Where Could The Colorado Rockies Flip Jose Reyes?

Jul 29, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop J. Reyes (7) bats against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies acquired a shortstop back in the mega deal Monday night, of course, but could they flip him for more young talent before the trade deadline Friday?

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Jose Reyes is (was?) a pretty great shortstop, having several very solid big league seasons in the prime of his career. Now, as a 32-year-old brand new to the Colorado Rockies in the blockbuster trade, he’s just past that prime, but don’t let his massively over-done contract fool you: he’s still a pretty damn good player.

No, he’s no Troy Tulowitzki, and yes, he’s making way more money than he’s worth, but it’s pretty disingenuous to say that Reyes isn’t a solid and exciting ballplayer.

All that being said… he surely doesn’t factor in to the Rockies’ long term plans. In a best-case scenario, he probably plays out the rest of this year before the Rockies trade him somewhere in the winter when teams will be looking to re-up on talent in the middle infield, and somebody will be willing to shed pitching for it.

But then there’s the possibility that keeps getting floated about Reyes perhaps being flipped right now in another trade? Obviously it’d have to happen quickly, but there are at least a couple of suitors for a guy like Jose — and some of those suitors even line up perfectly with another Rockies trade candidate: Carlos Gonzalez.

Let’s take a completely speculative (but fun!) look at some potential destinations for Reyes if he were to get flipped this week… these aren’t all-encompassing, of course, but there are four spots I think Reyes could end up if the Rockies got crazy enough, and/or the right offer at the right time.

Next: Option One: The New York Mets

Jun 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels infielder E. Aybar (2) talks with bench coach D. Ebel (21) before the start of the game against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Angels didn’t hit for a long time early on this season, before finally figuring it out with studs like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and increasingly Kole Calhoun taking on the brunt of the offensive responsibilities.

In left field, Matt Joyce, Daniel Robertson, and Efren Navarro all struggled to stick, and it prompted the Angels this week to trade for both Shane Victorino and David Murphy, so this club appears to have filled their corner outfield gap with some mid-level temporary veterans. So, at least in regards to flipping CarGo in a hypothetical Reyes, that option may very well be out (but hey, never say never?).

Back to Reyes, though, the Angels have two major offensive holes that might make them an interesting partner: one is in the infield, where while Erick Aybar has done well enough as the starting shortstop this year, Johnny Giavotella is fading fast at second base, and David Freese has struggled with injury and effectiveness at third; could the Angels go get another middle infielder in Reyes from a motivated Rockies club?

Couple that hypothetical need with catchers; the Angels have gotten really, really bad production from catchers Carlos Perez, Chris Iannetta, and (the now-departed) Drew Butera in 2015. Nick Hundley would be an interesting trade option, since he’s having a great year beside and behind the plate. Is it too far to speculate over a Hundley-and-Reyes-for-prospects deal from the Angels?

Next: Option Three: The Los Angeles Dodgers

Jun 29, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop J. Rollins against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers would be an interesting one, and one of the biggest impediments to any hypothetical deal here is, of course, the problem with trading in the division. But teams are seemingly more inclined to do that recently (see: Jonathan Papelbon to the Nationals, Matt Kemp to the Padres, Scott Kazmir to the Astros), so it’s certainly not a hard-and-fast rule.

The Dodgers (likely) have no use for a guy like Carlos Gonzalez, or for Nick Hundley, so their hypothetical trade match won’t follow the first two in this post. But there’s one place the Dodgers have been woefully bad: shortstop. Veteran Jimmy Rollins has not worked out for them this year, and though he is heating up lately, he’s still slashing just .210/.269/.362.

The leadoff spot as a whole has been a disaster for the Dodgers, where besides a flurry of homers from Joc Pederson, has seen too many strikeouts, and far too few runners on base setting the table for the lineup’s formidable mid-order bats.

Reyes would fit pretty simply in Los Angeles if the club felt that Rollins would work better as a utility option backing up the entire infield as the playoffs approach.

Next: Option Four: The San Diego Padres

Apr 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder A. Amarista (5) cannot get to a double by Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Y. Grandal (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Like the Dodgers, a hypothetical Padres deal hinges on an in-division trade. And like the Dodgers, the Padres probably don’t need CarGo (but maybe they do, hell, they really need some offensive threats).

The Padres, though, are the more extreme example of the Dodgers in at shortstop (and more generally for San Diego, across the entire infield): no offensive production. Between Cory Spangenberg and Jedd Gyorko at second base, Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes at short, and Will Middlebrooks and Yangervis Solarte at third, the Padres have jerry-rigged crap out of crap and put a weak offense behind a stacked pitching staff.

Give the Rockies one of those pitchers for Reyes (and whatever other players are included in the deal on each side), and you might be in business.

Granted, though, a hypothetical Padres deal likely works better this winter, rather than this week, but you never know, right?

Next: So Will Reyes Really Get Flipped?

Jul 29, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop J. Reyes (7) warms up before the baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The bottom line, amid all this nice speculation about potential trade destinations for Reyes (especially/maybe including some along side CarGo) is that the Rockies likely won’t flip Reyes until the winter.

That’s probably the right move, too. They can get more for him — from more potential suitors — at the Hot Stove meetings than they can during a frenetic trade deadline. It’s in their best interest to wait.

Now, if they were blown away by an offer… hey, then we could talk. And maybe they will be! Maybe somebody will decide they need CarGo, Reyes, or whatever combination you can imagine over the next 36 hours. That’s unlikely, but then again nobody saw the Blue Jays picking up Tulo, so what the hell do we really know?

What do you think — will the Rockies flip Jose Reyes, or keep him through the end of the year?

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