Colorado Rockies: A potential trade with the Texas Rangers?

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ARLINGTON, TX – MAY 05: Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers watches the ball on a solo home run in the second inning of a baseball game agaisnt the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Park in Arlington on May 5, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

On Thursday morning’s edition of MLB Network’s morning show, MLB Central, they came up with a potential trade proposal that could help the Colorado Rockies in more ways than one.

We here at Rox Pile have discussed how they have been awful offensively in 2018, but particularly, at first base. In fact, at the first base position as a team, they have a offensive slash line of .166/.256/.299. All three stats are far and away the worst of all 30 MLB teams at the position, as the next lowest number in each category is .189/.269/.327.

The main person who has played first base has been Ian Desmond, who is the main culprit of the Rockies stats being so atrocious at first base offensively. That’s why we have also discussed some potential candidates to be acquired to play first base for the Rockies.

Trade rumors have been brewing already because, even though it’s only May 18, there are already eight teams that are on pace to lose 99 or more games, so the “haves” and “have-nots” have separated themselves.

One of those eight teams are the Texas Rangers. One of the players that they have who had been a first baseman previously was Joey Gallo. He is currently splitting time between left field and first base.

So, on MLB Network, they proposed a trade that would send Gallo to Colorado. But how much of a fit could Gallo actually be?

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 27: Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 27, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Before discuss what the Rockies could send in return, you may ask what Gallo’s stats look like in 2018 thus far.

In 2018, he has had a mixed bag, depending on what you are looking for. His slash line in 2018 is .200/.281/.475. The first two numbers are not ones that are particularly great but the slugging percentage is great. Also, he is currently tied for the lead in the AL in home runs with 13. He’s on pace to hit 49 home runs and 102 RBI. Globe Life Park in Arlington is a hitter’s park but it’s nothing compared to Coors Field. If he were to play half of his games at Coors Field, he could easily hit 60+ homers.

However, he also strikes out in droves. If there is something more than droves, he would qualify in that category. He has played in 43 games and he has struck out 61 times. That puts him on pace for an alarming 230 times. If that pace continues, he would beat the old all-time single season record put forth by former Rockie Mark Reynolds with his 223 strikeouts in 2009, when he was with the Diamondbacks.

Looking at his contract, Gallo is only making a little over the league minimum in 2018 as he is making $560,000. He’s not even arbitration eligible until the 2019-2020 offseason and he’s not free agent eligible until the 2022-2023 offseason

So, the home runs and RBI are great (and have a potential to be even greater at Coors Field) but you would also have to take the bad with the low average and high strikeout rate.

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 06: Ian Desmond #20 of the Colorado Rockies connects on a solo home run in the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on May 6, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

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Ian Desmond is somebody that Rockies fans loathe and for one good reason: he’s not good and, since he’s getting paid a ton, he’s still being played.

However, in the proposal that Mark DeRosa put forward on MLB Central on Thursday (and a proposal that was backed up by Ken Rosenthal and former MLB general manager John Hart right then by them saying it was a “good idea”), Desmond would be in that deal…and the Rangers would pay for the rest of his contract.

The more I think about it, the more a deal makes sense to me. Here’s the reason’s why:

The Rockies get a first baseman who gives them a lot of power, which they desperately need
A first baseman is young (Gallo turns 24 in November)
A first baseman is under team control until 2023
The Rockies get rid of Ian Desmond
They get rid of Ian Desmond’s contract
The Rangers farm system is pretty depleted, especially for a team that is rebuilding
While not one of the top few in baseball, the Rockies have a better farm system than the Rangers, so they could give them a few prospects.
Ian Desmond played very well in a Rangers uniform, as he was an All-Star and had a .285/.335/.446 slash line with them in 2016.
The two teams have recent history of a trade (the Jonathan Lucroy trade last July) so each side knows the other (personally and their prospects) well.

The prospects are something that would be flexible depending on whether or not the Rangers would pay all of Desmond’s salary. If Desmond is included in general, the price that the Rockies have to pay goes up and, obviously, the more that the Rangers pay of Desmond’s salary, the Rockies would have to pay even more/give them better and/or more prospects.

Next: Some other first base options that the Rockies should look into

It seems to me that this idea for a trade is one that could help out both sides significantly.

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On Thursday morning’s edition of MLB Network’s morning show, MLB Central, they came up with a potential trade proposal that could help the Colorado Rockies in more ways than one.

More from Rox Pile

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