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Colorado Rockies: What to look for in 2015

By Hayden Kane |
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Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

With the New Year and holiday season behind us, let’s look ahead to the 2015 MLB season and offer some analysis of what we can expect from the Colorado Rockies.

For how quiet things have been for the Colorado Rockies thus far during the 2015 off-season, the year ahead might hold significant changes for this struggling franchise.

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Is there any chance that the Rockies will contend in 2015? Is there still a splashy move ahead before spring training starts? Will Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez remain members of the Rockies? How firm is Walt Weiss‘s footing as the team’s manager?

The Rockies are caught in a dreaded middle ground. On the one hand, any team that has Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez can reasonably think they are a few pieces away from contending. On the other hand, the organization has a new general manager in place and enough failure in recent years to talk themselves into tearing things down and rebuilding.

It is that in-between, that need to choose one path or the other, which hangs over many of the big questions for the Rockies in 2015.

That is just the start of the questions that the Rockies have to consider in the year that lies ahead. Here are some predictions for what you can expect to see from the Rockies in 2015.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

There will be a big move before Spring Training

Hey, have we mentioned that the off-season has been quiet thus far in Colorado? There have been no moves yet, but given the whispers here and there about the possibilities with Jeff Bridich at the helm as general manager, my guess is that a major move is still coming. It might, dare I say, be a splashy move.

The Rockies have been mentioned, however briefly and casually, as a team that has “checked in” with Max Scherzer and James Shields. The classic check-in probably means nothing, but it’s more than we have ever heard about the Rockies and major free agents in the past. That has even given us the excuse to seriously consider the possibility of the Rockies going after somebody like Shields.

Besides those pipe dream free agency musings, the Rockies have indicated a willingness to maybe trade Carlos Gonzalez or Troy Tulowitzki. Again, that potentially marks a significantly different organizational philosophy for the Rockies. Because of these changes, even in the form of flimsy rumors, my hunch is that Bridich has something up his sleeve before Spring Training arrives.

My guess? The Rockies will trade Carlos Gonzalez. There are simply too many teams interested in acquiring an outfielder, and Bridich should be able to convince those teams that CarGo is at least as attractive an option as somebody like Andre Ethier.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Tulowitzki will start the 2016 season with the Rockies

Put your mind at ease, kind reader, for that is not a typo. This prediction is not just that Tulowitzki will be with the Rockies to start the upcoming season, but that he will still be a member of this team when they start Spring Training in 2016.

Simply enough, a trade involving Tulowitzki is not going to happen this off-season. The fit just isn’t there when you look at the teams that are rumored to be interested and the Rockies’ asking price. So let’s assume that the star shortstop will be here to start the season, which I believe to be a safe prediction.

I believe that one of two things will happen in that case. Either Troy Tulowitzki will get hurt and further sap his trade value, dissuading suitors from pulling the trigger on a deal, or he will play so well that the Rockies would be crazy to trade him.

Maybe there is a middle ground where Tulowitzki plays well enough to reestablish his value, but not well enough that the Rockies feel like they are forced to keep him. I just don’t see that happening.

Remember: this is the guy who was good for 5.5 WAR in 91 games last season.

Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

LaTroy Hawkins will be traded during his farewell tour

The Rockies blew it last summer by keeping LaTroy Hawkins when there was interest in the veteran reliever at the trade deadline. They will get a second chance to trade Hawkins for something this season once they are inevitably out of the playoff race, and they will take advantage this time around.

If one thing is clear, it’s that Hawkins is not adverse to pitching for another team. It might actually end up being a nice story for him to get to finish out his career while competing in meaningful games for a contender.

Hawkins might not be as good as he was last season, but it is still reasonable for the Rockies to expect him to be good enough that he will attract trade interest. I believe he will be dealt.

Bonus prediction: LaTroy Hawkins will be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Wilin Rosario will still be a member of the Rockies for game 162 of the 2015 season

Trading Wilin Rosario has become the move so obvious that it maybe isn’t going to happen. Increasingly there are signs that the Rockies will keep Rosario, even having signed Nick Hundley to a two-year deal this off-season.

I somewhat track with this decision, but I do understand the thinking if the Rockies want to wait and let this situation play out for a little bit longer. Rosario’s bat has the kind of upside that it could make sense to keep him. That said, the Rockies have to find more creative ways to use him.

I have felt strongly that the Rockies should trade Rosario mostly because I, like so many people, want to see a shakeup at the catcher position. I am not terribly excited about the prospect of keeping Rosario, but I think I understand it.

I just hope that the Rockies find ways to use him to maximize his skill set.

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Walt Weiss will be on the hot seat

I am not one to call for somebody to lose his job, especially not somebody I like as much as Weiss. So I do not want to go down the road of predicting that Weiss will be fired, because I will be actively rooting for him to remain Rockies’ manager for a long time.

Here is my thinking on this one. The old front office was interested in a situation where Weiss essentially grew into the job. And while Dan O’Dowd and company never said the ‘rebuilding’ word, the idea might have been that Weiss would hit his stride right as the Rockies were ready to contend.

My hunch is that Jeff Bridich will buck that philosophy altogether. I think he will be less interested in hiring familiar faces. I hope he will move away from the good-old-boy mentality that lingered with the last brain trust. His first opportunity to implement a new philosophy might come at Walt Weiss’s expense, especially if the Rockies struggle. Which brings me to the last prediction.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Rockies will finish in last place in 2015

Sorry to finish on a downer. Chalk this up as a prediction that I hope is dead wrong.

Even with a new general manager, and even with the fun of speculating what changes Jeff Bridich will implement in the long run, this team has not hit rock bottom with its current, stagnant philosophy.

Even with a slightly new approach this off-season, and even with the potential for a shakeup with a potential big move, this team still appears to be largely intent on banging its collective head against the wall for one more season.

Hopefully a last place season would be the catalyst for meaningful change, because with the flurry of activity in the NL West this winter, I think 2015 is going to be a rough season in Colorado.

Just remember to take the long view, boys and girls. There are reasons to feel hopeful, just maybe not soon.

Here’s to hoping that only the happy predictions come true for 2015.

Next: Does The Rockies' Front Office Even Care Anymore?

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