Colorado Rockies: Wednesday’s News and Rumors Roundup

It may be a somewhat quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s, but there are still a few mentions of the Colorado Rockies out there that warrant some attention. Let’s take a look at some of the latest news and rumors we’ve seen.

Castellani draws praise

Drafted with the 48^th pick of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, Colorado prospect Ryan Castellani has started 53 games over the past two seasons for Class A Asheville and Modesto. He’s now gaining some national attention for his abilities.

The right-handed pitcher was just named by MLB.com as one of the “10 prospects ready to surge in 2017.” The article says that, “He showed he has the chance to be a workhorse while logging 167 2/3 frames in 2016 and lowering his hit rate. He kept his strikeout rate intact and got a lot of ground-ball outs, all while pitching in the hitting-friendly California League (finishing sixth in ERA). A move to the Double-A Eastern League could be very good for him.”

By the way, Castellani was ranked as the 12^th-best Rockies prospect in 2016 by MLB.com. It shows the strength of Colorado’s farm system and the bright future ahead for the franchise.

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Carter is still out there…

Free agent slugger Chris Carter is still looking for a new team in 2017. Of course, any time someone can hit homers, he is linked to the Colorado Rockies and hitting at Coors Field. That’s exactly what happened in this article where the Rockies were named as the National League team with the best chance for Carter to re-create his massive power stroke.

With Carter and Mark Trumbo still free agents, the thought will continue to be that the Rockies are still looking for a first baseman, despite the signing of Ian Desmond. However, with the reported signing of Alexi Amarista earlier in the week, the Rockies could well have their 40-man roster filled heading into spring training.

Next: What the Alexi Amarista Signing Means for Colorado

Of course, that could change with a trade or other move, but it seems the Rockies may have made the biggest moves in the offseason they are going to make. With that in mind, Carter and Trumbo may be wearing something other than purple pinstripes in 2017.