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Colorado Rockies Winter Meetings Quick Hits: Ottavino, LeMahieu, Santana, Redmond, Gonzalez

By Noah Yingling |
PHOENIX, AZ - JULY 20: Relief pitcher Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the ninth inning of an MLB game at Chase Field on July 20, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - JULY 20: Relief pitcher Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the ninth inning of an MLB game at Chase Field on July 20, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)

Monday is the official start of the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas and there has been some news and notes regarding the Colorado Rockies or the Rockies free agents in the first few hours of the Meetings.

The Winter Meetings are only a few hours old but there already have been some reports in regards to the Rockies.

  • According to Jon Heyman of Fancred and MLB Network in this tweet, former Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is at the top of the list for the World Champion Boston Red Sox. Additionally, SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the New York Mets are looking to sign some relievers with Ottavino being among their top choices. Ottavino, 33, had a 2.43 ERA in 75 games with the Rockies in 2018 along with a FIP of 2.74 and a WHIP of 0.991. There haven’t been any rumors linking Ottavino coming back to the Rockies so I think it’s safe to say, as of right now, he will not be returning to the Rockies in 2019.
  • Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported in this article that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has checked in with DJ LeMahieu and his agent about coming to our nation’s capital. However, Rizzo noted that he has checked in with about 40 free agents. Jon Heyman noted on Twitter that the Nationals are looking at a few free agent second basemen, including LeMahieu. Jon Morosi of MLB.com also reports on Twitter that the Dodgers are showing continued interest in LeMahieu.

    • According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com in

    this article

    , the Rockies “figure to be in the mix” for the Seattle Mariners new first baseman

    Carlos Santana

    . Santana was just acquired by the Mariners in a trade with the Phillies last week but the Mariners could look to flip him in a salary dump. The problem for the Rockies would be that he is owed over $40 million in the next two seasons but the Mariners have taken on salary from other teams before (e.g. Santana) so the Rockies could trade

    Ian Desmond

    , who is owed about the same amount of money but in 3 years, and a prospect or two. Desmond would also give the Mariners some versatility. Santana has been above average both offensively and defensively at first base in the past few seasons as he has 11 Defensive Runs Saved at first base and an OPS+ of 114 in the past three seasons.

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  • Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network and The Athletic reports on Twitter that Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond has been interviewed for the Orioles managerial position. As our colleagues over at Bird Watcher noted this morning, the Orioles new GM Mike Elias said in his introductory press conference that “experience, especially good experience, is always attractive in any hiring process.” Redmond has a little over 2 years of managerial experience as he is the former manager of the Miami Marlins. If Redmond does leave the Rockies to become the Orioles manager, he would be the third Rockies coaching change this offseason as hitting coach Duane Espy was not retained for 2019 and first base coach Tony Diaz left the Rockies for a promotion as he is the new third base coach of the Minnesota Twins under rookie manager Rocco Baldelli. Thus far, neither have been replaced by the Rockies.

    • Matt Eddy of Baseball America

    reports on Twitter

    that the Rockies have signed pitcher

    Chi Chi Gonzalez

    to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Gonzalez is recovering from

    Tommy John

    surgery which cost him all of the 2017 season and most of the 2018 season as he only pitched in 3 games in the minor leagues this past season.  He did pitch part of the 2015 and 2016 seasons in the majors with the Texas Rangers and in 17 games combined between the 2 seasons (13 starts), he pitched to a 4.54 ERA (5.06 FIP). His 2015 season was much better than his 2016 season and he pitched more but his main issue is that he does not strikeout many and his walk rate is high, so much so that his walk rate is actually higher (4.8 per nine innings) than his strikeout rate (4.3 per nine innings).

    dark. Next. Rockies podcast: Thoughts from the Winter Meetings

    Stay tuned for our coverage from the Winter Meetings as both Kevin Henry and Jake Shapiro are there in Vegas at the Winter Meetings.

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