Colorado Rockies news and links for Thursday, August 14, 2024
The Arizona Diamondbacks are rolling. 9-1 in their last ten games and 20-5 since the All-Star break, the Snakes now sit 69-53 this season and well in control of their own playoff destiny in the coming weeks of the season as they sit atop the National League Wild Card standings and just three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers with 40 games left to play.
The Colorado Rockies were their latest victims, getting swept in a three-game set in the desert at whatever they call Bank One Ballpark these days (it will always be The BoB). Although two of the games were one-run affairs, the series wasn’t especially close as the Rockies were outscored 20-to-11 in the series and struck out 33 times compared to Arizona’s 18 — with each game seeing Colorado strike out 11 times to Arizona’s 6.
It’s two teams on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. The D-Backs were NL champions in 2023 and are looking very much like the type of team that can do it again this year. The Rockies lost over 100 games last year and…also look very much like the type of team that will do it again this year.
But it wasn’t very long ago that the Diamondbacks were a laughing stock of the league like their Salt River counterparts are now. This is a team that posted three consecutive losing seasons from 2020-2022, including an absolute stinker of a 2021 season where they lost 110 games.
That’s…as bad as it gets (at least until the 2024 Chicago White Sox came around). So…how are they a World Series team just two seasons later? And, more importantly, what’s the blueprint the Rockies can follow to turn their fortunate?
The initial framework of returning to relevance is actually very similar between the two franchises at their rock bottom. Both traded their franchise cornerstone corner infielders to the St. Louis Cardinals for lackluster returns and then straddled themselves with incredibly poor free agent deals in a half-hearted attempt to speed-up the process – Madison Bumgarner’s 5-year, $85MM deal and Kris Bryant’s heavyweight 7-year, $182MM anchor.
The failed results netted each franchise with multiple top-round selections as the losing seasons piled up along with at least one top-heavy draft classes along the way thanks to loopholes like the competitive balance and compensation rounds after the conventional first-round of the draft.
That’s the runway Rockies’ management is currently riding, believing it will lead them to ascending from the doldrums of the league. And while it’s true Arizona’s identity is largely tied to their work rebuilding the franchise through the draft, there are still very large pieces to the puzzle that must be added to see how this picture came together.
Trades are the first point of emphasis to make. Trading Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals was a largely unpopular move and netted the team little in return (Carson Kelly’s 2.2 bWAR in 2021 representing almost all of the value in the deal) but that didn’t make them gun-shy from staying active in trying to improve their team through external additions.
The most notable deal has to be a “challenge trade” that saw them send Jazz Chisolm Jr. to the Miami Marlins for Zac Gallen – largely considered the ace of the club and for good reason. They also netted Ketel Marte via trade from the Seattle Mariners, their most proven star hitter. Starters Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were brought in from the Toronto Blue Jays when the team sold-high on versatile Daulton Varsho.
On top of that, the team also added through free agency. The biggest piece being Merrill Kelly, who the club brought-in from overseas on an initial 2-year, $5.5MM contract followed by a very friendly 2-year, $18MM extension with a $7MM club option for 2025. Solidifying pieces like lefties Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez have also been brought into the fold in recent seasons along with role-filling hitters like Randal Grichuk and Joc Pederson.
The real catch in all this is the when. Arizona’s faceplant came at the start of the 2020s. However, their game of roster chess started well before that. Marte was brought over in 2017, Kelly in 2018 followed by Gallen. All before the franchise-altering Goldschmidt trade prior to the 2019 season, sending the team franchise into their tailspin.
But the blow was softened by their due-diligence to that point, and then quickly escaped with deft moves like the Toronto deal in 2022. Now, the Diamondbacks are enjoying the fruits of their labor as contenders, along with a stockpile of talent yet to come like Jordan Lawlar and Druw Jones thanks to their years in the abyss.
The Rockies aspire to be where Arizona is now. However, just banking on the homegrown core being everything and more is not how the Snakes reached their heights. If Colorado believes they can become what their Salt River little brothers have, they need to consider imitating more of their behaviors rather than assuming long-term rewards for their subpar performance.
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Rockies place former All-Star Game MVP Elias Díaz on waivers: Sources | The Athletic
In a fairly surprising move late Wednesday night, Colorado placed long time catcher Elias Díaz. Díaz, the All Star Game MVP in 2023, started this season well at the plate and still holds a decent .270/.315/.378 line for the year, but a calf injury has significantly reduced his production and availability in recent months. All time, Díaz has a .708 OPS and 48 HR in 462 games over five seasons with Colorado.
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On the farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 15, Round Rock Express 2
Albuquerque’s offense exploded for 18 hits. Former Rockies pitcher Chase Anderson got tagged for the loss with 3 runs allowed in 1 2⁄3 IP. Nolan Jones and Willie MacIver both took Anderson deep in the first inning while Sean Bouchard and Jimmy Herron joined the parade with dingers of their own. Lucas Gilbreath tossed a scoreless inning in his tenth appearance of the season.
Double-A: Somerset Patriots 9, Hartford Yard Goats 5
Blake Adams had some good and some bad in his Double-A debut. He allowed nine hits and six runs over four innings, but did strike out eight along the way with just one walk issued. Kyle Datres and Braxton Fulford lead this Hartford offense with three hits each and combined to drive in all five Yard Goats’ runs.
High-A: Spokane Indians 3, Vancouver Canadians 0
The Indians’ posted a shutout, but starter Mason Green did walk a tightrope with five walks allowed in 5 2⁄3 IP. GJ Hill was the biggest offensive performer for Spokane, collecting two of the squad’s four hits including a solo homer in the seventh inning.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 5, Modesto Nuts 3
Jarred Thomas socked his second full-season dinger in the first inning, as did Robert Calaz in the seventh — both solo shots. Aidan Longwell went 2-for-3 with two batted in and a run scored in the Fresno victory.
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