Colorado Rockies: A German Marquez trade proposal to the New York Yankees

Joel Sherman of MLB Network and The New York Post recently made three trade proposals for the Yankees to get some more starting pitching, as they currently lack depth in their rotation and one of them involved Colorado Rockies ace German Marquez.

As Sherman notes, he doesn’t believe that Marquez is available but he thinks that the Rockies (and other teams) should ask these three questions, in regards to trading players.

1. “Can we compete for a title in this player’s control period?”
2. “Will this asset finish his control period here or eventually be traded?”
3. “Will the asset’s trade value ever be higher than now since if done right, a $1.25 of return can be obtained for $1 of talent?”

As Sherman puts it, “[i]f answered no, no and no, then why shouldn’t the player be available?” For that, he does have a valid point. In the Rockies case for Marquez, they should be looking for $1.25 in return for Marquez, who would be $1.00.

Sherman’s proposal should, at bare minimum, not make the Rockies front office hang up the phone on the Yankees, but it still likely won’t get it done, since, at least as of now, Marquez is very close to being untouchable.

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Sherman says that he thinks the Yankees should offer this package in return and see if it’s close to the “$1.25”

• RHP Clarke Schmidt or RHP Deivi Garcia
• OF Clint Frazier or INF Miguel Andujar
• RHP Luis Gil or RHP Luis Medina

For Schmidt and Garcia, both of them have a cup of coffee in the majors and they are the Yankees #2 and #3 prospects. They are ranked #83 and #87 on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects list. Frazier really doesn’t have an everyday spot on the Yankees, which he would on the Rockies. He was ranked as high as MLB.com’s 24th best prospect (entering 2017 and he lost his rookie status after that).

Andujar also doesn’t have a clear spot on the Yankees roster after suffering injuries but he was ranked as high as #65 on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospect list entering 2018 before losing his rookie status. Gil and Medina are lower-level pitching prospects than Schmidt and Garcia but both are still well regarded. Gil is the Yankees #5 prospect and Medina is the #11.

Even if that is in the ballpark for the Rockies to trade Marquez, as Sherman notes, the Rockies aren’t exactly known for their “movement in the trade market.” They also are not known for making a trade like that: trading a controllable player for prospects. Sure, they have traded some players in their contract year but the only player that they have traded in recent years that was a key piece to their MLB team and had control was Ubaldo Jimenez, and that trade didn’t really work out for either team.

In other words, a trade like that may make sense on paper for the Rockies or even be a start to a good trade for the Rockies on paper but don’t expect it to happen, even if it is offered by the Yankees.