There have been a few really good trades in the Colorado Rockies three-plus decades of National League existence. Unfortunately, none have happened in the past 15 years.
Back in December of 2011, the Rockies traded Ian Stewart and Tyler Colvin to the Chicago Cubs for second baseman DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu would go on to become a Rockies mainstay for seven seasons, winning the National League batting title, a pair of All-Star nods and three NL Gold Glove awards.
Before that, faced with the reality of losing should-have-been MVP Matt Holliday as a free agent in the winter of 2008, Colorado pulled off a great deal that sent Holiday to the Oakland A’s in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street, who would become stars in their own right.
That worked out well, too.
So did the trade that brought Jorge De La Rosa to Denver in April of 2008, and the one that brought German Marquez on board in January of 2016. And there were a few late-season acquisitions like Jonathan Lucroy and Pat Neshak. Those last two were pennant-race rentals. Nothing like getting CarGo, De La Rosa or German… or any other long-term building blocks.
So along those lines, can anyone name another really good trade – and not a salary dump – that the Rockies have recently made?
Dealing with the other MLB clubs was not a strength for the Rockies under the leadership of general managers Jeff Bridich and (especially) Bill Schmidt. The trade that sent in-his-prime future Hall-of-Famer Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2021 season especially stands out. The return was five guys and the right to pay $50 million of Nolan’s salary to play for someone else. Only pitcher Austin Gomber even made even a moderate impact at the big-league level.
It hasn’t been for a lack of trying, but more often than not, the Rockies have just been making trades for the sake of making trades and shedding salary. Like the deal for All-Star CJ Cron – sent to the Los Angeles Angels at the deadline in 2023 in exchange for minor-league pitchers Jake Madden and Mason Albright. Neither of those guys made a dent in Colorado. Even if Cron wasn’t in the long-term plans, the Rockies gave away much more than they received in return.
That’s been the pattern in recent years. And those kinds of deals need to become a thing of the past.
With a new front office in place, the Rockies approach the budding trading season with a new philosophy… we hope.
It can no longer be about who (and how much salary) Colorado is getting rid of, but rather what they’re getting back in return that has to matter the most.
So far, so good. The new front office, led by Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes, has already made one offseason deal that appears to be a win for the purple pinstripes. First baseman TJ Rumfield came over from the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Angel Chivilli, and two months into the season, Rumfield has been a bright spot in the Rockies’ everyday lineup, while the young Chivilli has yet to be any kind of factor in the Bronx. This was a deal made from a position of strength for Colorado. They had several pitchers like Chivilli already on the roster…but it was a roster that lacked a consistent hitter to play at first base. It’s worked out nicely.
More deals like that one are badly needed.
The Rockies will most certainly fall into the “sellers” category again this July. That doesn’t mean they can’t hold out for the very best deals possible in order to bring back some substantial building blocks when they do decide to part with players like outfielder Mickey Moniak or pitchers Antonio Senzatela and Tomoyuki Sugano. There are others that have trade value, too – but the return has to be right for the Rockies.
With analytics playing a much bigger part in the roster-building process, it’s fair to expect Colorado to bring back players in trades that perhaps aren’t big names, but are productive “under the radar” types, like Rumfield. Add enough to those types of players, and the rebuild, thought to be years away, might get sped up just a bit.
Strike 3: The Rockies need to pick up wins during trading season Mile High Sports.
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