Colorado Rockies sign Wade Davis: Now what should their game plan be?

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 29: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies hits a RBI single in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on September 29, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 29: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies hits a RBI single in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on September 29, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Colorado Rockies have made an excellent offseason move on Friday morning: locking up 6-foot-5 reliever Wade Davis for a guaranteed three years, and an option for a fourth. This crossed a key box off of the signing list for the Rockies: Get a reliable closer. Problems still remain throughout the roster, but this definitely puts the Colorado Rockies in the right direction.

Here is how the Rockies can turn what’s already been a good offseason to one of the most productive off seasons in their history.

As you can first assume, this will end negotiations with Greg Holland. It’s not like he wasn’t reliable, because he had a historic season by Rockies’ standards. But Holland is asking for about the same amount of cash the team just dealt Wade Davis. That is simply too much money to invest just to have two relievers who combined won’t often go more than three innings or so.

Get Charlie Blackmon to agree to a long-term deal

This seems to be on the back burner to the decision makers in the Rockies organization, but they absolutely need to get this taken care of. Blackmon was maybe the most key player on the entire roster last season, and will only get better. However, in 2019, Blackmon has every right to play elsewhere.

More from Rox Pile

The fan favorite superstar has expressed a lot of interest in playing for the Rockies for an extensive amount of time. I would much rather get him committed this year rather than allowing him to view offers from other teams and being forced into competing with other teams for him.

At the very least, sit down with him during the season and get him on a long-term deal.

Find a “new Greg Holland”

Last offseason for the Rockies meant taking very conservative risks. After signing all star Ian Desmond, the Rockies made two low-priced moves to add to their bullpen: Mike Dunn and Holland. Dunn was a solid reliever, but Holland proved to be much more valuable than his contract might suggest. And while Holland turned out to be a one-season addition, his presence was certainly felt on one of the few rosters that made a push into the playoffs.

Colorado did an excellent job with these kind of moves last year. Why not sign a pair of young relievers to low or even minimum contracts and hope for one of them to play better than expectations? At the very worst, you lose out on an almost irrelevant number of cash. The best scenario will give the Rockies a great seventh or eighth inning bullpen guy that can really help push the Rockies into the “contenders.”

Next: Should the Rockies trade Charlie Blackmon? We have some ideas...

Luckily for Rockies fans, there  is actually not too much to be done as far as adding big pieces. In fact, Wade Davis could be the final big addition the Rockies really need. At this point, they need no more than to polish around the bullpen and select five of their seven starters to be the core rotation.