Colorado Rockies news and links for Wednesday, November 27, 2024
The offseason for the Colorado Rockies is typically bland. There will be a few moves involving some minor league signings, perhaps some meager trades and the occasional signing that makes you go, “Huh?” The well of content and news is about as dry as the turkey your great-aunt Margret insists is alright to eat at Thanksgiving dinner and still, writers like myself will pontificate ideas and hypotheticals as I see fit because the Rockies are such a bizarre antithesis of societal norms in the baseball world.
So, let’s talk about trading Ryan McMahon.
The Rockies have said they are hoping to cut payroll, as evidenced by the non-tenders of Brendan Rodgers and Cal Quantrill last week. That motive was slightly undermined by the signing of Kyle Farmer for a maximum $4.5 million contract after incentives, but we’ll just ignore that for now.
The issue with the Rockies is that they have so much money tied up in extensions that haven’t paid dividends and the soggy weighted blanket that is Kris Bryant’s massive seven-year contract in which he will be paid $27 million a year for the next four seasons has handcuffed their roster construction.
McMahon is owed $44 million over the final three seasons of the six-year $70 million extension he signed in 2022. In 2025, McMahon will earn $12 million before earning $16 million in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons, with the latter season becoming a player option if he earns a Top 5 MVP finish in 2025.
Nearly 59% of the Rockies’ estimated payroll for 2025 is currently tied up in five players with guaranteed multi-year deals. With the expected decrease in revenue from their new television deal through MLB and the need to embrace a full rebuild moving a contract like McMahon should be of interest for the Rockies.
McMahon, who turns 30 on December 14, is overall a solid player. He has been a generally reliable average player throughout his eight seasons with the club. He is capable of slugging at least 20 home runs, driving in 60-70 runs and posting at least a .700 OPS. He’s going to have a .240 batting average and struggle with strikeouts while also having some real hot streaks. Offensively, teams could do much worse than McMahon at the plate.
His amazing durability and glove work on the field certainly bolster his value. As a full-time player, McMahon has played in at least 140 games in every regular full season since 2019, including at least 150 games every season since 2021. Not to mention he is one of the best defenders at the hot corner in all of baseball as evidenced by his four straight years as a Gold Glove finalist.
The third baseman free agent market isn’t quite as strong this year. After Matt Chapman signed his extension with the Giants during the season, the next top option is Gold Glove winner Alex Bregman, who is certainly poised to try and earn a significant payday after rejecting the Astros’ qualifying offer. Beyond Bregman the rest of the primary third basemen aren’t that appealing:
- Jon Berti (35, 2.4 WAR)
- J.D. Davis (32, 1.7)
- Yoán Moncada (30, 1.4)
- Gio Urshela (33, 1.2)
- Nick Madrigal (28, 0.5)
- Brian Anderson (32, 0.2)
- Jace Peterson (35, 0.0)
- Eric Wagaman (27, 0.0)
- Luis Urías (28, -0.2)
Few, if any, could truly be viewed as anything more than an extra bench piece. This will leave teams looking for players open to a position change on the free agent market, or looking for something via a trade.
McMahon certainly checks a versatility box, having played stellar defense at second base and third base. His contract is still relatively team-friendly for the production he could provide and perhaps a change of scenery with a new team would help unlock that full potential that the Rockies seem stuck on unlocking.
His overall profile could net the Rockies a few nice pieces in return and pave the way for other prospects like Kyle Karros and the eventual arrival of 2024 third-overall pick Charlie Condon at the hot corner. Between the current landscape of the market and Rockies’ situation as a team seemingly destined for a third-straight 100-loss season in 2025, McMahon is a luxury that the Rockies can afford to lose.
And yet, we expect and perhaps know they won’t.
The Rockies had rumblings of opportunities this past summer of teams inquiring about McMahon. He was an All-Star, had a strong first half and played great defense. However, the Rockies were quick to clip the heels of any speculation by announcing he was not for sale. Part of it was McMahon’s desire not to move mid-season because of his infant daughter and part of it is the knowledge that the Rockies don’t often trade players like McMahon when they could and should at their highest current value.
Loyalty has always overruled logic in most situations for the Rockies over the last several seasons. It’s a combination of fear that a player will find greater success elsewhere as well as the fact the Rockies tend to overvalue their own players. The Rockies had ample opportunities to move Rodgers over the years but held so tightly to him until his value diminished and they unceremoniously cut him from the team and I fear that McMahon’s Rockies career is going to end the same way at some point.
The team can’t keep waiting for the McMahon breakout they continue to forecast is coming. He is entering his ninth year as a big leaguer; there are few things he could do to surprise us at this point. McMahon is a good player and worth having on a team and if the Rockies truly cared about these players like they claim, then they should do right by them and give them a real chance to succeed with a contender.
If it’s not going to be in Colorado, then now is the time to trade McMahon, save some money, and look to the future.
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Jake Cave Signs With KBO’s Doosan Bears | MLB Trade Rumors
Fear not Rockies fans, the chances of Jake Cave returning to the team in 2025 are naught as the outfield is heading to the KBO to play with the Doosan Bears.
Ex-Royals Slugger Predicted To Sign With Rockies After Brief Stint | Sports Illustrated
News is scarce and so someone took the time to make a prediction that Tommy Pham will sign with the Rockies. However, it’s hard to see where he would fit in unless they wanted him to play right field but Sam Hilliard is the fourth outfielder that could potentially end up starting in right field.
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