Colorado Rockies rumors: Charlie Blackmon could be on the move

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported this week that Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is one player whose trade stock is rising.

Blackmon, who will turn 35 on July 1, started off the season very slow at the plate as he was hitting .148/.278/.262 through his first 19 games of 2021.

But in his last 45 games, he has been the Charlie Blackmon of old, as he has hit .336/.424/.466 with 49 hits, including eight doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He has 27 RBI and 19 walks in that span.

Feinsand cites the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and New York Mets as potential landing spots for Blackmon.

Rockies fans wouldn’t like seeing another franchise star be traded to the Cardinals.

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For Rockies fans, seeing Blackmon, who is the most tenured Rockie as he has spent parts of 11 seasons with the Rockies, leave because he would be joining a list of Rockies franchise stars to be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.

That list includes Larry Walker, Matt Holliday, and, of course, Nolan Arenado.

For the Mets, they have had a slew of injuries in their outfield, including six outfielders currently on the injured list after they recently activated a few off the IL, including former Rockie Kevin Pillar.

The White Sox have a similar situation as their outfield has had a lot of injuries, including Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, both of whom may be out for the rest of the season.

As Feinsand notes, to be traded, like Arenado, the Rockies would likely have to eat some of Blackmon’s contract. He is owed a total of $21 million this year, which is the final guaranteed year of his contract. However, he has two player options remaining on his contract that are $21 million in 2022 and $10 million in 2023.

Teams likely have or soon will reach out to the Rockies to see what the asking price for Blackmon will be along with a few of Blackmon’s teammates.

However, considering that the Rockies extended Blackmon and have kept him for the entire tenure of his contract, it’s unlikely that they would trade Blackmon unless some team overpays for him and/or takes on his entire salary.