The Colorado Rockies potentially face a tough decision with Wilin Rosario, and rumors are that they are trying to trade the slugging catcher in advance of this week’s non-tender deadline.
Here’s the problem for the Rockies: everybody knows that they need to trade Wilin Rosario. That made this report from Ken Rosenthal one of the least surprising tidbits of the night.
Right, because the Rockies were running short on guys who could play right field last season. Not only do teams know the Rockies need to trade Wilin Rosario, they know that he must be dealt to a team in the American League.
So, as our colleagues at Purple Row note, they do not exactly enter trade negotiations with a lot of leverage to get value from potential trade partners. This a not a good place to start in trade negotiations.
Right. You know what else doesn’t help? When teams know you’re on a deadline. That is also potentially the case with the Rockies, as Rosario could potentially be a non-tender candidate if the team doesn’t find a trade:
Rosario is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. I will be shocked if the team non-tenders him because right-handed power is still so hard to come by in today’s Major League Baseball. If he is a non-tender candidate, however, then the Rockies have less than an hour to pull off a deal (the non-tender deadline is midnight eastern tonight).
Right-handed power is so darn valuable, the Rockies still might have a sliver of leverage to get something for him in a trade, and they would certainly still have reason to keep him around…even if he definitely cannot be their starting catcher next year.
Stay tuned.