Colorado Rockies: who should they target in free agency?

The Colorado Rockies have made have been one of the more active teams this offseason as the free agent and trade markets have been surprisingly stagnant. However, the Rockies and many other teams still need to address some areas.

The Rockies have made a couple moves in the offseason thus far. They have signed Bryan Shaw, a right-handed reliever formerly of the Cleveland Indians. They also brought catcher Chris Iannetta back to the organization after spending the 2017 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies have also re-signed left hander Jake McGee, who was a key piece in the Rockies bullpen that was vastly improved in 2017.

There are still moves the Rockies need to make despite the three signings. I will be listing potential free agents the Rockies should target based upon their needs at certain positions.

It’s easy to say that second base, shortstop, third base, and center field are all but taken care of with DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, Nolan Arenado, and Charlie Blackmon occupying those places on the diamond. The positions that the Rockies should look to strengthen are the starting rotation, bullpen, first base and the outfield. I will be looking at free agents that could bolster those positions.

First Base

The biggest first base free agent is former Kansas City Royals, Eric Hosmer. He would be the biggest splash the Rockies could make in free agency, however it would come at a major cost (almost assuredly over $20 million a year for at least seven years).

I’m not sure if that’s a move the Rockies want to make, considering they gave Ian Desmond (who is supposed to be their starting first baseman) a five-year $70 million contract. Desmond hasn’t played to expectations and that is why first base is such a high priority for the Rockies.

So without spending a ton of money, there are some other options the Rockies can turn too. Logan Morrison is one of the younger first base free agents. Last year he played for the Tampa Bay Rays and hit .246 and has very good power, hitting 38 home runs.

Another possible first baseman the Rockies could go after is Yonder Alonso. Alonso played first base for the Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners last season. He hit .266 with 28 home runs.

Among the available first base free agents, Morrison and Alonso are second and fourth in WAR, respectively.

The question remains if the Rockies should risk signing a first baseman, when they already have a lot of money at the position in Ian Desmond. This isn’t an easy decision, because it all comes down to how much trust the Rockies have in Desmond to perform.

J.D. Martinez is the biggest name on the outfielder market. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Outfield

The position that is the Rockies next priority is the outfield. They have nothing to worry about when it comes to centerfield, but what about right and left, especially with Carlos Gonzalez becoming a free agent.

The Rockies do have some young talent that could fill those vacancies. Raimel Tapia is a speedy outfielder who hit .288 for the Rockies last season. He doesn’t have much power (only hit 16 home runs), but is a great contact hitter with tremendous speed.

The Rockies also have David Dahl who many forget about because he was hurt all last year with a back injury. In 2016, his rookie season, he had a great year hitting .315 in 63 games. It will be interesting to see if he has the same production coming off of a year-long back injury.

A veteran option the Rockies can also turn to is Gerardo Parra who had a great 2017 season hitting .309, but his value came defensively in the outfield as he always seemed to make great plays.

Let’s say the Rockies sign a first baseman, but they don’t want to waste the money they spent on Desmond. Luckily, Desmond has experience in the outfield so the Rockies could always move him there.

None of these players have consistently proved themselves as starting outfielders, so it would be smart for the Rockies to look at the free agent market.

Outfield Free Agents

There are two free agents that the Rockies should target. The first the Rockies are very familiar with coming from the NL West, J.D. Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Martinez is probably one of the hottest free agents and definitely the biggest outfield name. Last year, Martinez hit .303 with 104 RBI and 45 home runs, which was third in the MLB. He would bring power to a lineup in dire need of some pop.

The other free agent option is Jay Bruce who played for the New York Mets and the Cleveland Indians last year. He hit .254 with 101 RBI and 36 home runs.

Both Bruce and Martinez would bring power to the Rockies lineup. Martinez would come at a high cost, but the Rockies would be getting him in his prime. As for Bruce, he wouldn’t be as efficient but would be more of a discount.

Again, it comes down to whether the Rockies feel the need to go out and spend money when they already have players who can fill the role. However, those players have yet to prove themselves.

Starting Pitching

The third priority for the Rockies should be starting pitching. The Rockies have a lot of young, talented pitchers, but again most of them have yet to prove their consistency. They also lost one of their more experienced pitchers in Tyler Chatwood.

I wouldn’t consider this a huge need for the Rockies given how many starting pitchers they have. However, if they were to target someone I think it should be a talented veteran who can help groom the many young pitchers the Rockies have.

A possible target could be Jake Arrieta who played for the Chicago Cubs last season. He had a 3.53 ERA and 163 strikeouts. Arrieta would be a costly addition but he would add talented veteran experience. He would also bring a high strikeout rate to a rotation that doesn’t produce many strikeouts.

A less expensive option could also be former Texas Rangers pitcher, Andrew Cashner. Last season, Cashner had a 3.40 ERA with 86 strikeouts. What stands out about Cashner is his WAR which was 4.6 compared to Arrieta’s 1.9.

Both of these options would be great pickups, but might be more money than the Rockies want to spend on starting pitching, since they already have a lot of options.

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Free Agent Predictions

Here’s what I think the Rockies should do:

1. Sign Logan Morrison as their first baseman. There is a lot more questions at first than the other positions. Have Desmond and Morrison battle it out for the starting job. Or have Morrison start at first while giving Desmond a chance to prove himself in the outfield.
2. Since the signing of Morrison will give them even more options in the outfield. Therefore, they shouldn’t need to sign an outfielder. Rockies manager Bud Black will be able to use Gerardo Parra, David Dahl, Raimel Tapia, and Ian Desmond to mix and match at right field and left field. For Dahl, this is depending on whether or not he is healthy (especially at the start of the season).
3. Since they haven’t spent that much on free agents (Morrison shouldn’t be too costly), they can spend the big bucks on either a starting pitcher or a closer. I think they should sign Holland for a decent amount of money. Then use the remaining money to try to get Cashner (Arrieta would never come to Colorado).

Once it’s all said and done. The Rockies will have a first baseman in Morrison, bring back Holland as their closer, and pick up a talented, veteran starting pitcher in Cashner.