As expected, the Rockies did not take any player in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft this morning. Somewhat unexpected, the Rockies didn't lose any player in it, either. The good news about this is that the team kept its talent. If you want to take a pessimistic look, it also means that the team no longer has the enviable prospect depth it once did.
Really, however, it should be noted that a lot of the players that the Rockies were most likely to lose (even though that didn't prove the case with Aneury Rodriguez or Corey Wimberly) in this draft were dealt in the summer and last Spring for help in the team's 2009 playoff run. These trades netted Jason Hammel, Matt Murton, Joe Beimel and Rafael Betancourt, and all involved prospects who would have needed to be put on the 40 man roster to avoid exposure in the Rule 5 draft. It's moves like these that probably helped Dan O'Dowd get Baseball America's Executive of the Year award.
Alright, other than that, since I'm late and since you crazies have already bloated yesterday's thread to beyond a bursting point, just a links roundup this morning:
Rockies' Tracy: We are too good not to contend - The Denver Post
Jim Tracy, the NLs manager of the year, said today Ubaldo Jimenez would enter spring training at the head of the rotation and that he prefers Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe in the heart of the lineup.
Dollars behind the day's deals - The Denver Post
The winter meetings heated up even more Wednesday, with the Brewers landing pitchers Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins.
Rockies-Torrealba talks stuck in impasse - The Denver Post
Tracy: Jimenez ready to be ace - The Denver Post
Rockies manager Jim Tracy doesnt fear expectations. He embraces them. He considers the suggestion that the Rockies U-turn was a fluke a "slap in the face."