In the off season, the Rockies will be confronted with an issue with Esmil Rogers that isn't too dissimilar to the one that the Yankees faced with Ian Kennedy heading into 2010. Kennedy had been pushed out of the picture by other, higher grade starters in New York, and while he may have had another option remaining (Rogers does not) the Yankees felt that he was put to better use as trade bait, along with other prospects, to acquire Curtis Granderson. Granderson has hit .248/.317/.442, but the Yankees are in first place.
The lesson for the Rockies in this, re: Rogers? There are probably a couple of them:
- Don't make awful trades where you give up a lot of parts for one player
- Don't feel you have to keep a promising young player if your team will be fine without them.
My guess is that we'll see people drawn to one of those lessons, but not usually both. I gravitate to the first one and ignore the second frequently. Speaking of which, I really don't know if it's a good idea to get rid of Rogers. I hope he shows everybody why tonight.
GO ROCKIES!!