As a fan of the Rockies, I have to say that I don't want Yorvit Torrealba to leave the team. As good as I think Chris Iannetta can be, and I certainly believe he should probably be the starter given the information we have, CDI's struggles last season show exactly why you want a quality second catcher like Torrealba around.

There's so much required of the position defensively, that even your good everyday catchers will typically be inconsistent season to season on the offensive side of things. Putting aside the fantasy of having a Joe Mauer type of demigod behind the plate, the next best option would be to have a pair of solid complementing catchers that fall in a tier or two below. That's what the Rockies have had the last two or three seasons with Torrealba and Iannetta, and I've got to say despite either player's individual flaws it's worked out quite well for us. As a fan of the players, however, I want the best opportunity for them, and in Torrealba's case, a really solid one seems to be opening up if these rumors of interest from the Toronto Blue Jays are true.

In Colorado, Torrealba has to compete with Iannetta for playing time. Were he to go to San Francisco, he'd be only a place-holder until Buster Posey was ready. But Toronto, now there's a team that doesn't really have anybody crouching in his way.

Speaking of the Giants, it will be interesting to watch how close to their indicated salary budget cap of around $90 million that Tim Lincecum's 2010 contract will push them to. With a huge raise for Lincecum from 2009's $650,000 salary, as well as bigger than expected first year arbitration bumps for Jonathan Sanchez, Brian Wilson and Ryan Garko, the team could be forced to eat into what they have set aside to fix their offense, thereby downgrading the quality of the players that they can target. This would be the ideal scenario for Rockies and Dodgers fans, whereas Giants fans will probably be rooting for the team to win with low-ball offers.  

In a sidebar question, Colorado Springs Independent columnist Ralph Routon asks why the Rockies shouldn't trade for Roy Halladay. In our seemingly never ending quest to educate the folks that probably should have known this stuff before they got hired: Ralph, the Blue Jays asked the Dodgers for Chad Billingsley, would it be that unreasonable to suspect that they would ask the Rockies for Ubaldo Jimenez? The real question is why on earth any GM in their right mind would give up a player like that for one year of Halladay. Until Toronto becomes more motivated to deal their ace, this is exactly the kind of move you don't want a team like the Rockies to make. Just quit feeding ignorance to fans by hinting it might be a reasonable idea at this point. It's not.