The good and bad of Marcus Stroman joining the Colorado Rockies

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DENVER, COLORADO – JUNE 01: Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays throws in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 01, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies’ offense has kept the team in the playoff hunt at the break despite the pitching staff having a major setback following last season. Considering the way the Rockies swung the bats in the first half, even league-average pitching could win them most of their games.

Rumors of Marcus Stroman coming to the Colorado Rockies have been swirling for years. Even going back to the 2016 offseason, there was tal k of the Rox and Jays swapping Stroman for Charlie Blackmon but Toronto wanted more in return.

The Rockies are lucky Toronto balked at this offer as it was already lopsided in Toronto’s favor (Stroman was comming off a 4.37 ERA and Blackmon just hit .324 with 29 home runs). Additionally, the next season Blackmon would go on to finish fifth in NL MVP voting, leading the league in runs, hits, triples, batting average and total bases while smashing 37 home runs and driving in 104 runs.

Interestingly, Stroman also had a career year in 2017, posting a 3.09 ERA and finishing eighth in AL Cy Young voting. If Stroman does come to Colorado this deadline, it will clearly not be for Charlie Blackmon, who is again putting up MVP-caliber numbers heading into the break.
This season, Stroman is a first-time All-Star in what will likely be his final season in a Blue Jays uniform.

TORONTO, ON – MAY 11: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after three quality defensive plays were made behind him in the field to end the first inning during MLB game action against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre on May 11, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

You can disregard Stroman’s 5-9 record as Toronto has had an abysmal season, but his 3.18 ERA and 141 ERA+ are both very good. Though he has little experience facing the NL West, he has good numbers against all four of Colorado’s division rivals, including surrendering just two runs while striking out eight over seven innings in his lone start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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That brings us to the second danger of Stroman’s contract. He’s been highly inconsistent throughout his career and throwing the wrench that is Coors Field into that equation is cause for concern. Stroman is making over $7 million this year and will likely make more in arbitration in 2020.

We’ve seen that the Rockies tend to give preference to players making the most money rather than those who are actually playing better. If Stroman tanks in a Rockies uniform, we might have to get used to seeing him pitch every fifth day until 2021 anyway.

Is there reason to believe he will tank? As I mentioned before, he pitched well in his lone appearance at Coors Field and he is in the midst of potentially his best season yet. That being said, he is coming off a season in which he recorded a 5.54 ERA in 19 games. At Coors Field, that could easily inflate to an even more unsightly number.

TORONTO, ON – MAY 26: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning during MLB game action against the San Diego Padres at Rogers Centre on May 26, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Which Stroman will the Rockies get? It’s impossible to know. While you could assume he corrected course this season, his 5.54 ERA in 2018 came just one season after finishing in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting. He also posted a 4.04 ERA in June, which could suggest a regression to the mean.

For me this deal is eerily similar to the disastrous trade Pittsburgh pulled off at last year’s deadline, bringing in Chris Archer from Tampa Bay in return for Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows. Archer has been nothing short of bad for Pittsburgh (5.49 ERA) while Meadows is an All-Star and Glasnow was 6-1 with a 1.86 ERA in his first eight starts for Tampa Bay this season before landing on the 60-day injured list.

Stroman has tended to have lower ERAs than Archer throughout their careers but Archer has had more strikeouts, and their career ERAs are almost identical (3.84 for Archer, 3.81 for Stroman). Also, Archer finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting in 2015 but, like Stroman, has been highly inconsistent every other season.

While Stroman has the potential to help the Rockies’ pitching staff, he will come with a high price tag that, in the end, he just might not be worth. It’s hard to predict whether he will be a success or a disaster in Colorado due to his erratic track record. It’s likely the Rockies will get some good and some bad from Stroman … but is that worth what they’d have to give up to get him?

Next. What it might cost Colorado to land Marcus Stroman. dark

This is likely a high-risk, medium-reward move that the Rockies might want to stray away from. At the same time, there are not a lot of pitching options available that the Rockies can afford and, unfortunately, Stroman may be the best fit.

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The Colorado Rockies’ offense has kept the team in the playoff hunt at the break despite the pitching staff having a major setback following last season. Considering the way the Rockies swung the bats in the first half, even league-average pitching could win them most of their games.

More from Rox Pile

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