Colorado Rockies roundtable: Analysis of the trade deadline

With today being August 1 and the trade deadline coming and passing, we here at Rox Pile have decided to do a roundtable of some of our contributors and experts on what our thoughts on how the trade deadline went for the Colorado Rockies.

The Colorado Rockies enter the month of August with a XXX record, in XXX place. Some people are content with what they did at the trade deadline and some are not. Overall, the Rockies only made one trade (the acquisition of Seunghwan Oh) but they also made some minor league signings, including reliever Santiago Casilla, former Rockie Matt Holliday, and they are talking with their former closer Greg Holland on a minor league deal.

Obviously, the Rockies could also make some moves in August, whether that be waiver claims, minor league free agent signings, or trades (and all players would have to clear waivers) but it is a bit harder to do (you can see more info on how they work and the Rockies history with them in this article).

But since we obviously don’t know what moves the Rockies will make in the month of August, we will discuss which NL team is to beat (especially if it changed), which team (AL or NL) won the deadline, and grade the Rockies deadline with a letter grade and why. So let’s get started with contributor, Quinn Ritzdorf.

Quinn Ritzdorf’s analysis

Team to beat

The LA Dodgers were the team to beat before they made the best trade during the deadline (more with that in a little). After trading for Machado, they put an even larger target on their backs. The Dodgers started the season extremely slow, but a team with that much talent and experience won’t be down for long and they proved it.

They now lead the NL West by a half a game. I think what makes them the team to beat even more than the added talent of Machado is the fact that they have won the NL West five years in a row. If the Rockies want to make the playoffs, they will need to win against the Dodgers more than they lose.

Rockies Trade

I like the addition of Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies bullpen, which is probably the team’s weakest area. My favorite things about Oh is that he is an experienced veteran and experience as a closer. He over 13 season of experience, eleven of those season were in Japan and Korea. What worries me is that he only has two complete seasons at the MLB level. However, during those two and a half seasons, he has a career ERA of 2.81 and an opponent batting average of .228. The other downside of trading for Oh is that he has a 50.4% fly ball rate (13^th highest in MLB). Obviously, when pitching in the thin air of Coors Field, pitchers want to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible. The high fly ball rate of Oh could lead to more home runs than he usually gives up.

The Rockies gave the Blue Jays Double AA outfielder prospect Forrest Wall, Single A first base prospect Chad Spanberger, and a player to be named or cash. The Rockies are stacked with outfield prospects and have two first base prospects ranked higher than Spanberger, so trading Wall and Spanberger won’t hurt that much. However, Wall and Spanberger are ranked 13 and 24, respectively, on the Rockies top 30 prospect list. Also ever since Helton retired, the Rockies have struggled filling his spot at first base, so trading a first base prospect doesn’t help. The thing with prospects is that you never know what they will turn into. If Oh performs now and helps solidifies the Rockies bullpen, it won’t matter how Wall or Spanberger turn out.

Overall Trade Grade: B-

Olivia Greene’s analysis

Team who won the trade deadline

It’s, honestly, a tie between the Red Sox and Yankees. They worked their butts off during July trade wise and made acquisitions needed to strengthen their respective teams. The Red Sox got a starter and two solid position players and even saw that the starter has already adjusted getting a win in his first appearance. The Yankees saw where the problem was and went right into pitching. Getting two starters and a reliever was great to add with the rotation and bullpen they already have. In the end, both teams got what they essentially desired and didn’t have spend an arm and a leg for it.

Who’s the team to beat in the NL?

The Colorado Rockies are in the top three as of now in the NL West, which would automatically make the team or in this case teams to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. That is, of course, true given how close the teams are right now, but if the Rockies fall too far down in the NL West, the next best thing is a Wild Card spot. When were talking about the NL Wild Card right now, they have to definitely pounce on the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves. There is still a chance for them to the win the NL West, but these would be the teams they’d have to beat and should be considered the biggest threat to the Rockies reaching contention.

How did the Rockies at the deadline?

The Colorado Rockies did the exact same thing they did in the offseason, but this time for less money. They went into the offseason with an actual layout of their needs and Jeff Bridich and the front office did just that. They created what was supposed to be the “super bullpen” and put quite a lot of money into just three relievers. They also added a mediocre position player in the offseason as well.

Fast forward to July and they’ve done the exact thing. The addition of Seunghwan Oh along with rumors of Greg Holland potentially getting a minor league deal is just a repeat of the past. Even with Matt Holliday getting signed to a minor league deal, it’s a repeat of another so so position player getting signed. It’s disappointing to see a team like the Rockies so close to contention not really go after players that can really help boost them.

The aggravating issue I have is the fact that they got these relievers in the offseason and still see it as a priority to stock pile them. This is a team with a lot of ambition though they’ve done nothing to really help themselves offensively. At least last year, they got a position player who was good and put up good numbers while there in Jonathan Lucroy. My grade would have to be a D or a F. They did made one trade, but it’s not really going towards a bigger goal just to extinguish the bullpen fire.

Ryan Ladika’s analysis

Arguably, the most exciting time of the regular season has come and gone, and many teams made moves in efforts to improve their rosters as they ramp up for a final push for the playoffs. To the disappointment of many Rockies fans, Colorado’s front office was one of the silent ones on July 31. After acquiring RHP Seunghwan Oh from the Toronto Blue Jays early Wednesday evening, Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has shown that he is content with where the club stands post-4 p.m. ET, making no additional moves since the deal with Toronto.

Granted, the Rockies have completely turned things around since their abysmal June, winning 19 of 25 games since June 28. They are back in the thick of both the NL West race and the NL Wild Card chase, sitting only one game out of first place and one half game out of the second wild card entering play on July 31. The club still should’ve been more proactive at the deadline.

While this season presents one of the best opportunities the Rockies have ever had to win their first NL West division crown, the two teams they’re chasing also got better. The Diamondbacks acquired the MLB leader in doubles, Eduardo Escobar, from the Minnesota Twins, an old friend, Brad Ziegler, from the Marlins, and Jake Diekman from the Texas Rangers. Ziegler owns a 0.64 ERA in his last 28 appearances, per The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan. The Los Angeles Dodgers landed superstar SS/3B Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles, as well as an upgrade over Logan Forsythe at second base in Brian Dozier from the Twins. Neither team is going away.

The areas of need for Colorado? Starting with the bullpen, the Rockies only have two left-handed relievers on the active 25-man roster: Jake McGee and Harrison Musgrave. Neither option is confidence-inspiring for a team about to embark on a push for the playoffs. Catcher is also a position of need for Colorado as well, and the Phillies were able to acquire Wilson Ramos from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Additionally, the Rockies could benefit from upgrades at their corner outfield positions as well. Gerardo Parra has been a fine option in left field when looking at traditional stats, but his -0.3 fWAR and 81 wRC+ prove that the Rockies could be doing better, and they don’t even need to make a trade!

David Dahl was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after being reinstated from the DL. He already owns a positive fWAR (0.1) and higher wRC+ (95) than Parra, and he’s only played 32 games for the Rockies this season.

Overall, I would grade the Rockies trade deadline as a B- because they did recognize that they needed help in the bullpen but there were other deals to be made and they simply weren’t.

As far as the winner of this year’s trade deadline, I’m picking the Chicago Cubs. They had a big question mark in their pitching staff in Tyler Chatwood and were able to acquire Cole Hamels from the Rangers to shore up their rotation, as well as Brandon Kintzler and Jesse Chavez to add depth to an already strong bullpen. They’re locked in a fierce battle with the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central title, and these moves should help distance themselves from their rivals.

Lucas Mullins’s analysis

NL team to Beat

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are good teams that have had good seasons, but I still
think the team to beat is the 2017 NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite being in the midst of a dead heat for their own division, the Dodgers have the pedigree of a championship-type team that is used to winning. The addition of superstar Manny Machado only adds to these expectations, even though the Dodgers are just 6-5 since he joined the team. In the LA clubhouse, not returning to the World Series—much less missing out on a division title—would be viewed as a disappointment.

Trade Deadline Winner:

The Dodgers may have won the Machado sweepstakes, but the Boston Red Sox won the trade
deadline. The addition of Ian Kinsler filled a void, but the trade for Nathan Eovaldi puts even more space between them and superteam division rival New York Yankees. The Yankees came away with Zach Britton, JA Happ, Lance Lynn but those additions will likely have less impact.

Despite good career numbers against Boston, Happ has battled ineffectiveness recently and put up a 5.87 ERA in July even with a 6 inning, 1 run Yankees debut. Britton has as much talent as any reliever in the game, but a bad injury history and mixed results in limited action since the start of 2017 combined with the fact that the Yankees already had a really good bullpen means this trade probably won’t have as much of an impact in the standings as it did in your news feed.

Even though they’re not making the playoffs this year, the Tampa Bay Rays also had a great deadline, adding Tommy Pham, Austin Meadows, and Tyler Glasnow.

Rockies Grade

I’d give the Rockies a C/B-, depending on how things shape up. Seunghwan Oh helps solidify a
shaky bullpen and if he pitches well, this could also be a big move for the future, considering he isn’t a free agent until 2022. If Santiago Casilla joins the big league club and pitches anywhere near the way he did during his best years for the San Francisco Giants from 2010-2015, he would be another big piece in the bullpen, but today, he is just a question mark.

The extra-inning loss to the Cardinals last night once again showed the intense vulnerability of the Rockies’ bullpen, and with plenty of solid, underpriced relievers available, it’s a little mind-boggling why the Rockies didn’t do more. If the Rockies stay hot and beat out the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks for the division, it will prove that they already had everything that they needed and had no reason to give up top prospects to get there. But if they get stuck in another Wild Card Game or worse, miss the playoffs entirely, 2018 will be perhaps the biggest
missed opportunity in franchise history.

My analysis

NL Team to Beat

With no team really pulling away with a really good record in the NL, for me, this is difficult. I’d have to go with the Dodgers just because they are in first place in the NL West and they are the reigning NL champs. However, I think that they are very beatable for a few reasons. First off, their bullpen outside of Kenley Jansen is nothing to write home about.

Secondly, while their starting rotation is very good, the only guy that can stay healthy is Alex Wood. The Rockies have four guys with 20 or more starts; Wood is the only Dodger to make more than 18. Third off, their offense has it’s issues too, even though it is one of the best in the NL. Brian Dozier, who they just acquired, is having a bad season, Cody Bellinger is hitting under .240, Justin Turner has been injured for much of the season and hasn’t been the Justin Turner of old when he has played. Also, even after the Rockies bullpen (more on that in a minute) blew countless leads in the first 2-3 months of the season, they are still only one game out.

In general, the NL is a crapshute and it could be for about 10 teams to take.

Trade Deadline Winner

I could say the Red Sox or Yankees but I will go with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They got Chris Archer from the Rays and probably overpaid for him and they acquired Rangers closer Keone Kela. They are three games back in the NL Wild Card race and, eventually, I still don’t think that they will get a wild card spot but they have set themselves up for a good year next year and beyond.

Archer has three more years of a team friendly contract (including two team options for 2020 and 2021) and Kela isn’t eligible for free agency until 2022. So their moves might help them for this year but it sets them up well for the future. Also, for Archer, the Pirates kept them out of the hands of the Brewers, who desperately needed him, and Kela was kept out of the hands of about a dozen teams that either want or need young bullpen help.

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The Rockies at the deadline

I think that the Oh trade was a good one that can help them this year but also in the future so I think that it was good that the Rockies offense addressed it. But that’s literally all they did. Casilla, Holliday, and, potentially, Greg Holland (if they do come together on a deal) could all be great low-risk, high-reward signings. But they could have done so much more. They could have upgraded at catcher even if they got a backup for Tom Murphy (shoutout to all the Tom Murphy guys). They also could have addressed the corner outfield spots, the rotation (particularly for a veteran), the bullpen more, and, perhaps most importantly, the bench because the Rockies roster construction is absolutely atrocious with 13 pitchers and 3 catchers on the 25 man roster.

Also, the Dbacks made a lot of moves and the Dodgers made some too, including Manny Machado.

I am glad, though, that the Rockies didn’t make moves just to make moves, like mortgaging the future for Bryce Harper or trading for a non-ace in Kevin Gausman (Atlanta did that).

But, like I said, they could have addressed so much more.

Overall Grade: C-