Drew Stubbs: a bargain in every sense of the word

Drew Stubbs signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Rockies this week to avoid arbitration.

Outfielder Drew Stubbs will probably never be better for the Rockies than he was last season. Serving as a platoon player at times and as an everyday center fielder at others, Stubbs was a 2.8 WAR player in 132 games of action.

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Even if he regresses in 2015, something that seems inevitable, Stubbs will be worth more than the contract he just signed with the Rockies.

A projections expert I am not, but I am very comfortable saying that Drew Stubbs will be worth more than $5.825 million next season (as reported by MLB.com). Even as such a ridiculous value, the Rockies still have an important philosophical decision to make: can they afford the luxury of keeping Stubbs in 2015?

As anybody who is even mildly interested in baseball knows by now, the Rockies have too many outfielders. They could reasonably trot out a starting lineup on Opening Day that has Corey Dickerson in left field, Charlie Blackmon in center field, and Carlos Gonzalez in right field. That leaves Stubbs as an outstanding fourth outfielder by almost any team’s standards.

Stubbs batted .289/.339/.482 last season. What was perhaps most significant was the fact that he improved his platoon splits against right-handed pitching from “awful” to “below average.” A career .232/.298/.369 hitter against same-handed pitching in his career, Stubbs batted .268/.309/.447 in those situations last year.

Between that boost against right-handed pitching, his pop at the plate, his speed (he stole 20 bases last year), and his adequate defense in center field, Stubbs presents a significant bargain to the Rockies.

Interestingly enough, he also presents a bargain to teams that might try to trade for him.

If the Rockies think they can contend in 2015, they should keep Drew Stubbs. He provides depth and lineup versatility that contending teams need. Maybe the Rockies have a playoff-worthy lineup, and maybe Stubbs looks like a fit in that regard.

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If the Rockies think they are punting 2015, however, something that seems like a reasonable position considering the current state of the pitching staff and the strength of the rest of the division, they should get serious about trading Drew Stubbs. Teams are starved for position playing talent, specifically in the outfield and specifically from the right side of the plate, and the Rockies need to acquire more talent.

The Rockies have options behind Stubbs too, with the underwhelming Brandon Barnes and young Kyle Parker ready to take on more playing time. Oh, and they signed Roger Bernadina, if that’s something you feel like mentioning. The point is, Stubbs is probably better than those guys, but the Rockies don’t need him if they are going to stink.

Now seems to be an appropriate time to mention that the Rockies are going to stink. Teams will give up value for Stubbs; as a matter of fact, they will overpay if the last year’s worth of trades is any indication.

Signing Stubbs to such a reasonable deal can be the first step to trading him. That’s what the Rockies should do, but since they undoubtedly think they can contend, they will probably keep him.

With that in mind, here’s hoping that the Rockies give us a reason to be happy that they have Drew Stubbs.

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