Colorado Rockies: Stop playing like a small market team

The Colorado Rockies are proving themselves to be a top team to watch out for since their turnaround from 2016 to 2017. No longer are they a team that is to be underestimated. The Rox have everything going for them and all they have to do is shoot their shot. So, if they have the backing of not only the fans but the front office as well, why are they playing like a small market team? Colorado is climbing the mountain and once they are on top, it’s go big or go home.

Let’s call it like we see it: the 2018 free agent class is subpar. They are holding out for more money that they won’t get and teams are waiting to spend for 2019. There just seems to be a chain of arguments on who is to blame when teams that aren’t trying to go big have an actual reason.

The reason why is actually quite smart. Some of the teams have turned to a philosophy of “we’ll tank some seasons to go bank some seasons.” In other words, teams are willingly want to lose as they rebuild completely in order to win a few years down the road. You may inquire on which team was actually successful with that, so I’ll give you two … the Astros and the Cubs. They brought up their teams from the ground up and won big.

Now, I’m not touting that doing that is all bad, because it’s truly not and it’s a trend that teams will jump on the bandwagon for. However, there are plenty of teams that aren’t taking that route. It’s either because their payroll is extremely big or they have the majority of their team well put together. I believe the Rockies fall into that second tier.

Let’s just review the facts, the Rox will most likely contend for the near future. I can’t make an assumption and say that’ll they’ll be first in the National League Wild Card, but it’s very possible. They have answered some of their offseason questions and solved a few minor things. They are investing in a young core and developing even more young guys that have Spring Training invites.

But I think they can do more.

When I say more, I don’t mean this year, as Colorado has probably finished spending what they want to spend. The next coming years will be vital to see if they continue their push to contention.

As you probably know, there will be quite a few Rockies who have their contracts expire following the 2018 and 2019 season. The biggest ones are Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, and Nolan Arenado. In my eyes, it’s scary knowing that the Rockies will barely have a hold on these top tier players. The big thing to think about, though, is how to get them to come back.

More from Rox Pile

In order for the Rockies to keep these guys in Denver, it may just take the Rockies to acting like a team that has a big payroll (while still trying to stay within their means). GM Jeff Bridich and the front office have to show the players that even though they got back to the postseason this season (which will probably happen), that they want to do even better and go even further (especially if they don’t advance past the Wild Card Game).

The pattern of doing that has started with the signings of Wade Davis and Bryan Shaw. Here’s the catch with those guys: You only have them for three years, which means the Rox only have so much time to really prove themselves in the next few seasons. To be able to keep everyone that made extreme contributions to the franchise, they must act like they’re the Yankees or Dodgers.

How do you do that? Well, first, they need to get some trades going for some incredible prospects or a veteran that’s in his prime.

With the free agent market in the condition that it is, perhaps offering one of the players a contract may help as I’ve already made the case for signing J.D. Martinez. The Rockies have to be cautious when it comes to that though because if they focus on one thing too much it might come back to bite them.

Takeaways

It’s a hard-fought climb to get to the top, but it’s an even harder fall down that mountain. The Rockies want to win, obviously, but it just gets more complicated when your top guys’ contracts are about to be up.

It gets even worse when that you’re trying to build up a World Series caliber team and you only have so many years to do so. It’s not impossible and the Rockies are on track and continue to follow the same agenda as the Cubbies and Astros. This continuation of building an amazing team in order for the front office to succeed.

Next: Scott Boras is killing the offseason

In doing so, the Rockies have to come terms with the fact that they must stop playing like a small market team.

Home/Colorado Rockies News