Bowden: Offseason interim grades for all 30 MLB teams after the Winter Meetings | The Athletic ($)
The Winter Meetings have come and gone, and the Hot Stove has been turned up to red hot. Many big name hitters have switched teams—like Paul Goldschmidt, Josh Donaldson, Andrew McCutchen, Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana—as GM’s wheel and deal to improve their team’s lineup. Well, some GM’s, that is.
Jim Bowden of the Athletic dished out mid-offseason grades for every team following the Winter Meetings and, due to a severe lack of activity, handed the Rockies a big fat F. To highlight his point, Bowden presents the Rockies biggest move of the winter so far: a trade acquiring RHP Jordan Foley from Yankees in exchange for RHP Jefry Valdez... a veritable “who’s who” of baseball stars—not to mention Foley is a pitcher, and not an offensive threat this lineup so desperately needs.
What say you, Rockies fans? It would be hard to argue Bridich deserves anything above a D at this point, but what can he still do to bump that grade to passing?
Colorado Rockies rumors: What these players would bring to the team | Rox Pile
Ryan Ladika of Rox Pile has some ideas for how Bridich can still salvage this offseason, and hopes to spread some of his optimism to the Rockies faithful. Thomas Harding recently reported the Rockies increased interest in free agents Daniel Murphy, Neil Walker, and Logan Morrison, with Justin Smoak still being a trade target, and in this article Ryan breaks down the pros and cons of each possibility. Spoiler: two of these options are good, and two of these options are bad. Which names belong in each category for you?
Colorado Rockies: The six players under the most pressure in 2019 | Rox Pile
Turning our attention away from players who aren’t even on the roster to players who currently are, Kevin Henry brings us the six Rockies who will be under the most pressure to perform in 2019. Regardless of what happens this offseason, these six names could make or break this team’s chances at a third consecutive playoff appearance. There are some obvious choices, like Ian Desmond and Bryan Shaw, but Kevin offers some other intriguing names that may come off as a surprise—especially the last one.
If I had to pick one player to add to his list, I would say David Dahl needs to improve upon his 2018 campaign if the Rockies hope to make the Postseason in 2019. One aspect of this would be playing something resembling a full season—heck, I’d be happy if he played 120 games. He has the talent to be a true 3-hole hitter, though he’ll likely slot into the fifth spot in the lineup if healthy and depending on who could take DJ’s spot at the top of the order.
David slashed a robust .273/.325/.534 last year, good for a 109 wRC+, but will need to improve upon that slightly above-replacement level line to truly be a significant threat in this lineup. If he can harness his hitting ability from the end of last year—in which he hit .287/.330/.655 with nine home runs and 27 RBI for a 141 wRC+ over his final 24 games—the Rockies will be in pretty darn good shape.