Why this Colorado Rockies-New York Yankees trade proposal would never work

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DENVER, CO – AUGUST 20: Starting pitcher German Marquez #48 of the Colorado Rockies walks off the field during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Coors Field on August 20, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Jim Bowden of The Athletic came up with five trades that he would like to see happen before Opening Day and a trade involving the Colorado Rockies and New York Yankees tops the list … but it will never work for the Rockies.

This deal, which is by far the biggest of the five proposals, is something that the Rockies, simply put, would not (or, at least, should not) do with the Yankees. What does the proposal look like? Well, here it is.

There’s a lot to unpack from this monstrosity but let’s start with what the Rockies would be trading.

The Rockies would be trading their best position player, their likely Opening Day starter and ace, and their closer/best reliever in 2020.

Story is the most likely to be traded of the three and, frankly, he will likely be traded some time this year because the Rockies likely won’t be able to extend him long-term.

The possibility of Daniel Bard being traed is not out of the realm of possibility either as he will be 36 in June and by the time the Rockies are going to be a contender, he will be in his late 30s, if not 40s. He can’t become a free agent until after the 2022 season but, again, it’s not egregious to include him.

Marquez is a bit more questionable, though. He has four years of team-friendly control (three guaranteed years and a team option) for $50.4 million, which doesn’t include the incentives for Cy Young award finishes.

For the Rockies, let’s take a look at what they’d get in return.

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA – MARCH 04: Deivi García #83 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in a spring training game at BayCare Ballpark on March 04, 2021 in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Yankees pitcher Deivi Garcia would be the main piece going back to the Rockies.

Deivi Garcia, 21, would be the prime return for the Rockies. He would slot right into the Rockies rotation as he has already had some MLB experience.

He has four above average pitches and he is the Yankees #3 prospect, per MLB.com, and he was ranked as high as the 92nd best prospect in baseball prior to 2020.

Jonathan Loaisiga, 26, is a former top prospect of the Yankees as he was ranked as high as their #2 prospect by MLB.com in 2018 but he has suffered a slew of injuries in recent years. In 2020, he was on the injured list due to an undisclosed, non-COVID injury. In 2019, he missed three months due to a rotator cuff strain and missed time in 2018 due to a shoulder strain.

Gio Urshela, 29, is a very good defensive third baseman and his bat has finally developed as well. In the last two seasons, he has played a combined 175 games and he has had an OPS+ of 132 and 136.

Miguel Andujar, 26, was great for the Yankees in 2018 but he hasn’t been healthy since. In 2019, he had a shoulder strain that made him start the season on the IL and was activated in early May but two weeks later, the Yankees placed him back on the IL and missed the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery. In 2020, he barely played due to playing poorly and not being healthy.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 25: Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees in action against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2020 in New York City. The Marlins defeated the Yankees 4-3 in ten innings and clinched a playoff spot. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

There are a few problems with Bowden’s proposal, particularly for the Rockies.

First off, the Rockies would be able to get more if they traded the three players separately. Essentially, this would be a good deal if the Rockies traded Marquez or Story and Bard together, but not all three.

Obviously, it’s not the be-all, end-all but even Baseball Trade Values thinks that the return isn’t enough to even net Marquez, let alone Story and Bard.

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Another problem with the proposal is that Loaisiga and Andujar have extensive injury histories. With playing at altitude, why would the Rockies want to take on two injury-prone players at sea level when they are likely to have even more injuries at elevation (and going from elevation to sea-level and back to elevation). The Rockies already have a lot of players that have had multiple injuries in recent years (Scott Oberg, Jon Gray, David Dahl, Brendan Rodgers, etc.). Why would they want two more?

So for a trade to actually happen, one of three things would have to happen.

The Rockies don’t include one or two of the three players mentioned
The Yankees give the Rockies more MLB players, prospects, and/or swap out the injury-prone guys.
The Yankees give the Rockies a lot of money on top of paying all of the trio’s salary.

Next. What a Trevor Story trade to Texas may look like. dark

One of those three happening wouldn’t make the Rockies hang up the phone but if the deal is as-is, the Rockies would look like they are on the losing end of another deal trading away franchise cornerstones … and trading Arenado, Story, Marquez, and Bard all in a matter of two months would be the dagger in the heart for a lot of Rockies fans that would never return to Coors Field or watch or listen to a game ever again.

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Yankees pitcher Deivi Garcia would be the main piece going back to the Rockies.

There are a few problems with Bowden’s proposal, particularly for the Rockies.

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