Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post does his traditional Mailbag, fielding questions about the Rockies from fans. This one starts out with the question on many of our minds: do we need a veteran pitcher to solidify the rotation? Our starters are a young bunch for sure, and the fear of a sophomore slump is clear and present. Someone with a bit more experience could provide stability. Saunders responds that this is not a priority. I agree and think this would not be the best move. In any other ballpark, it would make sense to seek that experience to round everything out, but at Coors Field, experience at altitude trumps overall experience. This has been the Rockies’ trend, too, preferring those homegrown pitchers. While there are pitchers out there that Saunders admits would be interesting pick ups, he resolves that this probably isn’t high on their list of things to do.
Saunders answers many other questions, several of which are about what to do with Nolan Arenado. It seems like now is the time to pounce on a contract with the third baseman, as he will be a free agent after the 2019 season, and he will likely be a hot ticket item. It does have to be a two-way street, though, with Nolan also wanting to stay in Colorado. Personally, I would like to see Arenado stay with the Rockies, so hopefully they can prove to be the team he wants to play for.
He responds to several other fan inquiries, surrounding topics such as the company of catchers, the value of Wade Davis, and the new scoreboard at Coors (which is apparently going to be amazing). Saunders pulled some goods ones out of the mailbag and has given us lots to think about as the season approaches.
Rockies David Dahl takes swings--and a big step forward -- in return from injury | Denver Post
David Dahl picked up a bat and hit some balls for the first time in four months. Following a back injury at the end of July, he has been sidelined until Thursday morning, when he got a chance to feel like a normal player again. Fingers crossed that he continues to progress, as he could provide a hearty addition to the Rockies’ offense. In 63 games in the 2016 season, he had 50 hits and a .315 batting average. Coming off a lackluster 2017, the Rockies might be counting on seeing this kind of performance out of David Dahl.
Colorado Rockies spring training tickets go on sale Saturday | Denver Channel 7
Spring training is right around the corner, and in just a few days, tickets for the spring training games will go on sale. TIckets can be purchased starting January 6 at a number of locations. Keep this in mind if you find that you just can’t wait any longer for baseball to start.
Projecting the Rockies’ 2018 Opening Day roster | Purple Row
We are just over halfway through the offseason, and the Opening Day roster for the Rockies is starting to piece together. The pitching rotation looks similar to last year, with the only uncertainty coming from performance in spring training. With a lot of attention paid on relief pitchers, we are all ready to see Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Bryan Shaw. The rest of the line up is solidifying more and more, with the biggest uncertainty, according to Ryan Schoppe, coming from the outfield in the form of David Dahl and Raimel Tapia
Around the NL West
Dodgers acquire Scott Alexander in 3-team, 5-player trade | True Blue LA
In a trade including the Royals and the White Sox, the Dodgers received pitcher Scott Alexander and minor league infielder Jake Peter. In exchange, they traded away reliever Luis Avilan, starting pitcher Trevor Oaks, and minor league infielder Erick Mejia. Alexander will provide an effective ground-ball relief pitcher for the Dodgers, and was an overall smart move for their bullpen.