Colorado Rockies trade rumors: The shortstop edition

Pat Valaika

Pat Valaika has been on the bench for most of the year for the Rockies and as a whole, in 2017, he hasn’t played extraordinarily as he has a .245/.272/.510 slash line with six homers, 17 RBIs, and an OPS+ of 87. He did have a tremendous game yesterday, though, as he started as shortstop for the Rockies’ last night. He had three hits, a homer, and three RBIs in the Rockies’ 5-3 win against the Reds (the game recap from the game is right here).

Alexi Amarista

Amarista, like Valaika, has spent most of the year on the bench for the Rockies but in 49 games, he has two homers, 16 RBIs, a slash line of .257/.278/.381, and an OPS+ of 61. Given that OPS+ number, he will stay on the bench

Tony Wolters

The only way Tony Wolters would be playing shortstop regularly is if the Rockies’ acquire a catcher at the trade deadline. Wolters has played shortstop on a regular basis in the past, particularly, in the minor leagues when he was with the Cleveland Indians. In 443 career, minor league games, roughly 32.5% of those games were played at shortstop (144 games) compared to 41.5% catching (184 games). He has played shortstop in the Major Leagues, albeit in limited action. In the 126 games he’s played in the majors, he has spent a total of six innings at shortstop (all were in 2016). However, even if the Rockies’ do acquire a catcher at the trade deadline, Wolters would probably be on the bench, not playing shortstop everyday.