Rockies face crucial decisions at pitcher and in the outfield

The hot stove season is not yet in full swing but the Rockies have at least been at a nice sizzle since letting Co-GMs Dan O'Dowd and Bill Geivett walk. The team has since fired their two-headed pitching coach and last night it was reported that they have declined the $12 million option on Brett Anderson.

This is still just the very beginning of new GM Jeff Bridich's tenure, and Patrick Saunders at the Denver Post suggests we allow some of his vision to unfold and then judge him based off of his actual baseball decisions rather than condemning him based on associations and organization-wide narratives.

Frankly, I think this would be a nice way to operate all the time, but I won't hold my breath.

Nick Groke runs through the list of available free agent pitchers who may be Anderson replacements/depth the Rockies needed anyway. The list is separated into three categories: "No Way" (Max Scherzer), "Best Possible Scenarios" (Brandon McCarthy), and "The Other Guys" (Jason Hammel).

In other roster movement news, Thomas Harding writes that the decision looming over Michael Cuddyer is not an easy one, contrary to popular belief. The future of the outfield in general could be in flux and Cuddyer may be the kind of guy the team would want to keep if they intend to trade Carlos Gonzalez. More on that later today.