The weekend is a great time to kick back and reflect. This Week in Purple is the place to catch up on the news from our team at Purple Row. You’ll find links to Rockpiles and other content below as well as a platform for community discussion in the comments.
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The Rockies went 2-4 this week against the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. They were outscored 41-29 and are only 11 wins away from the elusive and impending 100-loss season. However, there was some good news this week!
Germán Márquez was signed to a two-year, $20 million extension through the 2025 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May, and was the first domino to fall in this injury-riddled, bad season. But this deal brings him back for an extra year, as he had a 2024 team option for $16 million with a $2.5 million buyout. It’s been a rough year, but this is another flicker of hope heading into the 2024 season.
Here’s what our writers had to say this week!
To Read
- For the Monday Rockpile, Kenneth Weber laid out some options for the Rockies to address Germán Márquez’s impending free agency at the end of the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this year. He looks at Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays and James Paxton of the Boston Red Sox for comparisons (and Márquez did indeed sign a two-year extension with the Rockies just yesterday).
- For the Tuesday Rockpile, Renee Dechert wrote a review of Jonathan Mayo’s new book Smart, Wrong, and Lucky: The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars. The origin of the book came from a piece Mayo was writing about Colorado’s own Charlie Blackmon during the pandemic, which led him down a path to write about eight unexpected stars and their storied careers: Joey Votto, Shane Bieber, Jacob deGrom, Mookie Betts, Charlie Blackmon, Ian Kinsler, Lorenzo Cain, and Albert Pujols.
- For the Wednesday Rockpile, Skyler Timmins took us back in time to Troy Tulowizki’s “September to remember” in 2010. During that month, Tulo batted .303/.366/.754 with 15 home runs, 40 RBI, 30 runs scored, 20 strikeouts and 11 walks. He had an OPS+ of 129 and wRC+ of 180, among other things. He was also named National League Player of the Month. Unfortunately, the Rockies went on to lose 13 of their final 14 games in that September and finished with an 83-79 record, nine games back in the division and eight in the Wild Card. But it was a fun spark while it lasted!
- For the Thursday Rockpile, Evan Lang asked “why are the Rockies so attached to Harold Castro?” They’ve moved on from almost all of their other veterans and expiring contracts, but Castro remains on the team and plays more often than he should (often in place of rookies). Earlier this week, Cole Tucker’s contract was selected again after he was DFA’d on August 14, Michael Toglia was optioned and rising prospect Coco Montes was DFA’d (and subsequently outrighted). When he was signed in spring training, it made sense. But like Jurickson Profar before him, his presence on the team makes less and less sense now due to his subpar offensive and defensive output. So why are the Rockies so attached to Harold Castro?
- Finally, for the Friday Rockpile, Joelle Milholm outlined how hard it is going to be for the Rockies to win the NL West. The new schedule made it so they played fewer games against division opponents, but they are still 34 games back of the LA Dodgers and 14 games back against the fourth-place San Diego Padres. They are playing the San Francisco Giants this weekend, but they have gone 9-29 against their division this year for a .237 winning percentage — their lowest in franchise history against divisional opponents. They have also not won a series against a divisional opponent in 2023. The Rockies may not be competitive for a few years, but in order to get there, they have to stack wins against their division first and foremost.
To Listen
- Affected by Altitude: Going Profar Away From Here — This week, Skyler and Evan discuss the departure of Jurickson Profar, the arrival of Hunter Goodman and Sean Bouchard, and the inevitable road to 100 losses.
Weekend Discussion Topic
What are your thoughts on Germán’s extension? Should the Rockies extend any other players at this time? Sound off below!
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