Colorado Rockies: Could Rule 5 draft provide only Winter Meeting news?

SAN DIEGO — Sunday was a rainy, quiet day in San Diego as the 2019 Baseball Winter Meetings kicked off. The mood of the day could reflect what’s coming the rest of the week for the Colorado Rockies.

It’s expected to be a quiet time at the Winter Meetings for the Colorado Rockies, falling in line with what has happened in recent years when it comes to this event and the franchise. Knowing the budget constraints facing the team, the tough task of trading off higher-priced contracts and the veterans that go with them and the few needs the Rockies seemingly believe they have heading into next season, it’s a mixture that lends itself to a week without the fireworks that other franchises may detonate through trades and signings.

The Winter Meetings conclude with the Rule 5 draft on Thursday morning. The Rockies recently protected four players to keep any other teams from picking them in the draft. But, of course, the Rule 5 draft is not as easy as just swiping a player from another franchise.

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To pick up someone in the Rule 5 draft, the team must have space on its 40-man roster on draft day in order to make a selection. As of this writing, Colorado has a full 40-man roster, meaning the Rockies would currently be unable to pick up someone in the draft.

However, the excitement for the Rockies could come if another team decides to take a chance on one of the players Colorado left unprotected. Most notably, that could be Roberto Ramos, a first baseman who mashed 30 homers and hit .309 last season at Triple-A. That came after he crushed 32 homers between High-A and Double-A in 2018. However, he also struck out nearly a third of the time in his 844 at-bats over the last two seasons as well.

Those numbers are enough to wonder if another team will take a chance on Ramos. And remember, it’s a high gamble because he would have to be on that team’s 26-man roster for an entire season before he could be optioned or designated for assignment.

Ramos is the most likely player to be cherry-picked away from the Rockies. But will another team pay that price in order to make it happen? That decision could provide the biggest piece of news for the Rockies from San Diego.

Personally, I hope that the lack of news is not the case. However, based on history, don’t be surprised if a few minutes on Thursday provide the biggest buzz of the week regarding the Rockies.