Ranking the Rockies’ seven free agents and their chances of returning in 2019 | The Athletic ($)
Several players who have been key members of the Colorado Rockies for the past several years will be free agents this offseason. Nick Groke of The Athletic ranks the seven impending free agents by likelihood of their making a return to the Rox in 2019. Reliever Seunghwan Oh (who has a very affordable club option for 2019) is ranked as most likely to return, which doesn’t bode well for the other names on the list as Oh has stated a desire to return to pitching in his native South Korea.
DJ LeMahieu comes in at No. 5, although all reports to this date have suggested that a reunion is extremely unlikely. Groke suggests that the Rockies make an earnest attempt to retain the second baseman’s services, citing “offend[ing] Garrett Hampson or Brendan Rodgers” as an unreasonable rationale for not re-signing LeMahieu. In recent years, the Rockies have made it a point to give veterans playing time over younger players so as not to offend them, but we’ve yet to see that same privilege given to younger players.
The least likely to return is reliever Adam Ottavino, who “basically pitched his way out of Colorado,” writes Groke. Ottavino had the best 2018 of any free agent relief pitcher, which will likely put his eventual contract out of Colorado’s price range.
Toolshed: Hilliard continues Rockies road | MiLB.com
At MiLB.com, Sam Dykstra has an excellent profile of Sam Hilliard, which goes into detail on his collegiate career through his time in the Rockies’ organization. After a promising first three seasons in the Rockies’ minor league system, Hilliard took a noticeable step back in his performance. The Rox awarded the outfielder the opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League to leave a more positive lasting note on his 2018 season. Hilliard has not disappointed, collecting the most hits of any player who has played in as few games. He credits the addition of a leg kick to his approach for the small sample improvement.
BSN Rockies Podcast: The modern age of sign stealing and technology | BSN Denver
In the latest episode of the BSN Rockies podcast, Drew Creasman and Patrick Lyons headline the discussion with the technological advancements that have led to increasing sign-stealing controversies. There’s also a focus on what 2019 might look like for the Rockies in terms of lineup construction and new players, with Creasman suggesting Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals as a potential target at catcher. The duo also hesitates to partake in the risky move of handing the second base reins over to a younger player.