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Colorado Rockies: The biggest trades with their NL West rivals

By Noah Yingling

12 Jun 1996: Center fielder Ellis Burks of the Colorado Rockies swings at the ball during a game against the Houston Astros at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies won the game 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
12 Jun 1996: Center fielder Ellis Burks of the Colorado Rockies swings at the ball during a game against the Houston Astros at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies won the game 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /
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18 Oct 1998: Pitcher Andy Ashby #43 of the San Diego Padres in action during the 1998 World Series Game 2 against the New York Yankees at the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees defeated the Padres 9-3.
18 Oct 1998: Pitcher Andy Ashby #43 of the San Diego Padres in action during the 1998 World Series Game 2 against the New York Yankees at the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees defeated the Padres 9-3. /

The player to be named later that the Rockies sent to the Padres (the next day so why they couldn’t hold up the trade until the following day is a mystery) was Andy Ashby. He was selected by the Rockies in the expansion draft from the Phillies but he was awful with the Rockies to start the ’93 season as he pitched to a 8.50 ERA in 20 games (9 starts).

Once he joined the Padres, he became a key cog in their starting rotation for the rest of the decade as he pitched to a 70-62 record and a 3.60 ERA (112 ERA+) and a 22.8 WAR.

On the other hand, the Rockies did not get much. Pitcher Greg Harris, not the one who is best known for being the first switch pitcher in the modern era in a game in 1995, had been in the major leagues for the Padres since 1988 where he pitched to a 2.95 ERA (128 ERA+) but had started to fade a bit for the Padres in ’92 and early ’93. His tenure with the Rockies was awful as he went 4-20 with an ERA 6.60 in 42 games, 32 of which were starts.

Hurst, a native of Utah, was on the final leg of his career as he was 35 and had been in the majors since 1980. Long gone were the days of nearly winning the World Series MVP (if not for Bill Buckner‘s crucial error at the end of Game 6 in the 1986 World Series). Hurst had been hampered by injuries for a few seasons. He pitched in three games for the Rockies before signing with the Rangers for the 1994 campaign and retiring two months before the player’s strike wiped out the season in August.

It’s safe to say that this was not a good trade for the Rockies. Perhaps it was a good move for Ashby but the Rockies return for him, Bochtler, and Ausmus was not good.

Honorable mention: Rockies trade closer Huston Street to the Padres for minor leaguer Nick Schmidt.

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