Colorado Rockies trade rumors: Could they acquire a first baseman?

This morning, Buster Olney of ESPN speculated on Twitter about a potential fit for the Colorado Rockies at first base on the trade market.

The Washington Nationals are a team that has been an enigma all year long. Many expected that the Nationals would win the NL East running away (and on paper, they should). They started to heat up before the July trade deadline so their GM Mike Rizzo decided to, by and large, stand pat and not sell.

However, with injuries and a lack of consistency of their key players all season (e.g. Bryce Harper), the Nats find themselves one game under .500 entering Tuesday with a 62-63 record, even with a run differential of +56, which should have them at a record of 69-56.

As a result, the Nats could decide that they really do need to sell, like they should have in July, and sell some of their pieces that are becoming free agents at the end of the year so they can at least get something for them. One of those pieces is second baseman Daniel Murphy.

Buster Olney speculated on Twitter earlier this morning that he could be a fit the the Rockies.

At first glance, you probably think that Olney’s speculation is wrong because one reason: the Rockies already have a second baseman in DJ LeMahieu, another impending free agent. So why would the Rockies trade for him?

The simple answer is to play first base.

Ian Desmond is struggling yet again. After hitting .321/.380/.500 with two homers and 12 RBI in July, Desmond is hitting .190/.226/.293 in 18 games in August with 11 hits and 8 RBI.

Meanwhile, Murphy, who has also has his share of injuries, much like Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu, has experience at first base (221 career games, to be exact). Murphy has also had a very good season. In 56 games this year, he has 6 home runs, 29 RBI, and a .300/.341/.442 slash line and a 108 wRC+.

It should be noted that he has done very well in the postseason in his career, which is something that the Rockies should like.

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Also, as our friends and colleagues over at District on Deck reported this morning, Murphy was claimed on revocable trade waivers on Sunday.

From the time of the claim, the Nats and that one team who claimed him have 48 hours to negotiate a trade. If a trade does not come to fruition, though, the Nats can negotiate with any of the other 29 teams on a trade.

Considering that Murphy is owed just under $4 million for the rest of the season (which is a pretty good amount for the Rockies to take on for six weeks) and that Murphy is a free agent at the end of season, one lower level prospect should be able to get Murphy from the Nats. Now if the Nats were to pay some of the remaining contract, the Rockies would probably have to give the Nationals a better prospect or multiple prospects.

Murphy should be a guy that the Rockies should consider for an upgrade at first base. He would help the Rockies improve offensively, provide the Rockies with some versatility, and good postseason experience especially for a lower level prospect.

Editor’s Note: About 90 minutes after the publication of this article, the Chicago Cubs acquired Murphy from the Nationals for a prospect and either another prospect or cash.