The season is over, and now we look forward to an offseason that will give shape to the 2018 Rockies. The festivities will officially begin after the World Series ends, but now is as good as time as any to break down the status of all the players on the 40-man roster. First up are the player’s that will be free agents and also any players with options that will also allow them to become free agents.
Free Agents
Tyler Chatwood
Combine Chatwood’s struggles to consistently throw strikes with the Rockies’ sudden depth of young controllable pitchers, and it’s doubtful that Chatwood will be returning to the Rockies. Unfortunately for himself, his struggles this season will probably force him to sign a short-term contract with another team to prove what kind of pitcher he may be outside of Coors Field. His lack of earning potential should prevent the Rockies from offering him a qualifying offer.
Carlos González
Like Chatwood, González struggled mightily this past season. However, he did have turn it around at the very end. Before the season, he would have been an easy qualifying offer target as a free agent. Now, it seems like a long-shot, though there might still be a slim chance because of what he did in September. If González and his agent are convinced they can get a multi-year deal elsewhere, it would be wise to put a qualifying offer on him just for the second level of compensation.
Ryan Hanigan
Hanigan provided a nice veteran presence for the Rockies, but his best-case scenario this offseason will be a minor-league deal. As long as it’s a minor-league deal to provide depth in Triple-A like he did this past season before the Rockeis needed him, he could provide a solid depth option that the Rockies already know.
Jonathan Lucroy
Due to being traded midseason, Lucroy can’t be offered a qualifying offer. However, he should be the Rockies biggest re-signing target this offseason. While he struggled with the bat while with the Rangers, he bounced back nicely for the Rockies. The defensive metrics don’t love him as much as they used to, but his veteran presence guiding a young Rockies pitching staff cannot be overstated.
Jake McGee
McGee bounced back from his knee issues last season and proved that his struggles last season were a result of said issues. If McGee had been the Rockies closer and racked up big save numbers instead of Holland, he’d be worth a qualifying offer for sure. Instead, he might be an affordable option to replace Holland as the Rockies closer next season.
Pat Neshek
Neshek was everything that could be hoped for after being picked up after the deadline. Because of his age, his earning potential isn’t as much as some of the other guys on this list despite stellar results. Depending on what kind of contract he’s looking for, he could be an easy fit into the Rockies offseason plans.
Mark Reynolds
Reynolds over-performed his minor-league deal by a large margin this past season. It will be interesting to see if he can snag a bigger deal this season or is stuck with another one-year deal because he’s a first baseman. With the Rockies needing to find playing time for Ryan McMahon next season and Ian Desmond already being on the roster, Reynolds probably isn’t a fit for the roster going forward,
Options
Alexi Amarista
The Rockies hold a $2.5M club option on Amarista. From a statistical perspective, there is absolutely no way he’s worth it, as he wasn’t really worth his substantially lower salary this past season. However, it is Amarista, and Bud Black is still our manager, so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s most likely going to be picked up. Truthfully, the best case scenario right now is that the Rockies reject Amarista’s contract and re-sign him for a lower amount, because there’s no world where Amarista is not on the roster of a team managed by Bud Black.
Greg Holland
Due to the number of games that Holland finished this past season, he now holds a player option for the 2018 season for $15M. Outside of his horrible month of August, Holland performed at an elite closer level and did a wonderful job reestablishing his value. With Scott Boras as his agent, there is little doubt that he will reject that option and pursue free agency. Boras will be looking to get Holland a contract at least as good as the one that Mark Melancon signed this past offseason, and at that value it’s probably going to be too rich for the Rockies.
The Rockies would be wise to offer him the qualifying offer, since its value is only slightly above that of the option that Holland will be rejecting. This is one of the few times that Rockies fan should be glad that Boras is someone’s agent since it increases the chances that Holland will receive a contract greater than $50M and give the Rockies an additional draft pick this June.