Colorado Rockies Rundown: Michael McKenry’s Surgery, Tommy Kahnle’s Struggles, And DJ LeMahieu’s Success

Jul 3, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies manager W. Weiss (22) looks on prior to the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Three things the Rockies ought to do

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

The guys over at MLB Trade Rumors do everything well. If you aren’t already visiting that site virtually every day, now is actually the perfect time to start, too, because the winter (with all the trades and free agent signings being made) is second only to Trade Deadline week as the most interesting off-field time in baseball.

Anyways, MLBTR is running a new series beginning this week looking at each team’s needs as the offseason approaches, and they decided to start with the Colorado Rockies! Two of the three are exactly what you’d predict (the pitching staff, duh, as well as finding a long-term solution at catcher), but the third is noteworthy.

[ Related: I want the Colorado Rockies to lose 100 games, and you should too ]

Take it away, MLBTR:

"It’s easy enough for people to answer the question when asked, “Who was the last impact bat the Rockies traded away?” thanks to this July’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster. However, prior to that swap, the most recent instance of the Rockies trading a significant hitter came in the 2013-14 offseason when they traded Dexter Fowler. Prior to that, it’s probably Matt Holliday — all the way back in 2008. For a team that struggles to develop pitching but seems to routinely produce above-average bats (even after adjusting the numbers to account for Coors Field’s impact), it’s puzzling that they’ve shown such reluctance when it comes to trading hitters. The Tulo trade was a good start, but moving Carlos Gonzalez and perhaps someone like Charlie Blackmon should be a consideration for new GM Jeff Bridich, assuming owner Dick Monfort won’t stand in the way of such a deal."

Now that’s interesting.

The Rockies have been able to turn average to slightly-above-average players into bonafide studs at Coors Field, including DJ LeMahieu (who was never supposed to hit like he is this year), Charlie Blackmon (an All Star and a leadoff hitter with an .820 OPS this year) and Corey Dickerson (an 8th round junior college pick who challenged for a batting title last season).

They’ve also seen free agents have career years in Denver, like Nick Hundley (still hovering right around .300 this year), and even had marginal talent challenge for batting titles (see Jordan Pacheco‘s unlikely 2012 season).

[ POLL: What’s Walt Weiss’ future with the Colorado Rockies? ]

Considering how hard it is for the Colorado Rockies to develop pitchers, and yet how easy it is for them to exploit offensive numbers from even slightly above average players, it might be worth it to start trading some of these hitters for quality pitching, knowing you’ll be able to re-develop new hitters soon enough to take their place.

Your move, Jeff Bridich.

Next: Yohan Flande's nice homecoming