Colorado Rockies Rumors: Blackmon Trade Brewing in Toronto?

Earlier today, we discussed the possibility of the St. Louis Cardinals working a deal with the Colorado Rockies involving All-Star outfielder Charlie Blackmon. Now it looks like another bird is looking to swoop in and compete for Colorado’s talented leadoff man.

According to reports, the Toronto Blue Jays and Rockies have been discussing a deal that would send Blackmon north of the border while Colorado would receive starting pitcher Marcus Stroman in return. There is still plenty of work to be done as those same reports indicate the Blue Jays would want more than just Blackmon as part of the deal.

The possibility of Blackmon being traded became a bit more interesting on Wednesday when the Rockies inked Ian Desmond to a five-year, $70 million deal. Reports have indicated that Desmond was signed to the Rockies to play first base. However, with the 31-year-old Desmond having just converted to playing the outfield for the Texas Rangers in 2016 and never playing first base in his professional career, Colorado looking to move an outfielder currently on their roster makes some sense.

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Colorado had a similar scenario in January when the Rockies signed Gerardo Parra to a deal, bringing him to an already crowded outfield in Denver. However, it wasn’t long until Corey Dickerson was traded to Tampa Bay. Could the same time of situation be brewing with the Desmond deal now done?

As ESPN.com pointed out in this article, there are some very attractive features about the 25-year-old Stroman potentially pitching in Denver…

The first-round draftee in 2012 and former top-100 prospect yielded a 60.1 percent groundball rate last season, which would likely play well in hitter-friendly Coors Field. Stroman, who is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this winter, won’t become a free agent until 2020.

Next: Do the Rockies Really Need Another Quality Starter?

Stroman is 24-16 in his three-year career with Toronto, sporting a 3.91 ERA. Last season, he went 9-10 with a 4.37 ERA in 32 starts.