Colorado Rockies: A history of Jeff Bridich signings and trades

As many of you reading already know, Jeff Bridich has stepped down from being the Colorado Rockies GM. Of course, this has resulted in some very passionate responses from fans.

In the aftermath of the news, I thought we could take this time to look back at the Bridich years and analyze every single one of his signings. I then looked more into it, cataloged every signing and trade I could find, and realized that an article about that might be a book instead of an article, so I decided to make the list publicly available and go over the highlights of each year, showing how and why the fanbase turned on him so quickly.

Jeff Bridich has been involved with the Rockies for more than 15 years. During that time he rose through the ranks and, for his loyalty, he was an internal hire for general manager after Dan O’Dowd stepped down following the 2014 campaign.

This is where the analysis starts, for each season we will look at the numbers of each type of contract and touch on the major ones from each year.

2014 – 2015:

Number of Minor League Deals: 53

Number of Major League Deals: 3

Number of Trades: 10

Number of Waiver Pickups: 2

Signed Draftees: 36

Most important deal: The Tulo Trade (Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins for Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman, and Jesus Tinoco)

Jeff Bridich’s first signing as GM came on October 15th, 2014, and was a minor league deal to pitcher Simon Castro. Castro actually would go on to play that year for the Rockies and appear in 11 games. Aside from a few games with the A’s after his stint with the Rockies, Castro now appears to play in the Dominican Winter League and the Atlantic League. However, I will give him credit because he had a record of 2-0 for the Rockies.

Following that is the draft, which we have finally seen start to reach the big leagues here in 2021. Brendan Rodgers, Sam Hilliard, and Peter Lambert were all drafted this year and signed with the Colorado Rockies. While these names have been around for a while, how well they will perform is still up in the air. Rodgers was the Rockies’ top prospect for several years and, just as he has started to reach the big leagues, he has been hit by a bit of an injury bug. Hilliard has proven himself to be a good bench guy, and Lambert is just starting to make his way up to the Show but is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery.

As far as Major Signings go, Daniel Descalso, Kyle Kendrick, and Nick Hundley were Bridich’s go-to guys. These were decent names at the time but, unfortunately, Hundley was the only one to be somewhat decent for the Rockies and all were off the team after at most two seasons.

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Finally, the trades. The most important trade in Rockies history, at least until February 1, 2021, happened on July 28, 2015. The Troy Tulowitzki trade was one of the most panned in franchise history, and it happened in Bridich’s first year. New GMs often try to shake things up and make things more fitting to their style. At the time, the trade was still in the Blue Jays’ favor, but not nearly as lopsided as it looks in hindsight. Sure, Tulowitzki had an injury bug, but he was one of the best shortstops in the game, so much so that, when he retired, the baseball world mourned a career that could have been.

For many, this was the immediate breaking point with Bridich, trading a generational player for what turned out to be peanuts. That said, there is a bright side to the trade that many people could not see coming, it opened the way to the new great Rockies shortstop, Trevor Story.

2016 – 2017:

Number of Minor League Deals: 65

Number of Major League Deals: 4

Number of Trades: 7

Number of Waiver Pickups: 0

Signed Draftees: 34

Most important deal: Signing Greg Holland and Ian Desmond

Despite making the playoffs, the deals for 2016-17 were mostly quiet, which is where we run into a few more problems people have with Jeff Bridich … the offseasons seem quiet, plus he lets quality player walk away and made ineffective trades.

Signing Greg Holland was a fantastic move by the team, he was rightfully an All-Star that year. Signing Ian Desmond, not so much. Desmond was past his prime, and forcing him to move to first base and hoping he got his bat back ultimately did not pan out for the club.

Despite the postseason run, the team was quiet on the trade and draft front with Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Vilade leading both subsections, respectively. Though shoutout to Alan Trejo, who was drafted in 2017 and has made his debut this year.

2017 – 2018:

Number of Minor League Deals: 63

Number of Major League Deals: 5

Number of Trades: 3

Number of Waiver Pickups: 0

Signed Draftees: 32

Most important deal: Signing Bryan Shaw, Wade Davis, and Jake McGee

Trades were quiet (unless you are a big Drew Butera fan) and we are getting to the point in the draft where most of the players are nowhere close to making their debuts (except Ryan Rolison). For once, the front office decided to gamble on Major League talent, and it was one of the most debated decisions in franchise history.

The signing of the “super bullpen” has become the stuff of legends in the Rockies community. First, Wade Davis was good in his first year with the Rockies. He led the league in saves and was critical to getting the Rockies to the postseason in 2018. McGee was good in 2017, so a new contract was fine, but he fell apart in 2018. Bryan Shaw was never good for the Rockies.

This disaster of a group of signings bloated the payroll and was a likely reason for how conservative the team has been with free agents the past few years. This essentially crippled the team that looked like contenders for two solid years with a solid enough core to build around, putting them to the state we see them in now.

2018 – 2019:

Number of Minor League Deals: 66

Number of Major League Deals: 1

Number of Trades: 5

Number of Waiver Pickups: 1

Signed Draftees: 17

Most important deal: Signing Daniel Murphy instead of DJ LeMahieu

The only Major League free agent signed by the Colorado Rockies in 2018-2019 was Daniel Murphy. The Rockies saw DJ LeMahieu sign with the Yankees and then brought on yet another player past his prime like Ian Desmond. It wouldn’t be that bad if they hadn’t given Murphy the same deal that the Yankees gave LeMahieu. Some people point to this as one of the early signs that Jeff Bridich might have some issues with the players in the clubhouse, something that after the 2019 season Nolan Arenado would hint at often.

The draft again was nothing too special, same with trades. I hope you guys like Michael Toglia and Phillip Diehl.

2019 – 2020:

Number of Minor League Deals: 22

Number of Major League Deals: 1

Number of Trades: 3

Number of Waiver Pickups: 2

Signed Draftees: 6

Most important deal: Drafting Zac Veen/Trading for Mychal Givens and Kevin Pillar

After the disappointing 2019 season, the Rockies continued to do nothing in the offseason. Even before COVID-19 swept the nation, the team was extra quiet.

Despite obvious flaws the year before, Dick Monfort and Jeff Bridich insisted the team was built to win. With little change, the year started out perfectly, with the Rockies starting the shortened season off with a tear (an 11-3 record). By the time the trade deadline came around, the Rockies weren’t selling off pieces like everyone expected at the start of the season. They were buyers, and they bought one of the best relievers in baseball at the time (Mychal Givens) to help the struggling bullpen.

Unfortunately, the team fell apart across the board. The rotation fell apart, the offense stagnated, the bullpen remained very bad. Also unfortunately, Givens’ stuff did not translate well to Coors Field. The good news is that he has started off 2021 with a new contract and has started off looking like one of the better pieces in the bullpen, so who knows this one might just work out.

Also, the 2020 draft was easily the best looking of the Bridich era so far. Zac Veen, Chris McMahon, Drew Romo, and Sam Weatherly all seem like they could be starters once they fully develop. It’s just a shame that it will be until something like 2023 until we start to see them on the Roster.

2020 – 2021:

Number of Minor League Deals: 40

Number of Major League Deals: 3

Number of Trades: 3

Number of Waiver Pickups: 0

Signed Draftees: 0

Most important deal: The Nolan Trade (Nolan Arenado and Cash for Austin Gomber, Elehuris Montero, Tony Locey, Mateo Gil, and Jake Sommers from the St. Louis Cardinals)

The 2020 offseason started almost symbolically, with the last piece of the Tulowitzki trade finally leaving the team. Jeff Hoffman (and Case Williams) were traded to the Reds for Robert Stephenson and Jameson Hannah. I have to be honest, after spring training, I really like how this trade turned out, I hope Hannah has a great future with this team. Stephenson has also looked very good coming out of the bullpen so far this season and Hoffman has finally seemed to reach his potential on the Reds. A good trade all around but, unfortunately, the offseason did not stay nearly as productive.

Colorado Rockies

The trade of Nolan Arenado has gone down as one of the most infamous days in franchise history. Sending $50 million+ and a Hall of Famer for a pitcher and some prospects (none of which are in the top 100). The fact that Jeff Bridich was now instrumental in two of the most reviled trades in franchise history quickly removed any remaining goodwill he had with the fanbase. The deal has been universally panned and is quite honestly one of the reasons the mutual “parting of ways” between Bridich and the Rockies happened.

Jeff Bridich’s final acquisition as GM of the Rockies appears to be a minor league contract for Noah Gotsis. Signed just six days before Bridich stepped down, Gotsis has played in the Rockies system before (for the Grand Junction Rockies in 2019). He went to Regis University right in Denver and seems to be a fitting signing for a Rockies GM to end his time on.

Note: Acquisition data and facts for this article were found using MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.