Trader Jerry: Visualizing the many trades of Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto | Cut4
It’s become something of a meme how active Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto has been on the trade market. However, this stagnant offseason seems to have inhibited even the savoir faire of Dipoto, as he has now gone an entire month without making a trade. Since September 28, 2015, Dipoto has made 62 trades involving 129 different players. This is easily the highest number of trades completed by a team in this time span.
But which team has completed the fewest trades in this time? That would be your Colorado Rockies, with General Manager Jeff Bridich at the helm. The Rox have only participated in 12 trades since late-September 2015, and are among the only seven teams not to have done business with Dipoto. The list of players in the Rockies organization that were acquired via trade is not exhaustive. At the MLB level, there is only Jairo Diaz, DJ LeMahieu, Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez, Jake McGee (prior to his re-signing as a free agent during this offseason), and Zac Rosscup. In the minors, we have Yency Almonte, Noel Cuevas, James Farris, Austin House, and Jesus Tinoco.
One could come up with several reasons as to why the Rockies are last on the list. Clearly, the organization under Bridich has done very well at drafting promising young talent. Brendan Rodgers, Riley Pint, Yency Almonte, Peter Lambert, Ryan Vilade, Colton Welker, Tyler Nevin, Garret Hampson, Ben Bowden, Will Gaddis, Mike Nikorak, Tommy Doyle, Sam Hilliard, and Brian Mundell, represent prospects drafted by Bridich to make up a stacked farm system. Even after an 134-190 stretch from 2014-2015, Bridich didn’t need to trade for an excessive amount of young talent because Nolan Arenado, Ryan McMahon, Trevor Story, Sam Howard, Ryan Castellani, Jon Gray, and Kyle Freeland, among others, were already a part of the organization, many ready to contribute once the contention window opened.
It could also be that the players that the Rockies were interested in since Bridich took over as GM were simply available on the free agent market, leading to trades being unecessary. When the Rockies needed upgrades in the bullpen and at the catching position at the 2017 trade deadline, they did make deals for Pat Neshek and Jonathan Lucroy, respectively. This offseason, these positions still represented areas of need, and the club went out and signed Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, and Chris Iannetta. In offseasons past, Gerardo Parra, Ian Desmond, and Greg Holland represented available free agent options that made trades unnecessary as well. Waiver claims have also provided surplus value for the Rox, as Chris Rusin and Adam Ottavino are expected to be major factors in the 2018 bullpen, while Tony Wolters represents important catching depth.
Feel free to share your thoughts on why the Rockies have been so quiet on the trade front in the comments section below!
BSN Rockies Podcast: What signing Charlie Blackmon for 2018 means | BSN Rockies
The Rockies and Charlie Blackmon avoided arbitration on Friday, agreeing to a one-year, $14 million contract for the 2018 season. In the latest BSN Rockies podcast, Drew Creasman and Jake Shapiro break down the deal, and Jake delves into a deep explanation of the entire arbitration process.
Also, I’ve seen many people use the word “inevitable” to describe the possibility of the Rockies re-signing Mark Reynolds, and this podcast also discusses this possibility. As always, I recommend giving the entire podcast a full listen.
Colorado Rockies: How much will it take to keep Charlie Blackmon? | Rox Pile
Now that Blackmon’s final year of arbitration is worked out, Rox Pile’s Kevin Henry explores what it will take to keep Chuck Nazty in Denver for 2019 and beyond. Factoring in Blackmon’s performance and age, Henry compares him to other center fielders in the game today, and offers a projection for what Blackmon’s future contract could look like.
J.D. Martinez may hold out into spring training to sign | NBC Sports
As the offseason wears on, the remaining free agents may have to end up being content with taking a deal worth less than their initial desired asking price. Nevertheless, J.D. Martinez and his agent, Scott Boras are still hopeful of achieving their asking price of seven years and $180 million to $210 million, and they’re reportedly willing to wait “into Spring Training” for the right deal to come around. The Boston Red Sox appear to be willing to give Martinez a five-year deal, but he’s not content with taking that for now. The Rockies could still stand to make some offensive upgrades, but have not been connected to Martinez. And with that asking price, I don’t see a rendezvous between club and player coming to fruition.