Twins hire away Rockies first base coach Tony Diaz, hitting coach Duane Espy will not return in 2019 | The Denver Post ($)
On Friday, the Colorado Rockies announced that two members of the 2018 coaching staff will not be returning for the upcoming season. First base coach Tony Diaz was hired away by the Minnesota Twins, where he will receive a promotion to the position of third base coach. Diaz was known as a mentor to many of the Latino players on the Rockies’ roster and was with the organization at the minor league level for 17 years before spending the last two with the MLB club under Manager Bud Black.
Hitting coach Duane Espy also will not be returning, though further details were not given. Kyle Newman and Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post provide all available information.
Bowden: One move each MLB playoff team must make to get back to October | The Athletic ($)
Jim Bowden of The Athletic runs down the vital moves that every 2018 postseason club must make to return to October in 2019. For the Rockies, Bowden writes that the team needs to make extending third baseman Nolan Arenado their top priority. While this won’t really have much of an impact on 2019’s postseason push, it could certainly impact the Rockies’ playoff chances in 2020 and beyond.
Colorado Rockies: Our simulated trade with the Tampa Bay Rays | Rox Pile
Kevin Henry recaps a simulated trade made by Rox Pile at the FanSided Fake Winter Meetings. In the simulation, Jon Gray was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for first baseman C.J. Cron. The Rays have made it no secret that Cron is known to be on the trading block. In an article from Thursday, the Rox Pile team made another simulated trade, sending Bryan Shaw and Breiling Eusebio to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Jorge Soler.