The Rockies pick tenth in next year's draft, a pick that will be protected if they sign a Type A free agent who turned down arbitration this offseason. The latest on the team, from Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post:
- Kevin Kouzmanoff is unlikely to return to the Rockies next year. MLBTR reported yesterday that the team is in the process of outrighting the third baseman. Ian Stewart will get another shot at the third base job if he "makes baseball his first priority from the start of the winter until the end of it," GM Dan O'Dowd told Renck. The Rockies will need to make a decision on Stewart by the December 12th non-tender deadline though. Tendering him a contract probably means paying him around $2.2MM again.
- Opposing executives expect O'Dowd to aggressively pursue Mets third baseman David Wright. Otherwise Renck expects the Rockies to cast a wide net, including the Padres' Chase Headley and the Pirates' Pedro Alvarez but not free agent Aramis Ramirez. I have a hard time imagining the Padres sending Headley to their division rival; the two teams haven't matched up for an offseason trade since the Rockies' inaugural season.
- The Rockies are looking to trade Ty Wigginton even it means eating some of the $4.5MM owed to him.
- Renck reiterates that the Rockies seek an innings eater this offseason.
What’s the backstory with the comment “makes baseball his first priority from the start of the winter until the end of it,”?
regardless of the back story it will make teams take a look at the character of the player…sounds like he didn’t take the job serious enough….it looks like a minor league contract from some other team is in his future….
Rumors were that he spent too much time jamming with his polka band, planning their tour of the Dakotas, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Too much Twitter/video games, not enough working on baseball.
Some of the video games _were_ baseball, however.
Some of the video games _were_ baseball, however.
Too much Twitter/video games, not enough working on baseball.
Rockies are looking for an innings eater? Mike Pelfrey…lookin at you bro.
I swear if the Rockies would take Pelf for free I’d be totally fine with it! 😀
To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a trade with the Yanks for Brett Gardner. I dont think Reyes resigns with us which creates a hole at the top of the order, plus we are in need of a CF’er which Gardner could adequately fill in both respects. I proposed a swap of Pelf and Parnell for him to a few of my Yankees buddies during the game last night and they didnt totally laugh me out of the bar. I know the Mets and Yanks rarely hook up, but I wonder if thats something they’d look at.
that’s a terrible trade dude. Brett Gardner’s actually a good player. Pelfrey’s nothing special and would not last pitching in Yankee Stadium in the AL East. Parnell, on the other hand, is a good reliever but nowhere near worth Gardner
What do the Mets expect in return for David Wright?
I always hear that the Rockies want Wright, but I never hear about which players they expect to send over to the Mets in return. Do they have a CF’er (Rockies) to offer.
The Mets could also use pitching, are the Rockies that deep with young pitchers that they are willing to trade?
The bottom line is, what can the Rockies offer here?
Gotta start with Dexter Fowler and Alex white or Drew Pomeranz, Then go from there, i’m not sure what else they would give up.
The Mets would gladly take a big contract like Tulowitzki or CarGo in exchange :]
Rockies fans would run Dan O’Dowd out of town if he did that.
Plus, to reply to Zack, Marcel Lachemann would not want to trade Drew Pomeranz.
He’s supposed to be a budding super star. Lachemann knows too much about pitching to let something like that happen.
Just dreaming of course….
After just trading Ubaldo to get Pomeranz (stud) it wouldnt make sense to flip him for Wright who would only come with 1 year of control (2012). His 16 MM option is voided if hes traded. Also, Wright is coming off an atrocious year for his standards. He has been painful to watch. Aramis Ramirez could be a better option.
He didn’t play for 2 and half months of the season you do know this right? Wright is easily one of the best 3rd baseman in baseball when fully healthy and he just had a bad break on an injury in 2011 as for most of his career he’s been injury free. Pitching and Outfield help in a trade for Wright would be a must that’s for sure.
It won’t happen, he was the center piece of the Ubaldo trade, they’re not going to dump him 6 months later. Pomeranz/chacin/cargo/Tulo would be the 4 guys who are untouchable in a trade. Just my guess though.
There is a lot that will have to be figured out for a D. Wright to end up in Col. Do the mets want MLB ready guys (Iannetta/fowler/smith etc) or younger prospects (Arenado/matezk/Rosario etc) or a combination of both, either way it will take a haul to get him in a Rox uni. What I could see happening is the more the Mets ask for the more the Rockies will want Wright to agree to a multi-year deal to be in Col before a deal is done. Being familiar with O’Dowd and the way he works, he will not give up a load of talented prospects and MLB ready guys for a 1 year rental of Wright, he will want him for longer period of time.
Please no Tyler Matzek. He makes Oliver Perez look like Maddux.
Honestly i really think Aramis is a much better short term option than Wright. He has severely regressed over the past 3 years in just about every aspect of his game. Part of it IMO has been the transition to being “the guy” in the lineup. But he has been anything but that guy. I can count on 1 hand how many big hits he has had this season. His defense has gone from gold glove caliber to average, his strikeout rate is through the roof, BA and power is way down, etc. He NEVER goes to the opposite field anymore like he was so good at when he was younger. Part of it has to be Citi Field also but Wright is nowhere near the player he was a few years ago.
-sincerely, a met fan
I’m kind of confused on how you could compare a 21 year old who has zero MLB experience with a 30 year old with 8 years of MLB experience but that’s another argument all together. The k/9 and bb/9 may be similar but they’re on completely different levels and you can’t even compare the ceiling of a 21 yr old with a 30 yr old.
If you read the post it says the Rox are not interested in Aramis. And all the Rox sources and writers have reiterated the Rox will not pursue Aramis. O’Dowd has expressed his interest in Wright for yrs now publicly. And you said since his role changed to be “the guy” his career has taken a total nose dive. If he came to colorado he wouldnt have to take on that role at all. He will be amongst 2 of the games best young players in Cargo and Tulo. The pressure of New York would be gone and he’d play 80 games at one of the best hitters parks in the game. Things could change dramatically if he ended up in Col.
Obviously im not seriously comparing Perez to Matzek. But his value has only gone down the Mets most likely wouldnt look for the Rox to include him in a deal. Im aware they arent pursuing Aramis but why not? Hes had a fantastic track record and probably wont surpass Wrights 15 MM this season via FA. Yes hes getting older but i dont think its any debate on who had a better season last year. Similar production, similar salary but they dont have to give up top young players. Maybe O’Dowd just has a man crush though.
Matzek’s value has definitely decreased and I apologize for wiffing on the sarcasm.
You shouldn’t be asking me, you should send an email to O’Dowds people because I’m with you. Don’t know why O’Dowd isn’t even considering at least a look at Aramis. And if it is just a man crush on Wright, it’s not just bad business but people will be out for his head.
it has almost nothing to do with being “that guy” in the lineup. when Reyes went down for the first time, Wright actually played a little better when he had to carry the team. it has everything to do with his eroding mastery of the strike zone, his eroding ability to hit RHP, and the change in his swing. after his first true down season, the first in Citi, i predicted that he’d never be the same again
up until that point, his numbers were incredible, but he was showing polarizing splits between LHP/RHP – he was starting to crush lefties even more, and underlying peripherals (and the eye test) showed that he was laboring against righties and getting a little lucky. it’s regressed even more, to the point that Wright was (is) becoming a K machine and has downright ugly splits against RHP. i think the concussion may have screwed him up a little bit. when he returned from that, he was standing farther away from the zone (afraid of being hit again?) and became so susceptible to down and away that he started struggling on inside offspeed. maybe the concussion itself just knocked a couple screws loose and it ruined his eye. i don’t know.
or perhaps the stress fracture in his back was causing him some pain and he had to alter his swing before it actually broke. i have a stress fracture currently in my tibia from overuse during my running regimen, and it hindered my runs for a long time before it finally started to snap and i had to go into a boot and crutches. regardless, he developed more of an uppercut swing- maybe trying to compensate for that bad season.
regardless, Wright is not the same player anymore. after that first true down season, i predicted a bounceback in power but conjectured that he would never become a .315+ machine again but rather a ~.280 hitter, which is still good in its own right. but he’s declining. and i caught a LOT of crap on a different board for predicting it back then… but it’s reality now. with declining 3B defense and eroding discipline/eye, and with his 2011 campaign, i wouldn’t really touch him with a ten foot pole. he’s too expensive because he carries name value that he hasn’t lived up to in a few years, he’s too short term, and he’s too risky. and this is coming from a big fan who wishes he could fix his issues.
He wouldn’t have to be “the man” in a Rockies uniform that honor can easily go to Tulo and Gonzalez as they are the leaders of that team without question. Wright would easily bounce back playing in Colorado that stadium is a sandbox for homer run hitters and he’d easily have a bounce back year over there (Citi Field is playing a part in players head just look at Jason Bay right now). So it would take a haul on the Rockies part to get him (Alderson isn’t no Omar Minaya that’s for damn sure just look at how he waited to get a top prospect for Beltran when he traded him and didn’t back down).
I don’t think the Mets can make the trade without a prospect of Pomeranz’s stature being involved. From the Mets perspective, they’re trading 2 years of a 5 time all-star in his prime (age-wise), I understand the 2nd year voids if traded, but the point is the Mets are going to value Wright as to what they’re giving up, 2 years of team control. It’s part of the reason I don’t see a deal as being overly likely to happen, because he’s worth more to the Mets then he would be to anybody else (Literally).
Now, maybe an extension window fixes that issue and allows the Mets to receive the compensation they’d need in a trade. I don’t know. But I don’t see why the Mets would bother to sell low now when they can just hang onto Wright, let him rebound offensively in a rebuilt Citi Field, and re-evaluate next year when he still has 1 year under team control.
Yep, He’s not getting traded this year, maybe next, but not this year. It makes zero sense to trade him this year, the Rockies have to overpay to get him this year and why would they do that?
Yep, He’s not getting traded this year, maybe next, but not this year. It makes zero sense to trade him this year, the Rockies have to overpay to get him this year and why would they do that?
O’Dowd will hang up the phone before Alderson can even finish saying Pomeranz. Not trying to be that guy but it honestly would not happen. Like i said there is a lot that would have to be figured out for this trade to happen. And it would have to start with Wright accepting some sort of extension before the deal is done. I’m not sure he rebounds at Citi Field and the only way he has the chance is if he’s healthy which he has proven he can’t do over the past 2 seasons.
I can understand from a Mets point of view waiting until next year when he’s under team control for that final yr, maybe dumping him at the trade deadline or something. But what if he continues to play the way he has at Citi Field or gets hurt again, then the best the mets will be able to get for him would be a pack of peanuts or lose him to free agency given their financial issues.
So the question is do Alderson and the Mets ownership (with all the financial issues) dump him and get a decently big haul for him now or take the risk and go into next year with him still in a Mets uni….we will find out as the winter proceeds.
tim wheeler, eric young, christian friedrich and chad bettis for david wright
Hmmmmmm…
I’d probably consider this (though I’m not in love with trading Bettis).
Hmmmmmm…
I’d probably consider this (though I’m not in love with trading Bettis).
Who do the Rockies have in the farm system to give to the Mets for Wright?
yes and no.
the rockies have tons of high-ceiling guys in their farm, but with uncertian performances and therefore futures.
I could actually see the Padres matching up with the Rockies well. Seth Smith has had trade interest. So has Iannetta specifically been linked to the Padres. Trading in the division, I can’t see the Padres selling low on Headley however. He’d (Headley) be a lot more happy playing his home games in Coors Field though.
I don’t think it would be selling low. Headley has put together a couple solid seasons and proven he can get on base and play average to plus defense at 3B. He would be perfect for Colorado as he would finally put up the power numbers we hoped for, even if its only 20 home runs. Headley is a doubles machine.
I would have to be overwhelmed to trade Headley though. Smith is not an upgrade over any in house replacements that I can think of. Iannette, however, could be usefull to pair with Hundley. Rockies fans are gonna scoff, but I don’t care… if they want Headley:
something like Headley for Pomeranz or
Headley for Iannetta + White
What I mean by selling low,if it’s not a prospect coming back in return. I don’t disagree on Headley’s value.
I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather Smith over Venable. Smith can hit RHP. Not only that, he’s excelled in Petco. Darnell is intriguing for RF. However, his injury and surgery to his shoulder could hinder his chances. Especially because of his limited OF experience. I like Tekotte ok, but I have a feeling the Padres will look at RF differently than you and I might.
Bottom line, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a deal with both teams. I’d say Fowler would make sense if he could steal bases at a higher success rate, and cut down on his strike outs. Needing virtually two CF’s in Petco. Imo.
What I mean by selling low,if it’s not a prospect coming back in return. I don’t disagree on Headley’s value.
I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather Smith over Venable. Smith can hit RHP. Not only that, he’s excelled in Petco. Darnell is intriguing for RF. However, his injury and surgery to his shoulder could hinder his chances. Especially because of his limited OF experience. I like Tekotte ok, but I have a feeling the Padres will look at RF differently than you and I might.
Bottom line, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a deal with both teams. I’d say Fowler would make sense if he could steal bases at a higher success rate, and cut down on his strike outs. Needing virtually two CF’s in Petco. Imo.
Tell me you don’t really think a .275/12 HR at best 3rd baseman is worth a top flight pitching prospect. Headley is very average and replaceable. Stop kidding yourself. Ask for the moon, but you won’t get it.
To be fair, get Headley out of Petco and you probably have an above-average everyday player.
he already is one
To be fair, get Headley out of Petco and you probably have an above-average everyday player.
Average and replaceable? How very very misguided or ignorant of Headleys value you are. Not saying he is an all-star regular type talent. However, of third baseman with 1000 PA’s or more over the last 2 years he ranks 5th in WAR with 7.7. This is not an average player. Only Figgins and Wright have more stolen bases over that period. Headley is 27, heading into his prime while getting better, and is under club control for 3 more years. His career road splits outside of Petco: .303/.364/.441/.805
Take Headley outside of Petco and he becomes an all-star. Easily one of the more underrated players in baseball. So yeah, the Padres should ask for a lot in return.
Agree. Except for Pomeranz. Someone would be surely fired.
Your previous statement about “only” 20 hr’s if he called Coors field I don’t think is a number they could bank on. First off, speaking about his splits, the difference in homerun numbers is pretty minimal:
Home 15 HR in 997 PA
Away 21 HR in 1117 PA
At Coors & Chase field, two prominent hitter’s parks, Headley has only hit 2 hr’s in 250 PA’s. On the road against his fellow NL West opponents he has 5 long flies in 470 PA’s. Even if he called Coors home he might not be anything more then a 15 hr bat, and that’s assuming a bounceback. Comparing what Gyorko and Headley did at Lake Elisnore gives much to dream on with Gyorko offering potentially more bat. From memory Gyorko hit about 40% more homerun’s in 200 fewer PA’s
There will always be more worthy all-star selections at the position, in fact I’m not sure how common an all-star 3b with a .138 ISO (his road rate) is. I think he is the next tier down, the kind of guy who will likely never sniff an all star game regardless of where he plays, unless numerous injuries are involved.
I have real reservations that a team would give up a top-30/40 prospect for him. The Tigers look like a great fit, they got just over a .600 ops from their 3b this year and could use someone for the next several seasons. They should be able to get good value for him, but not on the level of the best prospect the same team was able to get for Jimenez.
A 3-way with Headley ending up in New York and Wright ending up in Colorado with the Rockies sending goodies the Padres and Mets way I could see being a fit. Not sure if the Mets have other internal options that would make that point moot. What they do with Headley this off-season is one of the more interesting story lines in SD.
I used to be in the camp that was concerned about how many HR’s Headley put up. I now realize that it is not Headley’s fault that the Padres have failed to put power around him. Fact is, Headley’s .805 career road OBP is good and I see no reason to see a decline in him as he is only 27 and I have seen improvement. I stand by that Headley is underrated.
I agree that he’s underrated, just disagreed with your stance on him turning into a 20 hr bat once being dealt, I don’t see that much power in his bat. Put him in a neutral environment and think he’d be a good bet to hit .280-.290 year in/out, with 30-40 doubles and 10-15 hr’s, lot of value there just not of the all-star variety that you predicted upon him. Surrounding Headley with a bunch of bopper’s isn’t going to all of sudden turn him into a 20-hr bat.
Pretty crazy that in 140 PA’s at Coors he only has 1 hr. I like him a good deal and if it weren’t for our depth at the position I’d say they should sign him now. Not to a 5/45m deal like you suggested earlier the year (at Ducksnorts), but to a deal buying out his arb years (3/13-15m) with an option or two. I think he’s a good, not great defensive 3b, his huge WAR last year was based heavily on the defense. For instance I don’t think he’s Forsythe’s equal at 3b, less range, comparable arm (maybe a tad worse), etc.
His BABIP was .368 this year (hello spike in OBP), up from .323 & .325 the previous two years. Imagine what happens if his BABIP falls back to earth with his defense saying he’s good, not great.
20 hr’s was in reference to him going to Coors field. I think his approach at the plate would change a bit if he played 80 games at Coors. I think 20 is top of the mark, 15-20 in a full year at Coors. There are not many great 3B defensemen playing baseball at any one time(that have a capable bat), so I will take good.
Whether or not it makes sense to trade Headley really depends on whom they receive in return and/or their batting order philosophy. I don’t think it makes sense to put Forsythe at 3B permanantly, when he could be used at 2B when Hudson leaves. I see Forsythe as a super utility that provides quality depth for 2B/3B in case of an injury. If the Padres decided to go the direction of acquiring someone like Fowler, then they would damn sure need to put someone at 3B with power, like a Darnell or Guzman…. but remains to be seen if Darnell will have more power than Headley and certainly less defensive ability(which goers for Guzman as well). I just don’t see the Padres going after a Fowler type, they need more power not speed.
Come to think of it, Alex White does not represent an upgrade to most of what the Padres already have at pitching, especially with Kelly/Wieland/Erlin ready in another year or so. Not sure if Colorado matches up that well with the Padres unless catching or legit SS are involved. My guess is the Padres retain Headley for 2 more years until Gyorko forces a decision on them.
Tell me you don’t really think a .275/12 HR at best 3rd baseman is worth a top flight pitching prospect. Headley is very average and replaceable. Stop kidding yourself. Ask for the moon, but you won’t get it.
Wouldn’t do White or Pomeranz. Would consider Bettis.
Wouldn’t do White or Pomeranz. Would consider Bettis.
I don’t think it would be selling low. Headley has put together a couple solid seasons and proven he can get on base and play average to plus defense at 3B. He would be perfect for Colorado as he would finally put up the power numbers we hoped for, even if its only 20 home runs. Headley is a doubles machine.
I would have to be overwhelmed to trade Headley though. Smith is not an upgrade over any in house replacements that I can think of. Iannette, however, could be usefull to pair with Hundley. Rockies fans are gonna scoff, but I don’t care… if they want Headley:
something like Headley for Pomeranz or
Headley for Iannetta + White
I’m gonna go all crazy on ya.
Mets give:David Wright+Johan Santana+Mike Pelfrey+cash
Rockies give:Drew Pomeranz, Chacin, Tyler Matzek, Wilin Rosario, Nolan Arendo and Alex White.
I’m a Mets fan so to give up those guys I would have to get these guys in return. This totally won’t happen, but Wright would put up huge numbers in Colorado.
Definitely went crazy on us.
Not to mention that Santana has a NTC in his contract and there’s likely no way he’d waive that to go to Colorado since New York was apparently the only place he wanted to play.
I’m sure the Mets would love to do that trade.
I’m sure the Mets would love to do that trade.
If Wright were to sign an extension it would make either Hector Gomez or Nolan Arenado tradable. So start with one of them. Add an outfielder such as Dexter Fowler or Charlie Blackmon. Then add a young pitcher.
Either combination seems fair to me.
Dexter Fowler, Hector Gomez and Alex White
or
Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado and Alex White
I think Fowler and Arenado in the same package would be overpaying.
Have to remember that David Wright is a serious long term injury risk, NO ONE is going to overpay for him.
don’t see why the mets would do that at all.
Why not? Fowler has star potential as a centerfielder, and even if you do the other one, Arenado is likely going to be a top 25 overall prospect heading into 2012. White projects as a solid mid-rotation starter. Gomez is a toolsy guy who has had injury problems and Blackmon has a chance to be an above-average regular. Personally, I don’t think I’d do either of these trades for Wright – MAYBE the first one.
don’t see why the mets would do that at all.
If Wright were to sign an extension it would make either Hector Gomez or Nolan Arenado tradable. So start with one of them. Add an outfielder such as Dexter Fowler or Charlie Blackmon. Then add a young pitcher.
Either combination seems fair to me.
Dexter Fowler, Hector Gomez and Alex White
or
Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado and Alex White
I think Fowler and Arenado in the same package would be overpaying.
Have to remember that David Wright is a serious long term injury risk, NO ONE is going to overpay for him.
Dexter Fowler, Alex White, Seth Smith seems like a fair haul.
I agree.
I agree.
Not a chance. That would be a HUGE overpay on the part of the Rockies.
For one year of David Wright at $16 million, I can’t see O’Dowd giving up much of anything. The only way the Rockies make a trade for Wright is if the second year is guaranteed instead of voided.
I also don’t believe that they would include Fowler because of his defense at Coors Field. It is impossible to overstate the importance of that position in that stadium.
After thinking about it a bit over the last couple of days (since the Denver Post ran a story about the Rockies needing a 3B), I’m not really seeing a fit there anymore.
If Ian Stewart is the Rockies starting 3b on opening day, I’m done as a Rockies fan
Sounds like your problem, not the team’s.
I’m sure I’m not alone… Troll
Maybe not, but you’re definitely in a miniscule minority. The guy is 26 years old and was an average-to-above average big leaguer in every season until this one. Granted, he’s got some things to work on, but why give up on him when there aren’t many better options on the market? Can’t just trade a bag of balls for Evan Longoria, man.
Yes but they could of drafted Longoria and passed. Nice call O’Dowd.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh. This again.
Stewart was a top five prospect IN ALL OF BASEBALL when the 2006 draft occurred. Sure, the Rockies blew it by picking Greg Reynolds ahead of Longoria (but perhaps more importantly, in front of Tim Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw, and many others), but Stewart was considered to be as close to a “sure thing” as possible – not just by the Rockies front office, but by other teams and scouts alike.
Who knows, the Rockies themselves might be the reason why Stewart’s development has stalled.
After the Cubs GM is filled by Theo,that guy from TB, or the assistant GM for the White Sox then I say the Cubs should go after David to fill the void at 3B for them. Untouchables include Starlin Castro, Brett Jackson, and Trey McNutt everyone else go ahead. I would expect it to be a 5-1 deal anywany
Possible deal?
David Wright for Josh Vitters, Matt Szczur/Reggie Golden, Chris Carpenter/Rafeal Dolis, Jay Jackson and ??????
Sign Fielder
C- Soto
1B- Fielder
2B- Barney
3B- Wright
SS- Castro
LF- Soriano
CF- Jackson
RF- Byrd/Colvin
SS- Castro
2B- Barney
1B- Fielder
3B- Wright
RF- Byrd
LF- Soriano
CF- Jackson
C- Soto
id be down for Hector Gomez and Tyler matzek for Headley.
No way on Matzek. You can have Gomez, Friedrich, and one other B-level pitching prospect.