Colorado Rockies: 3 things they still need to do this offseason

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DENVER, CO – JUNE 07: Jake McGee #51 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Coors Field on June 7, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies made some noise during the recent Winter Meetings, being one of the most active teams as they were involved in multiple rumors and made two big signings during the time in Orlando.

Colorado reinforced its bullpen with the re-signing of southpaw Jake McGee to a three-year contract. McGee’s 2017 in Colorado was much better than his 2016 debut after being acquired from Tampa Bay. Last season, McGee went 0-2 with three saves, a 3.61 ERA, 16 walks and 58 strikeouts in 62 appearances. His improvement was a key piece of Colorado’s bullpen resurgence in 2017.

New addition Bryan Shaw comes to the Rockies from Cleveland and the right-hander was also inked to a three-year deal. Last season, the 30-year-old Shaw posted a 4-6 mark with three saves, a 3.52 ERA, 22 walks and 73 strikeouts in 79 appearances for the Indians.

The duo will help bolster a Rockies bullpen that had plenty of questions heading into the offseason. Noah Yingling details the moves and makes his case for their grades in this article.

Additionally, the Rockies signed catcher Chris Iannetta to a two-year deal before the Winter Meetings began. The move signaled that, by bringing the former Rockies catcher back to Colorado, the club is happy with what they have behind the plate in Iannetta, Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy.

Yes, the Rockies have been busy … but there is still more to do if Colorado wants to duplicate its 2017 success in 2018. Here are my three thoughts on what could make this a tremendous offseason for Colorado.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 23: Greg Holland #56 of the Colorado Rockies poses for a portrait during photo day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 23, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /

The Rockies have been teasing that they are close to inking last year’s closer, Greg Holland, to a multi-year deal. With McGee, Shaw and Holland joining forces with Chris Rusin and Mike Dunn, the Colorado bullpen has all of the makings of a very solid unit, perhaps one of the best in the National League. It has been a long time since those words have been uttered anywhere in the Mountain time zone.

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However, getting Holland to sign on the dotted line is the key to calling Colorado’s offseason bullpen rebuild a complete success. It is like getting a B on a test when you miss one big question that would have pushed you into the A category.

Manager Bud Black said last week that getting Holland back was on his wish list … and it is honestly on the wish list of many Rockies fans. While Holland did have one horrific month in August last season, he was rock solid the rest of the year.

Having Holland back with McGee, Dunn and Shaw to hand the game over to him would set Colorado up very well for the late innings. Rusin will have another middle inning role, giving the Rockies plenty of optimism if they can get five or six solid innings out of their starter.

Colorado fans were hoping the Rockies would land Carlos Santana at first base. However, the former Indian slugger signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. So now where do the Rockies turn?

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There are still plenty of options available, including internally. Are the Rockies happy with an Ian Desmond/Ryan McMahon set up at first base? If nothing else changes, that is what the start of the season might look like for Colorado. With Desmond at first, is David Dahl healthy enough and ready to play outfield again? Does Gerardo Parra stay in left and Raimel Tapia man right field? Is McMahon already “penciled in” at first as was rumored last week? The status quo offers up lots of questions.

Mark Reynolds is still available if the Rockies are looking for a one-year reunion. Re-signing Reynolds would give a very “2017 feel” to the position, with Reynolds, Desmond and likely McMahon taking time at first base with Desmond in the outfield as well.

Other outside options include Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox (although Chicago has indicated it would take a lot to move Abreu) and Matt Adams who played for the Atlanta Braves last season and have had plenty of teams show interest. How about a Matt Adams/Ian Desmond/Ryan McMahon look at first?

There are plenty of possibilities but it seems the Rockies would benefit from bringing in another bat at first base.

In our last slide, we talked about what Colorado’s outfield might look like if Desmond was playing first base. The thought of a Dahl/Blackmon/Parra outfield is very intriguing. However, that is assuming that Dahl can step back into the fold after missing the 2017 season with a rib injury.

It seems unlikely that Carlos Gonzalez will be back in a Rockies uniform in 2018 so Colorado will need to find a bat to replace CarGo. Yes, CarGo struggled for the majority of last season but heated up down the stretch when the Rockies needed him the most.

The Rockies have been linked to Jay Bruce in several reports, which could give the Rockies some power in the outfield. A left-handed power-hitting right fielder that could take CarGo’s place would be a perfect fit … if Colorado fans can overlook that he won’t be the defensive stalwart that CarGo was for so many years at Coors.

In a perfect world, the Rockies would win the offseason by inking J.D. Martinez and having him patrol right field. He has told teams that he would rather play outfield than be a designated hitter and the Rockies would be more than happy to see him in right field. At his current price tag, it likely won’t happen … but we can dream, right?

Next: Is Iannetta really the solution for Colorado behind the plate?

Even if isn’t Bruce or Martinez, Colorado will need to find another bat for the outfield to bolster their lineup.

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The Colorado Rockies made some noise during the recent Winter Meetings, being one of the most active teams as they were involved in multiple rumors and made two big signings during the time in Orlando.

More from Rox Pile

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