The Denver Post has split opinions on whether or not the Rockies should deal Matt Holliday this season. Columnist Troy E. Renck says the Rockies have been bad "from top to bottom." He cites the rotation, situational hitting, leaky bullpen, and dealing with pressure as problem spots and that they would need to go "70-36 in their final 106 games" to be in contention.
As MLBTR has covered here, Woody Paige reports that the Rockies can’t tie up $40MM in three position players and that Scott Boras won’t accept a hometown discount. Paige proposes:
Holliday would be a significant addition for Cleveland, and the Rockies also could send best friend Garrett Atkins or Brad Hawpe… [for] starting pitcher Cliff Lee (8-1, 1.88 ERA and four superb pitches), a middle reliever and an outfield prospect. The Rox, depending on the second player in the deal, play Ian Stewart at third or in left, and Ryan Spilborghs becomes a full-time starting outfielder who could be the next Holliday.
Alternatively, Mark Kiszla believes trading him would not bring enough back to justify not re-signing him and that trading him would send the wrong message to players and fans. Instead, they should actively work to re-sign the slugger through negotiations. Kiszla’s argument:
"When the Texas Rangers decided it could not pay to keep powerful young first baseman Mark Teixeira a year ago, the offer the Rangers finally accepted from Atlanta was for a rookie catcher and four minor-league prospects."
Interestingly, Jon Heyman thinks the Rockies won’t be able to get as good a deal as the Rangers got for Teixeira, a deal that’s not good enough for Mark Kiszla.
By Nat Boyle
