Rockies believe asking price is too high for Aardsma
Via Twitter, Troy Renck mentions that the Rockies have scoffed at Seattle's demands for David Aardsma. Out of all of the candidates for a reliever, I believed Aardsma to be the best (144 ERA+, 129 K's in 124 IP the last two seasons), so it's a bit of a blow that he has apparently moved out of the Rockies' price range. However, one more name has popped up in the Rockies' search for bullpen arms, and that name is Aaron Heilman. The Rox have long showed interest in the 32 year-old righty, who was below average last year in that horrific D-Backs bullpen after an above-average 2009 in Chicago.
Francis’ decision expected soon | All Things Rockies — The Denver Post
According to DP's Jim Armstrong, Jeff Francis should be making a decision on whether or not he'll re-sign with the Rockies sometime in the next few days. As Armstrong mentions in the article, there are other places where Francis would have a better opportunity but he may be the loyal type and decide to bide his time in Denver and wait for an injury or some other scenario to play out. I still think Francis has something left in the tank, and I think he's going to want the chance to prove it every fifth day.
Colorado Rockies Top 20 Prospects for 2011 - Minor League Ball
John Sickels has posted his Top 20 prospects list for the Rockies organization, and to my surprise he has Nolan Arenado at the top of the list. A few things that caught my eye were his concerns with Will Swanner and Christian Friedrich (both of which are valid, if you ask me - although Swanner's are much less worrisome at this point), and his love for Chad Bettis (ranked #3). He thinks Bettis could be on Matzek's level soon, but I'd like to see how he performs in his first full year as a starter. Either way, the list includes some good stuff and is definitely worth checking out.
More links after the jump...
"CarGo": "Me preparo por si hay una sorpresa" (via MLBTR)
This isn't necessarily new news, but rather an update on the situation, as Wilmer Reina of the Venezuelan media outlet La Verdad recently spoke with Carlos Gonzalez, who says that there is (still) progress between he and the Rockies regarding extension talks. It would be wise of the Rockies to temporarily postpone the talks prior to the start of the Spring Training if a deal isn't made by then, which I don't think one will be. Speaking of CarGo, he picked up a GIBBY (Greatness in Baseball Yearly ) for the best breakout performance of the season, although in my opinion he had his breakout season last year (in the second half, at least). However, he certainly added to that in 2010 - which as Harding states in the article, was CarGo's first full season in the big leagues. If you add up all of the obscure awards that he's collected with the more well-known Gold Glove and Silver Slugger honors, that makes Carlos one of the most decorated players in baseball this offseason.
Rockies' Tracy gets an OK after health scare - The Denver Post
Jim Tracy has undergone tests with a Denver cardiologist and fortunately, everything came back negative. Good news all around.
Early top 250 fantasy baseball rankings for 2011 season - Fantasy Baseball - ESPN
Tristan H. Cockcroft has published ESPN's early fantasy baseball rankings. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki come in at 11th and 12th, respectively, while Ubaldo Jimenez appears at number 37. There are no other Rockies players in the top-100. Let's hope that changes by the end of 2011.
Orlando Hudson Takes His Talents to San Diego | FanGraphs Baseball