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Ah the cycle of this dreadful off season. A Rockies outfielder appears in trade rumors, fans dream about what they might get in return, the rumors turn out to be overblown, and the club doesn't end up moving anybody. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The latest rumor sparked yesterday morning after this tweet from Ken Rosenthal appeared on everyone's timeline:
Some in game sense Dickerson will be OFer #Rockies trade. Will require less of return than Blackmon. #Rays involved, as @TBTimes_Rays said.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 26, 2016
As it turns out, the discussions appear to be lukewarm at best. However, there is something important to take away from this tweet, because the way Rosenthal phrases that first sentence tells me that his sources around the game still believe that the Rockies are going to move one of their outfielders soon. So perhaps we will finally break the cycle we've been stuck in all winter that so far has only been interrupted by the signing of Gerardo Parra, which only added more fuel to this fire.
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Dickerson's name may be on the block, but unfortunately, I think he's probably the wrong guy to move. Back in September when I outlined the players who I thought should be on the block this winter following the heartbreaking departure of Troy Tulowitzki, Dickerson's name didn't appear on the list. There's two simple reasons for this:
1) He's coming off a down year filled with injuries, so his value is lower than it likely will be later this summer or next off season.
2) He's under team control for at least four more seasons, so you still have time to contend while he's productive in a Rockies uniform.
In other words, he's a guy I only move unless I'm absolutely blown away right now. Compare that to someone like Blackmon whose value is probably as high as it's going to get when you consider his skill set ceiling, his price, and his age (he turns 30 in July). Taking 90 cents on the dollar for Blackmon this winter could easily bring more value than his full dollar is worth in a few months if he gets injured or sees his production decline at all. While holding out for max value is a good thing in baseball negotiations, it can also backfire in a big way if you overplay your hand.
With time on the off season clock dwindling, the likely value of these outfielders at the trade deadline, or even next off season becomes more and more important. Since Dickerson's value is more likely to go up than anybody else in the group, I'm very skeptical about moving him for anything less than a massive haul, whereas I might not be able to say the same thing for Blackmon at this point.
Dickerson trying not to think about rumors - Thomas Harding / MLB.com
In any case, Dickerson's saying all the right things in this Thomas Harding piece. There's nothing else he can do except continue to prepare for the upcoming season. He has no control over the trade rumors or where he ends up in a few months, and unfortunately for everyone involved, the speculation likely won't end until one of the four left hand hitting outfielders is moved to another club (hopefully for a big bag of juicy prospects).
2016 Prospect Watch: Top 10 third basemen - Mike Rosenbaum / MLB.com
After Jon Gray placed sixth in MLB's Top Ten right handed pitching Prospects, Forrest Wall placed fourth in MLB's top ten second base prospects, and Dom Nunez placed seventh among catching prospects, Ryan McMahon joins the party placing third on MLB's list of third base prospects to watch behind only Joey Gallo and Rafael Devers. These rankings are especially impressive when you consider that McMahon has never played above High-A Modesto while Nunez and Wall have never played above Low-A Asheville.
As impressive as the Rockies have looked on these lists so far, they're likely not done either. Today the top ten short stop prospects are coming out followed by the top ten outfield prospects on Thursday. So be on the lookout for Brendan Rodgers and David Dahl.
Bronson Arroyo signs with Nationals - Eric Stephen
Finally today, another pitcher has come off the free agent board, although at this point in his career, I'm not sure Arroyo can be an impact player anymore.