Colorado Rockies: Three "bold moves" the team should explore

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DENVER, CO – AUGUST 30: Manager Bud Black #10 of the Colorado Rockies watches his team against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field on August 30, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Joe Mahoney/Getty Images) /

After a disappointing 71-91 mark in 2019, the Colorado Rockies can’t just stick to the status quo for the 2020 season if they hope to contend once again for the postseason.

With Colorado Rockies executives already prepping the fan base for few if any major changes before next season, many fans have told us that their excitement level heading into the rest of the offseason is very low.

So it’s going to take something to shake things up a little bit, right? It’s going to take something from the front office to show the fans (and players in the clubhouse as well) that this franchise is serious about returning to its winning ways. It’s going to take some kind of a bold move to have the Rockies faithful sit up and take notice.

In this article, let’s discuss three bold moves (we’ll let you decide just how “bold” they are) that the Rockies could make in the offseason to not only inject some life back into the fanbase but also shake up the roster.

Will any or all of these moves happen? We’ll discuss the real possibilities of that as well.

Let’s dive in on the mound.

Non-tender Chad Bettis and/or Tyler Anderson

Flash back to the start of the 2019 campaign and remember that Chad Bettis and Tyler Anderson represented two-fifths of the Rockies’ Opening Week rotation. Anderson was even slated as the number three starter ahead of Jon Gray.

Well, Anderson and Bettis both underperformed and now the Rockies have a decision to make on not only two pitchers who have come up through the organization but also two who are coming off (Bettis) or still working toward coming back from (Anderson) injuries.

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Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post has speculated that the Rockies will not offer contracts to either player, saving the franchise a total of between $6 and $7 million.

At first glance, you may not think that this is a hard decision but there are implications in both. For Bettis, the Rockies could be saying goodbye to their longest-tenured pitcher. For Anderson, it means Colorado is officially throwing in the towel on a former first-round pick.

Is this likely to happen? It certainly seems so.

It also means Colorado is officially ready to rebuild the back end of its rotation. With Kyle Freeland, Gray and German Marquez expected to be the top three starters heading into 2020, what happens with the fourth and fifth starter will be a key development to watch during spring training. There are plenty of candidates but are any of them a season-long solution for the Rockies? That remains to be seen.

So what can the Rockies do? Maybe another bold move.

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 29: Starter Tanner Roark #60 of the Oakland Athletics delivers a pitch during the first inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on September 29, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Bring in an outside starter

I know, I know. People are already thinking about Coors Field and the horrors that it can do for a pitcher’s numbers. I get it … and so does every MLB pitcher out there.

If the Rockies are looking to make a statement in the back end of their rotation, how about bringing in a pitcher who is less of a Band-Aid and more of a solution?

This won’t be Gerrit Cole or anyone close to that level. However, the Rockies could look to sign a pitcher for two years using the salary that they’ll save with Bettis and Anderson and combining it with some other funds. Could the Rockies swallow a 2-year, $18 million deal? It would seem so, especially if it could possibly solve some (not all, mind you) of the pitching problems with the rotation.

Truly explore jettisoning one of the super bullpen components

You will hear a lot about the Rockies seeing if they can find trade partners for players such as “super bullpen” members Bryan Shaw, Wade Davis and Jake McGee plus position players Daniel Murphy and Ian Desmond this offseason. Those players all have prohibitive contracts and have (for the most part) not lived up to them in a Rockies uniform.

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There will be a lot of talk about this … but will there actually be any action?

Understandably the Rockies first have to find a team that might be interested and then likely be willing to eat some of the contract to move even one of these players. There are some in the Rockies media world who will scream about paying someone to potentially play against you. Is that such a bad thing in the case of particularly these pitchers? Wouldn’t you like for Nolan Arenado or Trevor Story to be able to square up against some of the meatballs that they threw last season … or the season before that?

The bold move here is to actually engage in and pursue serious conversations about potential swaps. After all, any movement here with these players means that Colorado General Manager Jeff Bridich made a mistake bringing them in. Is the franchise and GM willing to admit that by eating some of the contract to send them away?

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What’s the likelihood of this happening? As we discussed in this article, of the five names mentioned above, Murphy is likely the one with the highest chance of being moved … and that still seems like a very slim bet.

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Colorado Rockies: Three “bold moves” the team should explore