Can a Carlos Gonzalez trade to Cleveland work?

Should the Cleveland Indians consider trading for Carlos Gonzalez? - Matt R. Lyons / Let's Go Tribe

On Monday, I wrote about potential trade targets for Carlos Gonzalez and concluded that Cleveland seems to be the best fit right. This link here is a response to that article from our SB Nation Indians community asking fans if they think the team should trade for Cargo.

Unfortunately, the interest seems somewhat cool from their end. However, the feeling was far from unanimous and many of them seemed more open to the proposal in the comments section once the idea of trading Cargo AND Charlie Blackmon was brought up along with the Rockies taking back Chris Johnson's ugly contract. (Johnson is owed $7.5 million in 2016 and $9 million in 2017 and has a $1 million buyout in 2018).

At that point, many of them seemed open to giving up prospects. The guy they don't want to part with is Bradley Zimmer, which means any deal here is likely to center on their other highly regarded outfield prospect Clint Frazier and 21-year-old pitcher Rob Kaminsky. In the comments, one fan said they would agree to trade those two and Cleveland's pick in the Second Competitive Balance Round in next year's draft in a trade that involved Cargo, Blackmon, and Chis Johnson.

Bottom line here: A trade that can benefit both teams is definitely workable. It's just a matter of how bad both sides want to get something like this done.

Yankees and Indians talking Brett Garner trade - Darrell Samuels

Back in the real world, the Rockies may have to make their interest in a Cargo and / or Blackmon to Cleveland swap known fast if it exists. There's reports that the Indians are in discussions with the Yankees about acquiring Brett Gardner. Nothing appears immanent and I can see why since the Yankees reportedly want Carlos Corrasco or Danny Salazar in return. Still, you have to figure that Cleveland is going to do something to address their outfield situation soon, and if the Rockies are interested in pieces on that farm (and I think they should be), they need to keep a close eye on what other clubs are doing.

Giants sign Brandon Crawford to new deal; contract worth $75M, sources say - ESPN

I expected the Giants to try and sign Crawford to a long term deal this winter, but I was hoping it would cost them more money than this. He turns 29 in January, so it's very possible 2015 turns out to be Crawford's best season as he posted several career highs, but it would have been nice to see the Giants on the hook for more after his recent surge in production.

David Ortiz to retire at end of 2016 - Ben Buchanan / Over the Monster

The guy with fingerprints all over Boston's three World Series title runs this century is expected to announce that the 2016 season will be his last at Fenway Park this afternoon. Ortiz has had an outstanding career and it deserves to be celebrated next September, but one thing I hope this doesn't lead to is another one of these year long "goodbye tours" that are becoming a disturbing trend across major league baseball. We've already seen it with Chipper Jones, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter, and I'm already dreading the thought of Ortiz adding yet another one to the list with this announcement.

I'm all for honoring a guy when we actually get to the end of his last season, but I don't need to see a freaking slobber fest on EVERY single road trip where he gets a car in Detroit, a surfboard in San Diego, and a lifetime supply of wine when he visits the Bay Area. After a while that stuff just makes you want to puke when it's coming from clubs who he spent his whole career terrorizing.

On a Rockies related note, I have so, so much respect for Todd Helton for waiting until August to make this announcement and therefore preventing a similar year long charade. Again, I have no problem if the Red Sox throw David Ortiz a week long party at Fenway in late September -- he deserves that -- but if this turns into a repeat of the Chipper Jones, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter tours, I'm going to need a barf bucket.

Yard Goats Unveil New Baseball Team Uniforms — All 5 Of Them - Paul Doyle

The uniforms aren't as awesome as the hats, but check the link to see what the members of our stacked Double-A team will be wearing next season. What happens on the field with the Yard Goats -- or "Yahd Goats" as we say in New England -- will in many ways be the most important aspect of the 2016 season for this organization.

Kyle Freeland, Raimel Tapia continue setting the pace for Rockies prospects in the AFL - Cameron Goeldner / Purple Row

It may be November, but there's still some baseball action. Yesterday, Cam updated us on all the latest news concerning Rockies in the Arizona Fall League. It's not a stint we should draw any firm conclusions, but so far, Kyle Freeland looks really good coming off a season lost to injury.

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Finally, we have a small announcement today.

As Purple Row has expanded over the years, both our staff and content quantity have grown in size as we try to offer the best and most comprehensive Rockies coverage possible. However, in recent times, we feel this has produced an unwanted byproduct as far as Rockpiles are concerned.

In the past, Rockpiles were the exclusive place where everybody hung out for most of the day, shared ideas, and discussed the latest news as it happened. This helped foster the great community we have here at Purple Row today. Now with numerous posts going up each day though, Rockpiles often get snuffled around and can be tough to find for you, the regular Purple Row reader.

So here's what we've decided to do: From now on, the story box on the top right hand corner of the screen (where you clicked on this Rockpile today) will always feature the latest Rockpile. This means no more searching for it in all the slots, and no more worrying that a comment you make in the middle of the day will go unseen because the Rockpile gets pushed off the top of the front page. We want our readers to know (especially our long time loyal readers and community members) that every time they open Purple Row, they can find the latest Rockpile in the same spot.

The only time a Rockpile might not be in this location is when we get back to the baseball season and game threads are posted. During the games themselves, the game threads may occupy this box, which makes sense because that's where most of the community is at that time anyway.

For visual reference, this box will now be our Community Corner and feature the Rockpile everyday:

So come in, make yourself at home, and feel free to comment about anything Rockies and anything baseball. The latest Rockpile won't be leaving this corner anytime soon.