Colorado Rockies: Jon Gray’s Future and Money Matters

I recently stumbled across this article about Jon Gray, the current ace of the Colorado Rockies rotation and one of the key members of the 2017 squad.

It’s an interesting prognostication on Gray’s future. Of course, there truly is no crystal ball and we don’t know how a career (let alone next season) is going to turn out. However, the article did bring something very interesting to my mind.

In the article, it shows Gray switching teams and joining the San Francisco Giants in 2022. Yes, it’s more than likely that the 24-year-old right-hander won’t be with the Rockies for the rest of his career. But what about Nolan Arenado and some of the other current cornerstones of the franchise?

Certainly it won’t be a surprise for a team with deep pockets like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox to come courting Arenado when the time is right. If a Gray, David Dahl or Trevor Story keeps building upon their rookie seasons, they will certainly draw interest from other teams soon enough.

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This is where the Rockies will have to make a decision about this homegrown talent and whether it’s willing to shell out the money to keep Gray, Arenado, Dahl, Story and others around. As Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post noted in his recent article, the time has come for the Rockies to show they’re willing to spend money to invest in the team and build a contender in the Mile High City.

We may get the answer on Colorado’s money matters sooner than later. This offseason, it’s imperative that the Rockies rebuild the bullpen. Certainly there are some pieces there (like closer Adam Ottavino) but there is still a lot of work to be done. Will the Rockies be willing to shell out some money to make this happen?

There’s also the issue of first base. Will the Rockies spend money on someone like a Matt Holliday or Mark Trumbo? If not, is the price tag for a Mark Reynolds re-signing not as costly but the best move?

In Major League Baseball, money matters. As I noted after Ben Paulsen was designated for assignment, this is a business, and division rivals Los Angeles and San Francisco have already shown they’re more than willing to pay money to win titles.

Next: Why the Time is Right to Trade DJ LeMahieu

It may not be next year, but there will come a day when the Rockies will have to decide what to do to keep some of their cornerstones in Denver. When that day happens, let’s hope the big picture is looked at more than just the price tag.