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Colorado Rockies: Revisiting a 2018 trade proposal with the Chicago White Sox

By Noah Yingling

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 31: Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies walks off the field after striking out during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on August 31, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. The Padres defeated the Rockies 6-0. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 31: Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies walks off the field after striking out during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on August 31, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. The Padres defeated the Rockies 6-0. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 01: Nate Jones #57 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches against the St Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on September 1, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cardinals defeated the Reds 16-2. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 01: Nate Jones #57 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches against the St Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on September 1, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cardinals defeated the Reds 16-2. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

On the receiving end for Colorado, Nate Jones, now 34 and with the Reds, has struggled a bit out of their bullpen as he an ERA of 5.93. He has struggled with injuries for much of his career but when he did pitch, he pitched well as he did not have an ERA above 3.48 from 2015 through 2019.

The key name that would have come back to the Rockies in the deal would have been Jose Abreu and he would have been a huge addition for many reasons, including some reasons that developed after Heyman floated this proposal out there.

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First off, Abreu would have provided the Rockies with a big offensive bat. He made his debut in 2014 and he had more than 100 RBI in all but one season (2018, where he only played in 128 games due to injury). In 2019, he led the American League in RBI with 123, hitting 33 home runs, 38 doubles, and hitting to a .284/.330/.503 slash line.

In 2020, though, he has been one of the most under the radar players in the American League. Entering Monday, he led the league in games played (41), plate appearances (180), at-bats (168), hits (53), RBI (40), total bases (104), and bWAR (2.2).

He also entered Monday hitting .315, which is sixth in the AL, with an OBP of .361, a slugging percentage of .619, and an OPS+ of 162.

Abreu is also in the top 10 percent in exit velocity, hard hit percentage, expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, and expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) as well as in the top 20 percent in barrel percentage, according to Statcast.

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