Colorado Rockies: Why didn’t they claim Daniel Murphy?

As we wind down the month of August, the Colorado Rockies are one of only a few teams that have not done much to shore up their team in July or August. They could have done it with the acquisition of Daniel Murphy but they passed on him.

The Colorado Rockies have had a nice rebound since they were four games under .500 entering play on June 19 with a record of 34-38 but since, they have gone 37-21. Since then, the offense has improved but, recently, particularly at first base with Ian Desmond, they have seen some regression.

Before Daniel Murphy was traded to the Chicago Cubs last Tuesday, the Rockies were mentioned, by Buster Olney of ESPN, as a team who could be a great match for Murphy.

As we discussed in this article just a few hours before he was traded to the Cubs, we mentioned (as did Olney) that, even though Murphy has been injured for much of the season, he could very easily play first base for the Rockies, even though he has played much more at second base.

However, the Rockies passed on him.

That brings us to Monday morning.

On MLB Network, former Rockies GM and current MLB Network analyst Dan O’Dowd was on the network’s morning show, MLB Central, and in one segment, he discussed about how he was absolutely baffled on why the Rockies (and the D’Backs, for that matter) did not place a claim on him when he could help them out in positions of need.

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At first glance, you might agree with O’Dowd. Why in the world wouldn’t the Rockies claim him? They did pass on him since the Cubs won the claim and they would be the last team available, since it goes by record, in the NL to claim him before the claims could go to the AL.

There is no doubt that Murphy could help the Rockies out at first base but there are a few more reasons of why the Rockies didn’t go after him. First off, perhaps, Rockies GM Jeff Bridich didn’t think that the Rockies needed him, which is, in my mind, wrong because they do need another bat.

Secondly, maybe they knew that the asking price would be too high for their liking (the Cubs gave up one lower level prospect and will have to give up another player at a player to be named later or cash).

Third, the Rockies maybe didn’t want to take on the remainder of his salary of $17.5 million for this season.

However, the one that you may not have known (or remembered) was his comments about the LGBTQ+ community in 2015, in which he said that he “disagreed” with the “lifestyle” of the community. Some, in baseball in general and Cubs fans, have disavowed the trade that the Cubs made.

It should be noted, though, that the Cubs co-owner, Laura Ricketts, is openly gay and said in a series of tweets that she was “on board” with the trade.

So, the Rockies could have passed on him in a baseball move or they very well could have decided that they did not want to mess with the clubhouse or have any baggage brought aboard. And you still find yourself agreeing with O’Dowd, especially if the Cubs co-owner, who is openly gay, was “on board” with the move.

Nonetheless, the Rockies are still, in the minds of many, a bit lacking offensively. It will be interesting to see what the Rockies do, if anything, before the waiver trade deadline has come and passed.