Colorado Rockies: Why this Jon Gray trade to the Tampa Bay Rays could work

Our colleagues over at Rays Colored Glasses, our sister site that covers the Tampa Bay Rays, proposed a trade proposal for the Colorado Rockies and the Rays involving Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray.

Jon Gray will be one of the most sought after players on the trade market in the next week and a half or so, as Gray topped MLB Trade Rumors list of the Top 40 Trade Candidates list in June (and Trevor Story was #2) and it’s easy to see why.

Jon Gray, when healthy, can be one of the better starting pitchers in baseball. He entered Sunday’s action with a 6-6 record and an ERA of 3.77 (122 ERA+).

The Rays, who usually are a team will a lot of pitching, have struggled in that department in 2021. That is partially due to injuries (starters Tyler Glasnow, Chris Archer, and Yonny Chirinos have all been/will be on the IL for an extended period as they are on the 60-day IL).

Since June 15, the Rays starting pitcher’s ERA is 5.02, which is 23th in baseball when before that, they were 8th with a 3.49 ERA.

Here’s the Tampa Bay Rays-Colorado Rockies trade proposal for Jon Gray.

More from Rox Pile

• A Colorado Rockies Thanksgiving
• Colorado Rockies: What if Todd Helton had played football instead?
• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: Has Sean Bouchard earned a second look in 2023?

You can check out why this trade works for the Rays with Gray and prospect Stephen Jones but it would also work for the Rockies as well.

The top prospect in this deal would be right-handed pitcher JJ Goss. Goss, 20, is the Rays #12 prospect and he was the Rays second pick in the 1st round of the 2019 draft. He has three, above-average pitches. With the pandemic, he has little experience in the minor leagues but considering that MLB.com believes that his “control, command and understanding that are considered to be advanced for his age and experience,” he could be a good starting pitcher for the Rockies in 2023 or so.

Third baseman Kevin Padlo, the Rays #20 prospect, would also be in the deal. The Rockies know Padlo,  well as they drafted him but he was traded to Tampa in 2016 in the Germán Márquez deal. Padlo made his MLB debut this season and struggled in nine games. He has struggled at the plate in Triple-A this season as well (.208 AVG, .697 OPS) but he hit well at the Triple-A in 2019 (.290, .995 OPS).

If his bat can get back on track, the Rockies could have a guy who is known to mash left-handed pitching and still be serviceable against righties. He can play third, second, and first base so the Rockies could even have him be in a platoon with Ryan McMahon.

Catcher Brett Sullivan would be the third piece coming to the Rockies. Sullivan, 27, is a primary catcher who doesn’t have the best bat on the planet (.234 AVG, .700 OPS at Triple-A in 2021) but if he can have those numbers at the major leagues, he would be the Rockies best hitting catcher. The Rockies might even like him just for his versatility as we all know the Rockies love versatile players and especially catchers that can play other positions (e.g. Tony Wolters). Sullivan has played some left field this year in the minors but he also has experience at first, second, third, and right field.

Left-handed pitcher Kenny Rosenberg would be the final guy coming to the Rockies in the deal. Rosenberg, 26, was drafted by the Rays in 2016 in the 8th round.

He has only appeared in four games (all starts) this year as he is coming back from an IL stint but in 2019, in Double-A, he went 11-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 25 appearances (16 starts). Rosenberg is a pitch-to-contact pitcher but he could be a back-end starter or, more likely, a left-handed relief option for the Rockies.

Do you think that’s a deal that the Rockies should pull off if they had the chance? Let us know what you think on social media or in the comment section below.