Colorado Rockies Front Office Giving Up On 2016 Season

With 120 games played in the 2016 season, the Colorado Rockies are six games under .500 at 57-63. Their playoff hopes are not dead yet, but they are certainly in critical condition. Meanwhile, the Rockies front office, rather than swinging into action, seems to be content with letting this season go.

Just one month ago, the Colorado Rockies were acting as aggressively as we’ve seen them in a while. Earlier in the season, the team surprised people by calling up Tyler Anderson and plugging him into the starting rotation.

In late July, the unexpected promotion of top prospect David Dahl made Brandon Barnes suddenly expendable. Both Anderson and Dahl have been terrific thus far in their young MLB careers, and the decision to add them to the big league roster looks brilliant in hindsight.

Then, with one unfortunate slide against the Mets, the Rockies season took another turn. Trevor Story tore the UCL in his left thumb, and just like that, one of the more spectacular rookie years in MLB history was over.

Another injury, this time to Mark Reynolds, stretched the Rockies even thinner. Colorado’s starting lineup was suddenly forced to replace Story and Reynolds with Daniel Descalso and Cristhian Adames. It would be unfair to put all of the team’s problems on the shoulders of two guys, but that’s a significant drop-off in talent.

The Rockies front office, which had previously been so bold in adding their top prospects, saw the effect of the injuries and suddenly went in a different direction. After Reynolds was lost for the season, they replaced him by promoting Ben Paulsen. Paulsen isn’t a terrible baseball player, but he’s not going to help the Rockies make the playoffs.

Jordan Patterson might be a guy that can do that. The word “might” is important in that last sentence, because he’s an unknown commodity at this point. But as I’ve written about previously, Patterson is putting up huge numbers against Triple-A pitching, and seems more than ready to make his MLB debut. In fact, Patterson’s batting average is 40 points higher than Paulsen’s in Triple-A this year.

So why did Colorado promote Paulsen instead? Because they know what they’re getting. Paulsen is already on the 40-man roster and has MLB experience. The Rockies know they can play Paulsen at first base, and while he won’t be great, he probably won’t hurt them too much either.

With Patterson, Colorado has no guarantees. Yes, he’s been terrific against Triple-A pitching, but it’s still possible he would hit .150 if he were called up to the big leagues. It’s also possible that Patterson would hit the ground running and help the team win like Anderson and Dahl have.

Think about it like this: You can choose between a $100 bill and or check for a mystery amount that could be worth as little as $50 or as much as $150. The Rockies promoting Paulsen instead of Patterson was their decision to take the $100 bill.

Last night, news broke that Tyler Chatwood was heading to the DL and Christian Bergman would likely replace him in the rotation. Once again, Colorado had a chance to promote a top prospect, this time pitcher Jeff Hoffman, and once again they chose to pass him over for a fringe major league player.

It’s not what fans want to see, but it’s not necessarily the wrong decision. Even with Story and Reynolds, the Rockies would have been long shots to make the playoffs. Without them, it’s going to be virtually impossible.

There’s enough pressure on top prospects to perform when they reach the major leagues as it is. Putting the weight of saving a sinking season on Patterson and Hoffman would be asking for a lot.

Next: Colorado Rockies: Can Look at Washington For Hope

Make no mistake though; the Rockies front office’s top priority is competing in 2017. That’s not to say this year’s team can’t make the playoffs, but the recent roster moves make it pretty clear that GM Jeff Bridich and his staff aren’t planning on it happening.