Colorado Rockies news and links for Thursday, August 1, 2024
The Chicago White Sox are bad. Like, really bad. They’re riding a 17-game losing streak and are on pace for a 40-122 record – a mark that would go down as the worst in league history ahead (behind?) the 1962 New York Mets who dropped 120 games.
So it is no surprise that the lowly franchise were aggressive sellers at the 2024 MLB trade deadline. Much of the attention surrounding the team was focused on their top players – Garret Crochet and Luis Robert – which they ultimately held onto. But everything else of value that wasn’t nailed was sold off, netting the team a few items of possible value for the future. The Miami Marlins, sitting 40-68, followed suit by flipping much of their roster as they look to improve their woefully underperforming club.
Sandwiched between the two flailing clubs are the Colorado Rockies, sporting the worst record in the National League at 39-70. Unlike the White Sox and Marlins, however, the Rockies were much more quiet at the deadline (per usual).
Having the upper hand on cornering the catching market with Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings and players like Austin Gomber, Ryan McMahon, Cal Quantrill and Brendan Rodgers all under at least one more year of control, the Rockies instead chose to commit to ancillary deals involving bullpen pieces Jalen Beeks and Nick Mears.
Skyler Timmins already covered the Rockies (in)action in Wednesday’s Rockpile, so there’s not much more to say about the past week that wasn’t already covered. Instead, let’s ask the question of what comes next?
Thomas Harding already shined the spotlight on Colorado’s clubhouse preaching about the future and looking to build momentum into 2025. While there is certainly the possibility the big league team can start playing better in the waning months of the season, it’s also the reality of the situation that they’ve set an incredibly low bar to clear as they are currently on pace for 104 losses.
Whether they reach that low-water mark or not is irrelevant. What does matter is the truth of what this current roster is capable of – and it’s a hard truth. Not nearly enough to compete.
The Rockies can want and believe all they want that winning is in their future, but three years into their current mold the Rockies are little more than a perennial losing franchise. Some new pieces have come into that picture during that time that can bring hope for the future – namely Brenton Doyle, Nolan Jones and Ezequiel Tovar – but they are to be viewed as the start of a new core, because using them as reinforcements for the existing infrastructure is a proven OSHA violation.
This is where the Rockies truly failed. They will not turn the page because they’re convinced they’re in the right trying to read between the lines.
Eventually more prospects will come, yes. Adael Amador, Jordan Beck, Charlie Condon, Chase Dollander, Yanquiel Fernandez, Gabriel Hughes, Benny Montgomery, Sean Sullivan, Jordy Vargas and Zac Veen. You’ll hear the names ad nauseum from fans and, more importantly, the organization.
There may be a star in the group, there may even be two or three and it could be the start of something special. Or a large percentage of them could fizzle out over a span of years and the organization could be back to square one. After all, how many of these names are viewed very differently than how they were just a year or two ago?
So yes, the Rockies have younger players on the way. But none of their plans for those prospects are a guarantee. A better run franchise would be focused on adding more quality names to that list to improve their odds of hitting the prospect jackpot. Beyond that, they also have to start planning on how to get those players into the lineup to start establishing themselves as major league players – a constant source of frustration for followers of the franchise.
They did none of that. Instead the current core remains intact with just three expiring contracts – Daniel Bard, Charlie Blackmon and Diaz – heading into the off-season. Come winter, the Rockies will have another chance to make up for lost time and make some hard decisions to move on from veterans like McMahon and Rodgers. Or they can again choose to die on the hill of sticking with what they have on hand.
If the latter, there’s no excuse to be surprised if 2025 turns out just as terrible as 2023 did and 2024 has.
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Rockies GM discusses Trade Deadline and future goals | mlb.com
Thomas Harding discusses Colorado’s deadline with GM Bill Schmidt. The narrative is practically the complete opposite of the call for action in this column as Schmidt is quoted preaching continued growth from younger players and better health from veterans as the keys to future Rockies’ success. Schmidt also touched on the team’s relative inactivity during the deadline, being quoted as not liking the quality of the offers received for their trade chips.
Nolan Jones discusses his sophomore slump with Patrick Saunders.
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On the farm
Triple-A: Las Vegas Aviators 7, Albuquerque Isotopes 6
It was a walk-off defeat for the Isotopes, surrendering three runs in the final 1 2⁄3 innings. Riley Pint blew the hold with two runs, two walks, two hits and two strikeouts in the eighth inning. Willie MacIver hit his 13th homer in the loss.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 7, Reading Fightin Phils 4
Mason Albright delivered six strong innings with just three earned runs allowed before the bullpen shut it down with just one base runner allowed over the final three innings. Yanquiel Fernandez and Warming Bernabel each tallied three hits in the victory.
High-A: Hillsboro Hops 3, Spokane Indians 2
Blake Adams danced around 10 hits over six innings to deliver a quality start, but it wasn’t enough as the Indians’ offense managed just five hits in the game. Bryant Betancourt collected two of those knocks and scored both of Spokane’s runs.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 5, Lake Elsinore Storm 2
Nolan Jones had just one at-bat but drew three walks in his rehab start while Alberto Pacheco posted a wild K/BB of 9-to-5 with just three hits allowed over five shutout innings. Braylen Wimmer was a perfect two-for-two with two runs scored and three batted-in.
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