The Colorado Rockies Have Been In Stealth Mode This Offseason
Today, one of our authors focuses on the Rockies' offseason and argues that the team has been more active than you might think.
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Pregame Pepper - Rockies Rumblings
Leading Off
The Colorado Rockies Have Been Busier Than You Think
By Skyler Timmins
It’s incredibly easy to dunk on the Colorado Rockies, and fun too.
The Rockies play on a mountain unto themselves, literally. Nestled a mile above sea level, the confines of Coors Field harbor one of the more baffling and sometimes irritating teams in all of baseball. Entering their 30th season, the Rockies have yet to win a division title and have made the playoffs just five times, most recently in 2018. Rebuilding is not in their copy of Webster’s Dictionary, instead, they opt for a perpetual state of mediocrity under the guise of contention.
I know it, you know, and they know it.
However, the current offseason has shown inklings of a team with some sort of plan consciously making an effort to address some of their shortcomings for the future. While it may not be the franchise-altering stuff that will help them overcome the basement in the NL West, there are some notable highlights.
The theme of the Rockies’ offseason has been about building pitching depth and trimming the fat. In order to address their need for pitchers at the big league level, the team reunited with José Ureña after he posted a solid 2022 campaign in the rotation and also snagged Brent Suter off of waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers while signing Denver native Pierce Johnson to a one-year deal.
Despite Ureña and Johnson being the only big league contracts handed out by the team thus far, they have been quite busy dishing out minor league contracts and trading for pitching.
Among pitchers with some big league experience, the Rockies have added the likes of Fernando Abad, Josh Rogers, Matt Koch, Phillips Valdéz, Ty Blach, Matt Carasiti, and T.J. Zeuch on minor league deals. While that group isn’t going to take them to a World Series, it has been important for them to acquire pitchers like this strictly for depth purposes as injuries and underperformance shined a glaring light on arms ready for the Show in 2022.
The Rockies also hit two birds with one stone by acquiring some pitching via the trade, trimming the roster in the process. They kicked things off by trading Sam Hilliard to the Atlanta Braves for a younger arm in Dylan Spain. They then traded Chad Smith to Oakland for Jeff Criswell who received a non-roster invite to spring training. Connor Joe was shipped off to Pittsburgh for Nick Garcia while the Rockies also claimed Nick Mears off of waivers from Texas. Most recently they acquired Connor Seabold from Boston, another pitcher capable of starting in the rotation.
Like a squirrel preparing for winter, the Rockies are gathering as many pitchers as they can of varying degrees, hoping to build out a thin depth chart that is bottom-heavy in the farm system. Only time will tell if they have found any gems, but pitching has been the name of the game, and the Rockies are finding their own system to unlock a way to pitch to success in Denver and on the road.
The action isn’t done there however, as they have been making slight adjustments position player-wise. Initially, it was hoped that they would manage to address center field and add a left-handed batter. Cody Bellinger was the biggest name linked to them at the Winter Meetings before he signed with the Chicago Cubs. In the aftermath of that deal, the Rockies seemed all by content to leave the outfield as it is, opting to flesh out the bench depth.
Again, minor league deals are the typical way to go, as they added MLB veterans Cole Tucker and Harold Castro as utility player depth. The Rockies are ready to give Ezequiel Tovar, one of their top prospects, the keys to shortstop but it’s critical they build out some depth in case his struggles get out of hand or an injury occurs. There have been standard spatterings of young position players, but the Rockies are focused on ushering in their top prospects as they see fit and are determined not to block anyone that is coming up if they can help it.
Perhaps the most intriguing move this offseason has been the acquisition of Nolan Jones. Once a highly-touted prospect in Cleveland, Jones made a brief debut last season to unflattering results. Yet, the Rockies saw a chance to add a lefty power bat and jumped on it. The space to play seems limited, but Jones is the type of bat that any team would love to have in their lineup if he can develop just right, and perhaps the change of scenery and coaching can do just that.
I’ve focused on the depth the team has added, but behind the scenes, the team has consistently been busy. Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens was hired as the new hitting coach, tasked with increasing the Rockies’ power output and offensive production. They have infused their analytics department with more members, and multiple new faces have joined the development side of things. There is a small influx of new ideas coming to the organization, a welcome change that is long overdue.
So, while the larger media world sees the two major league free agent signings as an overall failure for the Rockies (and in some ways it is), a grander vision of what they are doing is paramount. The Rockies have all the faith in the world that their prospects are on the cusp of helping them compete. So, in the meantime they are building depth, treading water, and hoping for the best until that time comes, because every team needs a supporting cast.
The Rockies have plenty of struggles and shortcomings, but this seemingly quiet offseason has been busier than you think, and a step in the right direction.
Skyler Timmins is an unfortunate diehard Rockies fan and shares that dedication for PurpleRow.com. When he's not writing he's usually dabbling in broadcasting for local high school sports.
They sound like they're in a similar position to KC at the moment. Unfortunately, the Royals are often in this kind of position, and it usually goes sideways long before it pans out. Pitching development will ultimately determine whether either of them ever puts it together or not. The disadvantage for the Rockies is that the NL West is loaded, whereas the AL Central has been one of the weaker divisions in baseball lately.