are that they’ll bring back catcher Yadier Molina. Of course, in terms of impact, Wainwright and Molina pale in comparison to Arenado, one of baseball’s highest-profile stars. The well-rounded Arenado, who will turn 30 in April, has batted .293/.349/.541 with 235 home runs in 4,558 plate appearances since he debuted in 2013. Arenado has also totaled a whopping 120 Defensive Runs Saved and a 56.4 Ultimate Zone Rating at third base, where he has won eight straight Gold Gloves.

While Arenado was hugely successful in Colorado, his relationship with the team was – in a word – rocky over the past couple years. The Rockies were a playoff team from 2017-18, but they’ve dropped off drastically since. After the club fell well shy of a playoff spot in 2019, Arenado made it known he was unhappy with the direction of the franchise, saying he felt “disrespected.” Arenado frequented trade rumors then, but the Rockies retained him during what turned into another subpar year for the organization. It was also a disappointing campaign for Arenado, who slashed a career-worst .253/.303/.434 with eight homers in 201 PA.

Even though 2020 didn’t go as planned for Arenado, the Cardinals are clearly banking on him to serve as their long-term solution at third base. The team primarily used Matt Carpenter and Tommy Edman there last season, which was a playoff year. However, Carpenter went through his second straight below-average year, and he’s only signed for one more season. Carpenter is due to earn $18.5MM in 2021, while his $18.5MM option for 2022 is sure to be bought out for $2MM if he’s still with the Cardinals. Meanwhile, the versatile Edman could be the Cardinals’ pick at second base.

The Arenado pickup will obviously be a significant investment for the Cardinals, whose chairman, Bill DeWitt Jr., drew ire last summer for saying baseball’s not a “very profitable industry.”  But the Cardinals suddenly do look as if they’re aiming to take over the NL Central in 2021, especially with none of their other division rivals – the reigning champion Cubs, Reds, Brewers or Pirates – doing much to better themselves this offseason. Certainly, if the Arenado trade is finalized, it will be the biggest acquisition in the division this winter.

The Rockies, on the other hand, looked to be in for a third consecutive lean year in 2021 before trading Arenado, and that’s all the more true with the face of their franchise on his way out the door. They’ll likely acquire lefty Austin Gomber as part of the return, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Rosenthal names first baseman Luken Baker, outfielder Jhon Torres, and righties Jake Woodford and Angel Rondon as other possible names the Rockies could acquire. Gomber debuted in the majors in 2018 and has posted a respectable 3.72 ERA over 104 innings, though that production obviously falls quite a bit short of the impact Arenado has made.

With Arenado leaving, the question now is whether the Rockies will deal shortstop Trevor Story, who’s entering his platform year. Story would no doubt bring back a sizable return in a trade, as he is among the top players in the game at his position. It would seem to make sense for the Rockies to part with him if they’re not expecting to contend in 2021, but they may be interested in extending him, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relays.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top