Colorado Rockies Day 3 Quick Hits: Winter Meetings rumors and news

LAS VEGAS — With the last full day of the 2018 Winter Meetings coming to a close here at the Mandalay Bay, there is still plenty happening in terms of the Colorado Rockies and some of their National League West foes.

Earlier today, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post confirmed in a tweet that the Colorado Rockies do indeed have an interest in potentially acquiring Edwin Encarnacion from the Cleveland Indians or Carlos Santana from the Seattle Mariners. This narrows down a list of potential first basemen that was discussed yesterday by Jim Bowden of The Athletic.

Another report says that the Rockies are one of three teams vying for Santana’s services, along with the Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, you read that correctly … Cleveland may be trying to acquire Santana while attempting to trade Encarnacion. It’s all part of some three-team trades the Indians are reportedly trying to piece together.

Elsewhere in the National League West, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that Buster Posey could be “a different player” after surgery to repair a microfracture in his hip and other ailments. With Arizona trading Paul Goldschmidt and San Diego reportedly looking to ship out Wil Myers, there are a number of “Rockies killers” who may not haunt Colorado as much in 2019 as they have in years past.

More from Colorado Rockies Rumors

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There will be plenty of competition for a spot in the Colorado rotation next season. Kyle Freeland and German Marquez will likely form the 1-2 punch while Jon Gray, Chad Bettis, Tyler Anderson and Antonio Senzatela will also compete for spots. However, don’t be surprised if Peter Lambert makes some noise in spring training. Manager Bud Black specifically brought his name up during Tuesday’s media scrum so he is definitely drawing some attention.

Also being mentioned with next year’s starting pitching? Jeff Hoffman. His name has come up quite a bit lately with the announcement of Troy Tulowitzki‘s release from Toronto and the look back at the trade that dealt Tulo from the Rockies in exchange for Hoffman and others. Is this a “make or break” year for Hoffman, who saw action in just six games for the Rockies last season and posted a 9.35 ERA?

We will have more from Las Vegas as developments happen. Make sure you’re following us on Twitter for the latest information from the Winter Meetings.