Colorado Rockies: What to expect with 2019 free agents

DJ LeMahieu

Following this season, LeMahieu will become a free agent. I would not be surprised if the Rockies let him walk.

LeMahieu has had a great career with the Rockies. His batting average over the seven years with the team is .299 including two gold gloves, two All-Star appearances and a batting title in 2016 when he hit .348.

The reason the Rockies would let him go is because they have a group of talented young stars that could fill his position.

The first being Brendan Rogers. One of the top prospects in baseball, he is hitting .291 in four seasons in the minors. His normal position is shortstop, but it is unlikely he will play there because Story isn’t moving. He was also named to the All-Star Futures game, where he played second base.

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The second option would be Garrett Hampson, who unlike Rodgers made his MLB debut this year. With LeMahieu going to the DL, Hampson was called up from Triple-A. He played in 10 games, hitting .273 with an OPS of .816.

This year in the minors, he has batted .312 with 10 HR and 40 RBI.

Neither of these players are DJ LeMahieu. Rodgers has more power at the plate but struggles defensively. Over his four years in the minors, he has a .948 fielding percentage and 137 errors when playing at shortstop (234 games). However, when the Rockies’ organization moved him to second, his defensive mishaps declined to five errors and a .981 fielding percentage (58 games).

Hampson is probably more similar to LeMahieu … not a lot of power at the plate but is good at putting the ball in play. He also has a good glove but his small stature (5-foot-11), compared to LeMahieu’s bigger frame (6-foot-4), makes it more difficult getting to balls in the hole, a skill at which LeMahieu thrives.

Letting LeMahieu go would definitely hurt the Rockies lineup, but having solid, young talent behind him lessens the blow.

Adam Ottavino

After this season, Ottavino will also become a free agent like LeMahieu.

While Ottavino hasn’t been the greatest pitcher out of the bullpen for the Rockies during his seven-year tenure, he has performed like an All-Star this year. Heading into Monday’s action, he has a 2.01 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched. Not to mention he has only given up three home runs.

With the current uncertainty in the bullpen, I would not be surprised if the Rockies loaded more money into this position group, with most of it going to Ottavino.

This past offseason, the Rockies spent $106 million on what was supposed to be a super bullpen, but it hasn’t turned out that super.

The largest recipient of that money was closer Wade Davis, who signed a three-year, $52 million deal. Davis has performed well, but not to expectations. He has a 4.72 ERA and has 37 saves out of 43 opportunities, the most saves in the National League.

The Rockies also signed Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee each to a three-year $27 million deal. Both Shaw and McGee have been unrecognizable and what is looking liking a terrible mistake by the Rockies. Shaw has a 6.31 ERA while McGee is worse with a 6.46 ERA.

The few bright spots have been Ottavino, Scott Oberg and Seunghwan Oh.

So if the Rockies want to risk it and hope that the players they paid will turn things around, then they might let Ottavino go. But given how special he has been this year, I expect the Rockies to sign him.

There are a lot of things the Rockies have to be thinking about when it comes to free agency and the offseason. However, right now, it is likely the last thing on their minds coming down the final stretch of the season.