Players from each non-contender that the Colorado Rockies should look at

One issue in Major League Baseball this season has been the disparity between the “haves” and “have nots.” Entering June 2, there are nine teams that, at their current pace, would lose 90 or more games, including five teams on pace for 100 or more losses. In the American League alone, there are 10 teams that are at least 4.5 games back of the 2nd Wild Card spot. In the National League, however, there are more teams that are competing as there are only five teams that aren’t within five games of the 2nd Wild Card spot, and three are in the NL West.

With the month of June being underway, it is often the time that people, like us here at Rox Pile, start talking about the July 31 trade deadline. The Rockies are in first place in the NL West but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need to make some improvements.

With the level of disparity between the “haves” and “have nots” with about a third of the schedule completed, we will look at one player on each team that is what we consider to be a “non-contender.” This can be a team that is just down right not good or a team that, even though they may be around .500 in the standings, might sell anyways or will have an uphill battle at a Wild Card spot and/or their division.

So, without further ado, let’s start in the league that the Rockies reside in: the National League West.

NOTE: All stats are current as of the start of games on June 2.

The Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers enter Saturday with a record of 27-31, which is good enough for third place in the NL West. The reigning National League Champs have not fired on all cylinders at all in 2018. This has been due to injuries and a weak offense. They have had Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Rich Hill, and Clayton Kershaw out for most of the season.

Also, players like Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig have been below league average offensively.

Even though the Rockies are in the same division as the Dodgers, there chance of getting an everyday player in a trade is slim to none. So, it would be more of a bench bat that the Rockies could explore getting.

For that, Logan Forsythe fits the bill. The Rockies backup infielders have been atrocious this season as combined, Pat Valaika and Daniel Castro have an OPS of .812. That’s good…for one person. Both of them have average and on-base percentages lower than .200 and even Valaika’s slugging percentage is below .200.

For Forsythe, he has seen a drastic decrease in his offensive production since going to LA but it is still much better than what the Rockies currently have. He has struggled more in 2018 but he has been hampered by injuries. He has a .205/.255/.295 slash line in 94 plate appearances. However, since May 19 (12 games), he is 11-for-36 with 3 doubles, 2 RBI, and a slash line of .305/.366/.389.

If the Rockies were to acquire him, he would provide them with good playoff experience as, last season for the Dodgers, in 46 plate appearances, he had a .297/.435/.351 slash line with 11 hits, 9 walks, and 6 RBI.

Considering that Forsythe is a free agent at the end of the season and he’s making a decent amount of money ($9 million), he wouldn’t take an arm and a leg to acquire.

The San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants, comparatively speaking to the Dodgers, are less of a threat to the Rockies in the Wild Card spots or division.

Along the same lines as the Dodgers, though, they almost certainly won’t send one of their biggest names to a team in the same division. However, if they are, the Rockies could REALLY use a Madison Bumgarner, who is a free agent after this season if the Giants don’t exercise their team option for $12 million for next season.

However, in thinking of more realistic terms, Pablo Sandoval might be an option for the Rockies. He was a total bust for the Boston Red Sox but he has been better since he returned to San Francisco. In 2018, he has a slash line of .263/.326/.388, which is obviously much better than the Rockies current infield bench options. He has also played third base, first base, and, believe it or not, second base for the Giants this year.

The career .344/.389/.545 postseason hitter could also provide the Rockies a good bench bat with 39 games of postseason experience, including three World Series rings and a World Series MVP.

He is making league minimum this year and is a free agent after the season so he is another option that, while in the Rockies division, could be a potential target.

The San Diego Padres

The Padres are in a very similar spot as the Dodgers and Giants: they most likely won’t give their best pieces (i.e. Brad Hand) to a division rival and quite frankly, the Rockies wouldn’t want to give their best prospects (i.e. Brendan Rodgers) to them just to have them beat the Rockies to a pulp down the line.

To be totally honest with you, the Padres don’t have many players of any use for the Rockies that aren’t Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer, or Brad Hand on their roster. Really, the only other player who could potentially provide the Rockies with help is Tyson Ross.

Ross is one of the starting pitchers that we featured in this article about starting pitching targets yesterday.

As I said in that article, though, he is a back end of the rotation piece and, considering that the Rockies back end of the rotation actually isn’t the problem but actually the front end (because Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson, their two most veteran starters, both have ERA’s north of 5.00).

As a result of that, Ross is not really a great fit for the Rockies, for both already being in the division and not being what the Rockies truly need.

Now, we move on to the NL Central.

The Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are an interesting team in the National League. They are in 4th place in the NL Central but they have the same exact record as the Rockies, who are in 1st place in the NL West. This is after they traded their two best players, Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen, away during the offseason.

However, with being in fourth place and having strong teams ahead of them, like the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates are pretenders, in my mind.

Considering how Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra have struggled at the plate (86 OPS+ and 76 OPS+), one player that could really help the Rockies out is former Rockie Corey Dickerson. One of our contributors, David Sharp, actually looked back at the trade that sent Dickerson to Tampa.

Dickerson was, surprisingly, designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays this past offseason, after an All-Star campaign in 2017. When the Rays did that, we even made the case for the Rockies to sign him but, alas, they did not. So, we will make this case for trading for him.

In 53 games, he has a .314/.349/.495 slash line, a 129 OPS+, 64 hits, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, 32 RBI. That puts him on pace for 196 hits, 49 doubles, 10 triples, 16 homers, 98 RBI, and only 68 strikeouts (he had 152 in 2017).

Dickerson is making slightly less than $6 million this year and is still arbitration eligible next year before hitting free agency so the Rockies, if they traded for him, would have him for 2019 as well.

The Cincinnati Reds

For the Cincinnati Reds, they have actually improved off their horrid 3-15 start that cost their manager, Bryan Price, his job. Since then, under new manager Jim Riggleman, the Reds are 18-22.  However, they are still in dead last and still on pace to lose over 100 games.

The main thing that the Rockies need is starting pitching but that is the last thing that the Reds have, because they have virtually no starting pitching. In fact, they have a starter’s ERA of 4.93, which is second worst in the NL.

The main target that Rockies should have with the Reds is Scooter Gennett. Gennett has expressed how he does not want to be traded (because he’s from the Cincinnati area) but considering the Reds current situation, they can (and probably should) try to get something out of Gennett.

This season, he has 72 hits, 11 home runs, 39 RBI, a .341/.378/.559 slash line, and a 152 OPS+. That puts him on pace for 209 hits, 38 doubles, 32 home runs, and 113 RBI.

He also won the NL Player of the Month Award for the month of May, when he had 8 HRs, 24 RBI, and a slash line of .398/.418/.720.

He has exclusively played second base this season for the Reds but he did play some other positions for the Reds last year, including third base, left field, and right field.

Another player that the Rockies could look at is Matt Harvey, since he has done well in Cincinnati (3.72 ERA in 4 starts), but considering how he was the Mets (and his off the field antics), he might not be the best fit for the Rockies.

The Rockies could also look at some of their relievers, including Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, and Jared Hughes, all of whom have sub-2.00 ERAs.

The Rockies could also consider players like Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez but due to their contractual status or position on the field, they aren’t that realistic.

The Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are another team that is in dead last, as they are on pace for more than 100 losses.

Realistically, the Rockies could use two of their main pieces but if they had to choose one, I would say that the Rockies should go for Justin Bour.

This season, Bour has had a batting average that is a bit lower than his usual but the other two numbers in his slash are good. He has a slash of .234/.374/.433, which is good enough for a 131 OPS+. He has 10 home runs and 24 RBI, which puts him on pace for 30 HRs and 71 RBI. He is also on pace for 112 walks this season.

That is a vast improvement over Ian Desmond at first base. Additionally, Bour is only making a total of $3.4 million this year and is arbitration eligible for the next two seasons.

Catcher JT Realmuto is another good option for the Rockies, as he has a .313/.373/.535 slash (151 OPS+) in 159 plate appearances. He also has two more years of team control after this season.

The New York Mets

The New York Mets are 27-28, which is good enough for 4th place in the NL East. Considering that they have three teams ahead of them and all of the injuries that they have (they have 13 players on the disabled list), I think that they will eventually be sellers.

One piece that the Rockies could trade for is first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. My colleague Kevin Henry spoke in December about how Gonzalez could be a fit for the Rockies but, obviously, that never came to fruition.

He signed with the Mets and has done a nice job in bouncing back from his down year in 2017. On the year, in 47 games, he has a .260/325/.411 slash line with 6 home runs and 26 RBI and an OPS+ of 104. It’s not lighting the world on fire but he is playing slightly above MLB average, which is a vast improvement over what the Rockies have seen at first base.

In addition, as mentioned in Kevin’s article from December, in 88 career games at Coors, Gonzalez has posted a .307/.380/.539 line with an OPS of .918.

He also has 34 games of postseason experience in which he had a slash of .266/.329/.453 with 7 home runs and 21 RBI.

He is getting paid a boatload for the season, $22.357 million to be exact, but the Mets are only on the hook for just the league minimum of that salary as the Braves are paying the rest of it because they DFA’d him in December as soon as they acquired him from the Dodgers.

Another potential option for the Rockies is Jose Bautista, as he has done well in a Mets uniform (161 OPS+) in 11 games. Both Gonzalez and Bautista would not require much to get in a trade since they are both free agents at the end of the season.

The Texas Rangers

With the parity between the “haves” and “have nots” being particularly apparent in the American League, it is easy to see that the Rangers are not contenders. They are already 12.5 games back for the 2nd AL Wild Card spot and they are 13.5 back in the division. They are on pace to go 65-97 when the next lowest team in the division is on pace for an 84-78 season.

The best piece that the have that would benefit the Rockies would be Cole Hamels. We discussed him in the starting pitchers article we had yesterday.

He could be a guy that would provide the Rockies with a veteran starter with postseason experience and excellent postseason experience at that as he has an ERA of 3.48 in 16 postseason starts.

Particularly in 2008, when he was with the Phillies, he won both the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP because he was so dominant (overall, in five postseason starts in 2008, he had an ERA of 1.80) so, obviously, he was a big reason in why the Phillies won their first World Series in 28 years.

He is a free agent at the end of the season but there is a team option for $20 million for the 2019  season so, if the Rockies were to trade for him, they could have him for 1 1/2 seasons instead of just half a season.

The Oakland Athletics

The Athletics are another peculiar team in baseball as they have a record of 30-28. However, they are in fourth place. They will not win the division as the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros will win the division again. However, two of the three biggest threats for the two Wild Card spots are in the same division so by the end of July, the A’s could find themselves being sellers, even if they are over .500.

If they do decide to sell, the main player that the Rockies should look at acquiring (or, in this case, reacquiring) catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Lucroy did an excellent job with the Rockies in the final two months of the season. The Rockies are hoped to resign him this past offseason but he was, initially, asking too much and, as a result, they decided to sign Chris Iannetta to his second tenure with the Rockies.

In 2018, he has a slash line of .265/.321/.368 and an OPS+ of 92, which is slightly better than Iannetta’s .234/.333/.395 slash and 86 OPS+.

Lucroy’s contract with the A’s was only for 1 year and $6.5 million so if the Rockies were to try to acquire Lucroy for the second time in as many seasons, he, again, would not cost much in return.

The Chicago White Sox

There should be one player that you should think of immediately think of when you think Rockies/White Sox trade. That player should be Jose Abreu.

We discussed some specifics on what the Rockies would have to give the White Sox in return for Abreu in this article. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and MLB Network had a proposal that we mention in that article that, in my mind, wouldn’t even be in the ballpark of what the White Sox would ask for Abreu, let alone White Sox closer Nate Jones, who was also involved in Heyman’s proposal.

On the season thus far, he has a .301/.362/.526 slash line with 63 hits, 9 home runs, 31 RBI, an American League leading 20 doubles, and a 143 OPS+. That puts him on pace for 193 hits, 62 doubles (the all-time single season is 67 by Earl Webb in 1933), 28 home runs, and 95 RBI.

If the Rockies were to acquire Abreu, they would obviously have control of him through the rest of this season but he is also arbitration eligible for the 2019 season as well. He would be eligible for free agency after the 2019 season.

Another potential player that the Rockies could look at to shore up the bullpen (didn’t think I’d be saying that when the season started) is the aforementioned White Sox Nate Jones.

The Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins, as we discussed in the aforementioned article on potential starting pitching options on the trade market yesterday, have just not fired whatsoever in 2018 after winning 85 games in 2017, which was enough to get them the 2nd AL Wild Card spot. They enter Saturday with a record of 23-30, which is 5.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians, who are the reigning AL Central Division champions.

One of the pieces that they hoped to help boost them was first baseman Logan Morrison. On the season, he has a .194/.314/352 slash line, which is equivalent to an OPS+ of 84.

That is after his 38 home run, 85 RBI season last year in which he had a .246/.353/.516 slash line with the Tampa Bay Rays.

As you can see by the stats, he has not been great in 2018 but, as with just about every other first baseman in baseball, he has played better than Rockies first baseman Ian Desmond.

Morrison is also playing for much less than Desmond is as this season, he is making $5.5 million. There is also a team option for $8 million for the 2019 season, which can increase depending on how many plate appearances he has this season.

Other potential options that the Rockies could look at on the Twins is Jake Odorizzi, who we mentioned in the starting pitching market article, Addison Reed, and Lance Lynn.

The Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers, despite being a team that isn’t all that great on paper, have actually done fairly well. They are in second place in AL Central with a 27-30 record. However, like at least 2 teams in their division and potentially three, they will still probably be sellers at the trade deadline.

The player that the Rockies should take a closer look at in acquiring is right fielder Nicholas Castellanos. He has, quietly, had an excellent season for the Tigers. In 54 games, he has a slash line of .339/.382/.532 with 6 home runs, 30 RBI, 74 hits, and 18 doubles.

That puts him on pace for an astounding 222 hits (that’s not a typo), 54 doubles, 18 home runs, and 90 RBI.

With him being an outfield bat and a right-handed outfield bat at that, he is another guy that could provide the Rockies with a boost offensively.

Contractually, he is making slightly over $6 million this season and he is still arbitration eligible in the 2019 season before becoming a free agent.

Another option that the Rockies could show interest in is starting pitcher Michael Fulmer, who is yet another pitcher that we mentioned as a trade candidate.

The Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are the worst team in baseball by record. They are on pace for a 48-114 record, which would be one of the worst seasons of all time.

As a result of that and being in the same division as the Red Sox and Yankees, they are already behind the Yankees in the division by a mind boggling 21.5 games and they are 18.5 back in the Wild Card hunt.

They have a lot of players who are slated to be free agents at the end of the season so they, perhaps, will be the biggest seller of all of these teams.

In my opinion, the Rockies biggest target should be Adam Jones. He is one of the many impending free agents that the Orioles have. He has not played as well this season but he, like most players, would probably like to be on a winner. However, since he has 10-and-5 rights (a minimum of 10 years in the league and at least five of those seasons with the same team), he has a no-trade clause.

This season, the Orioles center fielder has 9 home runs and 26 RBI with a .278/.297/.458 slash line and a 104 OPS+. He is on pace for 186 hits, 42 doubles, 27 home runs, and 77 RBI.

The 4-time Gold Glove Award winner has regressed defensively in the past few years but with playing a corner outfield position for the Rockies (because the Rockies wouldn’t, or at least shouldn’t, displace Charlie Blackmon for Jones), he could fare better defensively, offensively, and make a trip to the postseason.

Other option that the Rockies could consider are Orioles closer Brad Brach, former closer Zach Britton (who has been injured all season but is due to come of the DL early this month), Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner, or Alex Cobb.

The Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Hays have faltered after a hot start to the season as they have a record of 25-32, which is 13.5 games back of the Yankees and 10 back of the second AL Wild Card spot.

They have a few impending free agents on their roster but the player that could help the Rockies the most is Justin Smoak.

The switch-hitting first baseman was a first-time All Star last season and he has 38 home runs, 90 RBI with a .270/.355/.529 slash line, and a 129 OPS+. In 2018, he is on pace for 26 home runs and 93 RBI in 2018 with a slash line of .247/.379/.445. He is also on pace for 39 doubles as well.

This season, he is only making $4.125 million this season and can be a free agent next season. However, there is a team option for $6 million for next season, and the amount could increase depending on his total plate appearances for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Another player that the Rockies should look into that is on the Blue Jays is left-handed starter J.A. Happ, who is yet another option that we mentioned as somebody that will probably be on the trade market.

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The Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have been treading water in the AL East as they have a .500 record at 28-28. They are much like the Pittsburgh Pirates, considering that they have a respectable record that is surprising considering that they got rid of one (or more) of their franchise players this past offseason.

However, the Rays have already shown that they will be sellers as they have already traded outfielder Denard Span and their closer Alex Colome to the Seattle Mariners a few weeks ago.

It is a reasonable assumption to guess that they will continue with selling and the biggest player that they have, and the player that could best help the Rockies, is Chris Archer.

Archer could become the Rockies ace for a long time due to his contract. As we mentioned in the aforementioned article about starting pitching targets for the Rockies, his contract is very team friendly as he only making just over $6.4 million this season and in 2019, $7.66 million. There are two team options for 2020 and 2021 for $9 million and $11 million.

Because of this, he would take a haul to get but, as my colleague Kevin Henry talked about last week in this article, there is a chance for the Rockies to get him.

Two other options could be catcher Wilson Ramos and first baseman CJ Cron.

Final Thoughts

Obviously, some of these moves are more likely than others, based on the team/division they are in, whether or not they start winning more or losing more, or how they fit with the Rockies.

Next: A look at the starting pitching options on the trade market

However, the Rockies need to acquire at least one of the players that we have mentioned to help themselves, both in the regular season and in the postseason. They owe it to their current players and you, the fans, to go all in…because the NL West is wide open.