Colorado Rockies: The case for and against adding three free agents

Carlos Gonzalez (2017 with Colorado) — .262/.339/.423 with 14 home runs and 72 RBI in 534 plate appearances.

CarGo is projected by Baseball Reference to post a .270/.335/.476 slash in 2018 with 22 homers and 72 RBI. That is in 530 plate appearances. Could he reach that number with the Rockies knowing Dahl could return this season and the potential emergence of Tapia?

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Using the Steamer projection on FanGraphs, CarGo is slotted for 14 homers and 40 RBI in 332 plate appearances along with a .259/.324/.461 slash line. The 332 plate appearances seem more realistic if CarGo were to return to Denver, serving in more of a split role.

While Gonzalez would bring his leadership to the Rockies if he were to re-sign with the team, it is hard to put out of mind the year that CarGo had last season and some of the frustration his slump brought to the team and the lineup. Certainly, he found his stride in September when the Rockies needed it most and credited solving some sleep problems as one of the main reasons. However, can the Rockies trust that trend to continue in 2018? It’s a gamble and one that may be worth the millions of dollars it takes to bring CarGo back, even for a season.

CarGo joins Dahl, Blackmon, Parra, Tapia and Tauchman as left-handed bats. Is that too much of a good thing? Quite possibly. The same could be said for Corey Dickerson, who we will examine on the next page.