Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, November 15, 2024
Another Rockies offseason once again offers the perennial playbook of articles and podcasts: Free agent fantasy wish lists, dreams trades, front office frustrations, prospect projections, stat analysis, and, eventually, roster projections.
Rockies fans are used to winters filled with inaction. With the team coming off six straight losing seasons, including back-to-back 100-loss seasons, and sources confirmed a payroll cut, it seems like as good of time as any to explore additional sources of revenue that could help make the team competitive again and fill the void left my smaller TV income. Colorado’s payroll for 103 losses in 2024 was $171 million (No. 14 in MLB) and cutting it to $147.3 million in 2024 resulted in 101 losses. With the $57 million in guaranteed TV money from 2023 likely slashed in half or more with diminished viewership and guarantee-less Rockies.TV, who knows what the 2025 figure will be.
Could fewer dollars result in more wins? It works for the Rays and used to work for the A’s, but they draft and develop skillfully, don’t place loyalty above smart business decisions, and rarely deal out nine-figure contracts. That doesn’t work in Colorado. For example, the Rockies have the worst roster by WAR (20.8) in MLB at the end of this season. For comparison, the Rays are No. 14 (39.9 WAR), the A’s are No. 24 (33.3 WAR), and the 121-loss White Sox are No. 29 (24.3 WAR).
Since fielding a competitive team and resetting expectations to build a winning culture, which would draw more TV viewers and Coors Field attendance — and, therefore, revenue — doesn’t seem to be a priority for the front office, the organization needs to push harder to pursue a sponsor that can stitch its logo on a patch on Colorado’s uniform sleeve.
After Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association included the possibility of sponsorship patches starting in 2023, all but seven teams had them for the 2024 season. Joining the Rockies in the sponsor-less teams are the aforementioned White Sox, A’s, and Rays, along with the Nationals, Mariners, and Twins.
The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg wrote an article in August detailing the current status of sponsorship patches, explaining that “the league average for the patches is around $7 million to $8 million a year.” At the same time, they can be much higher as the Yankees (Starr Insurance) and Blue Jays (TD Bank) have deals “in the low-to-mid $20 million range annually.”
Sponsorships have long been the standard in NASCAR and sports leagues outside the United States. They are allowed in the NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS, and NWSL, among others. But baseball presents a unique opportunity for brands to reach more eyeballs. Because of the extended closeups of batters and pitchers, MLB has the highest average on-screen Quality Index Media Value at $12.4 million, compared to $2.03 million for the NBA, $1.57 million for the NHL and just over $500,000 for MLS, according to Nielsen Media.
Nielsen also shows that in each game, brands have a total average of 13.8 minutes of exposure time. This could be a win-win situation for the Rockies in adding a bit of income and increasing awareness and revenues for the company on the sleeve. Nielsen Media believes a $10 million sponsorship patch deal, due to its 39.5 hours of TV exposure, could net a company $14.9 in media value, equaling a 1.5:1 investment. Nielsen also says,
“In addition to the notable on-screen exposure that jersey patches receive, Nielsen’s 2021 Trust in Advertising study found that brand sponsorships in sporting events rank just behind recommendations from friends and family, as 81% of consumers reported either completely or somewhat trusting them (vs. 89% who trust recommendations).”
If the Rockies could land a sponsor, even for the lowest price on the market, that could pay for Brendan Rodgers’ $6.77 million contract in 2025 (if the Rockies don’t trade him). A higher-end like San Diego’s $10 million Motorola deal could cover Germán Márquez’s 2025 salary.
In an offseason that doesn’t seem to be offering many changes or solutions, a sponsorship patch on the Colorado Rockies jersey could be a small benefit that results in one extra player the team can keep or acquire.
Next week, we’ll dive into my pitches for companies that could be good sponsorship partners for the Rockies.
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A master of deception, Rockies pitching prospect makes Fall League history | MLB.com
Evan Justice had a great end to the 2024 season when he earned a spot in the Arizona Fall League National League Fall Stars roster because of his impressive stat line in October and November. On Thursday, when the AFL regular season ended, Justice recorded the first-ever no-hit AFL season (minimum four innings of work) by posted a 0.00 ERA with zero hits, 11 strikeouts, one walk, one HBP, and a 0.12 WHIP with three saves and a 1-0 record in 8 2/3 appearances over nine appearances. It’s a good sign for the Rockies prospect and for his new sinker and a “funking throwing motion.”
Rays to play 2025 season at Yankees’ spring training field in Tampa | ESPN
After Hurricane Milton tore up Tropicana Field on its damage tour of Florida on Oct. 9, the Tampa Bay Rays were left without a home. Then reports showed that repairs would be impossible for the 2025 season, leaving the Rays to find a temporary home field for the entire season. On Thursday, they found it: Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, home to the Yankees’ Class A affiliate Tampa Tarpons. The 11,000-seat stadium will now host the Rockies 2025 Season Opener vs. the Rays on March 27.
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Arizona Fall League
Surprise Saguaros 10, Salt River Rafters 2
Even though they lost the regular season finale on Thursday, the Rafters finished the season with a 16-14 record and the No. 3 seed in the AFL playoffs. On Thursday, Rockies starting pitching prospect Gabriel Hughes had a rough outing. He surrendered a three-run homer in the first inning and ended his four-inning stint giving up four runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts to end his AFL season with a 1-2 record.
Rockies shortstop prospect Ryan Ritter went 1-for-4 and scored a run and left fielder Juan Guerrero added a hit. Jose Cordova and Skyler Messinger both went 0-for-4 and combined for five strikeouts. Salt River will play the No. 2 Scottsdale Scorpions (16-14) on Friday night in the semifinals.
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