Proposed Rockies Offseason

by LW33 on Nov 2, 2011 1:17 PM MDT

This includes two trades and four signings which, obviously, would be an enormous offseason for our front office. I'd appreciate your thoughts and I know there will be plenty of disagreements.

Rockies Offseason Free Agent Signings

Kelly Johnson 4 years, 30 MM + incentives

Brad Lidge, RHP 2 years 10 MM + incentives

Kevin Millwood, RHP 1 year 3MM + incentives

Fred Lewis, OF, 2 years 6 MM

Trades

Houston Street, Alex White, and Christian Friedrich to the New York Mets for Jason Bay, Mets to pay 5MM in salary for two seasons

Wilin Rosario, Seth Smith, and Ty Wigginton and to the Chicago White Sox for John Danks

Lineup

1 – Dexter Fowler, CF, 500k

2 – Kelly Johnson, 2B, 7.5MM

3 – Carlos Gonzalez, RF, 2MM

4 – Troy Tulowiztki, SS, 6 MM

5 – Jason Bay, LF, 13.1 MM

6 – Todd Helton, 1B, 20 MM**

7 – Ian Stewart, 3B, 1.8 MM

8 – Chris Ianetta, C, 3MM

Bench Jordan Pacheco, 400k

Charlie Blackmon, 400k

Chris Nelson, 500k

Fred Lewis 3MM

Jason Giambi, 3MM

Andrew Brown 500k

Rotation

1 – John Danks, LHP 6,5MM

2 – Jhoulys Chacin, RHP, 500k

3 – Jason Hammel, RHP, 3MM

4 – Drew Pomeranz, LHP, 500k

5 – Kevin Millwood, RHP, 3MM -

Jorge De La Rosa – 10MM, Juan Nicasio 500k

Bullpen

Rex Brothers, LHP 500k

Matt Reynolds, LHP 500k

Matt Lindstrom, RHP 3MM

Rafael Bettencourt, RHP 4MM

Brad Lidge, RHP 5MM

Matt Belisle, RHP 2.5MM

Lineup – 54 MM, **Helton has deferred substantial portion of salary.

Bench – 7.8 MM

Bullpen – 15.5 MM

Rotation – 23.5 MM

$100.3 ** - Again, Helton has deferred salary and 10 MM committed to De La Rosa so this number is inflated.

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).

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Too much for Danks IMO (and no way rox are giving up on Rosario that easily), but I like the Jason Bay trade. Ive always hated playing against Kelly Johnson, he kills it at Coors field, so he would definitely fit with us. The only problem is Johnson is Chippppa Jone’s apprentice and we all know Jones loves to criticize Cargo and the Rockies for only being good cause we are at high elevation, so that could have an impact if we go after him (not really, but chipper pisses me off nonetheless). We need a more effective inning eater than Danks and if Hammel is anywhere in our lineup again this year, let alone THIRD SP, we are in deep deep shit. While I hope O’dowd and the Monforts will allow us to make a splash this year in the FA/trade market, I doubt we will be seeing some huge improvements from outside of the organization (always looks to Colorado Springs first!) this offseason.

#1:Avs, #2: Rox, #3: Rapids.....#650:NBA, #651:NFL, #652:College football/basketball. Excluded from list: Deadthings, Yankees, ESPN, John Buccigross among others

by avsfanatic33 on Nov 2, 2011 2:02 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs

Johnson hasn't been on the Braves in like two seasons

and is a free agent…or did I miss something…

"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker

by Resolution on Nov 2, 2011 2:15 PM MDT up reply actions

No thats correct,but Jones is still Johnson’s number one person for advice and train together etc., so I was just saying Jones would persuade him not to sign with us

#1:Avs, #2: Rox, #3: Rapids.....#650:NBA, #651:NFL, #652:College football/basketball. Excluded from list: Deadthings, Yankees, ESPN, John Buccigross among others

by avsfanatic33 on Nov 2, 2011 6:37 PM MDT up reply actions

I doubt Jones has that kind of influence

but in this sport you never know. Troy and Helton were able to get Giambi to sign and look what happened there.

On another note: Welcome to Purple Row

"There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare." ~Tallulah Bankhead
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." ~Greg, age 8
JFK

by jrockies on Nov 2, 2011 10:43 PM MDT up reply actions

Thanks!

Have been a diehard Rockies fan (along with the Avs obviously) my whole life, but have been missing out on this blog! Glad to be here, great way to stay connected. So do we all still hate SF I hope??

#1:Avs, #2: Rox, #3: Rapids.....#650:NBA, #651:NFL, #652:College football/basketball. Excluded from list: Deadthings, Yankees, ESPN, John Buccigross among others

by avsfanatic33 on Nov 3, 2011 12:23 PM MDT up reply actions

Yes - although we are simpatico with them

in terms of experiencing disappointing seasons

Goodbye 2011, hello uncertainty about 2012...

by The Toddfather's Goatee on Nov 3, 2011 3:11 PM MDT up reply actions

Interesting

I like Jason Bay as a bounce-back candidate, especially at Coors. What you propose is a pretty steep price in terms of prospects, but with the salary the Mets would be eating both in terms of the chunk of Bay’s salary and taking back Street might make it worth it. In th end, though, I think the Mets are going to have eat even more than $5M a year on Bay if they’re going to move him, even with the Street salary factor.

Similar thoughts regarding the Danks trade. Rosario is a steep price, but personally, I’m not in love with him as a prospect and the Mets would be doing us a favor taking Wigginton’s salary off our books.

Too many years for Kelly Johnson.

Too much money for Lidge.

Don’t want Lewis, especially not at that price.

Your salary numbers are off. Some the numbers that stand out the most: Fowler’s getting a big raise next year in arbitration. Cargo is going to make about 5 and a half next year. Tulo goes up to a little over 8. Giambi’s only making 1 million.

Just a small town kid who thinks Coors Field on a sunny summer Saturday night is the best place to be on this or any other plane of existence. When a late-inning Todd Helton go-ahead homerun is added to this scenario, my brain melts.

by Gasstation1 on Nov 2, 2011 2:51 PM MDT reply actions

Hard to argue with some of your points....

But I think we’ll have to give more years for Johnson to get him here. It will be interesting to see what the Mets do with Bay’s salary, but they’ll have to eat something substantial to move him, and he’d fit in very well here. I, too, do not have much love for Rosario based on what I have seen and think they need to move him now while his value is at its peak. I’d be all for moving Eyjr. Or Chris Nelson for a bullpen piece in lieu of Lidge. I think we’ll have to take bad contracts to move Wiggy and Street, but we really need to move both of those guys.

by LW33 on Nov 2, 2011 4:01 PM MDT reply actions

If Johnson is going to demand 4 years, I'd let him go someplace else to get 'em...

…because I don’t think he’s worth that. And definitely not worth it to us. I’d rather pay Ellis less for one or two years and wait/hope for Rutledge. All things considered, Ellis might be better than Johnson in 2012 anyways. As much as I’d love a long-term upgrade at 2B, I don’t think this is the year to spend big on that position.

But I think we agree on Jason Bay. Assuming there’s enough salary-eating on the Mets’ part, I’d be willing to risk a prospect package of White/Friedrich on a Bay bounce-back. He could be this year’s Berkman. Or he could proceed on an uninterupted decline that’s already begun. But no risk, no reward, right?

It sounds like we agree on Rosario. I like Danks well enough, too, but despite me being not so high on Rosario, I’d be hesitant to trade a highly regarded prospect for just one year of Danks before he hits free agency.

As for Fred Lewis, I think Blackmon will give you everything that Lewis would and for more upside and less money.

Also, I don’t think the Rockies see Pacheco as a viable immediate back-up to Iannetta. He could do it in a pinch, but I think he’s more of a infielder/emergency catcher at this point. So, you’d need a roster spot for a legit back-up catcher. If Brown makes the team, he’s your 5th outfielder and the spot you’ve earmarked for Lewis goes to that back-up catcher.

by Gasstation1 on Nov 2, 2011 5:08 PM MDT up reply actions

that's way too much for kelly johnson,

and probably too much for danks without an extension, but i actually don’t hate this idea. trading for bay would certainly be interesting, but i fear he’ll never again approach what he was; assuming he regains some of his boston form, this isn’t bad at all.

the only organization of humans responsible for more evil in the universe than the philadelphia phillies is the boston red sox

be happy, because 2012 is coming.

by papality on Nov 2, 2011 7:18 PM MDT reply actions

Just to let you know from our perspective, Mets fans would be all for that Jason Bay trade.

To actually get living human beings in return for the corpse of Jason Bay and only have to pay $5 million a year would be nothing short of a miracle at this stage (not to mention living human beings who may have some upside on the mound).

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Nov 2, 2011 10:08 PM MDT reply actions

Hilarious comment…thank you for the insight and the laugh. The guy hits when he’s healthy, he just has not been…how about a bag of balls, a bat boy, and an ex girlfriend to be named later?

by LW33 on Nov 2, 2011 10:19 PM MDT up reply actions

A lot of us are split as to whether it's an injury issue or an aging issue (or both).

His mechanics at the plate also seem to be forever in flux. Either way, he certainly doesn’t fit the Mets future plans and he’s killing the team’s payroll along with Johan Santana’s 25 million (sigh). We’ve been desperate enough to talk about dealing Bay for the likes of John Lackey (some even mentioned him after the TJ surgery, non-ironically), AJ Burnett and Jake Peavy in recent weeks, so that should show how badly we want to lose him. A bag of balls, a bat boy and an ex to be named later would be grounds to throw Sandy Alderson a parade.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Nov 2, 2011 10:49 PM MDT up reply actions

that's exactly how feel about wigginton

weird…

the only organization of humans responsible for more evil in the universe than the philadelphia phillies is the boston red sox

be happy, because 2012 is coming.

by papality on Nov 2, 2011 11:26 PM MDT up reply actions

No thnaks on Danks

or on Bay. We can find better deals out there that don’t involve top prospects. The free agent signings, only one I’m really interested in would be Johnson. But, if we are paying that much, I’d rather go after Oswalt or someone like that.

by mkorpal on Nov 3, 2011 9:31 AM MDT reply actions

Yes on Oswalt, he likes pitching at Coors field (unless I am misremembering things again) and would seriously help us out. O’dowd making a serious run? Doubt it unfortunately.

#1:Avs, #2: Rox, #3: Rapids.....#650:NBA, #651:NFL, #652:College football/basketball. Excluded from list: Deadthings, Yankees, ESPN, John Buccigross among others

by avsfanatic33 on Nov 3, 2011 12:27 PM MDT up reply actions

People realize that Jason Bay is completely washed up, right?

Jason Giambi for player-manager in 2012!
How the world will end in 2012: George of the Roses builds a Machine that Pommels everyone with La Violencia during Whiteouts.

by free7694 on Nov 3, 2011 1:20 PM MDT reply actions

I like Johnson

Seems like a bit too much for Bay. However, any lineup with Ian Stewart in it gets automatic thumbs down from me. I don’t care if you lead off with Ricky Henderson, have McGwire and Sosa circa 1998 hitting 2 and 3 and have Babe Ruth himself batting clean up. In my opinion Ian Stewart will never be a viable big league hitter in a Colorado Rockies uinform. I hope he makes me eat my words, but we have been waiting and waiting and waiting and he seems to be getting worse and worse rather than better.

What if the hokey pokey is what it is all about after all????

by FlyAway on Nov 3, 2011 5:52 PM MDT reply actions

Wow 4 years $30 million for KELLY JOHNSON?

Holy mooooooooly. I actually like the proposed trade for Bay, but I don’t want to give up Rosario for Danks.

@CentralCaliRox

by CentralCaliRox on Nov 3, 2011 11:51 PM MDT reply actions

offseason trades ctd.

our subreddit of the rockies has been discussing this offseason: http://www.reddit.com/r/ColoradoRockies/comments/m8xsr/moves_the_rockies_should_make/
I like getting Prado and C.J. Wilson and Lidge would be nice. We can fix either the 2b or the 3b hole, but not both, and I say we do a straight up trade Smith for Prado and have Prado at 3rd. Then make sure that EY can play defense all winter and have him be 2b. Hopefully Dex’s power rises like it did last half and if Blackmon hits the gaps we’ll have covered Smith’s hole fine.

priority though is getting a pitcher like Wilson and getting rid of Street.

by Zatch on Nov 12, 2011 12:51 PM MST reply actions

Welcome to Purple Row

I don’t think CJ Wilson would sign here regardless what we offer, and I don’t think the FO would go after a big name FA pitcher anyway. Lidge would be an interesting addition because he has a pretty good track record with a few injuries. He still pitches well and while he’s getting older he’s worth a shot. Eric Young could have a chance to play second but I would give that opportunity to Nelson first with Field very unlikely to break camp with the club. We also cannot count on Dexter to have “power” but rather to hit singles and turn them into doubles and hit triples. His speed is his asset when hitting, but bunting for base hits is not a strong point.

On the starting pitching side I would like someone who can, and will, throw strikes on a consistent basis rather than walk everyone he faces. This gives the defense a chance and should eat innings rather than use the bullpen all the time. This player doesn’t have to be a TOR pitcher because with Chacin, Pomeranz and Nicasio the only thing we need to do is get someone who will eat innings.

by jrockies on Nov 12, 2011 2:28 PM MST up reply actions