Colorado Rockies: Finding under-the-radar free agent hitters

The Colorado Rockies lineup managed another sub-par year. Offensively, they were very lackluster, finishing dead last in wRC+.

The team also recorded a .731 OPS, the second-lowest figure in club history, just a fair margin ahead of the small sampled and dreadful 2020 season.

Fortunately, the Colorado Rockies were one of baseball’s very best defensive teams, a pillar of the team’s identity.

With Trevor Story set to depart, things won’t get any better unless the Rockies make savvy moves to bolster the offense. With the likely addition of the DH, Colorado could add at nearly any position, though Ryan McMahon should get the majority of time at third base.

Still, just what are the Colorado Rockies’ biggest needs on the offensive side of things?

Going back to the Rockies team history leaderboard, they had their third-lowest OBP ever (though they were 15th in the league in 2021). A lack of a consistent hit-getter at the top of the order is partially responsible.

The Rockies also finished 22nd in the league in home runs. Coors Field was pretty unforgiving with the long ball this year (the park saw the 14th-most home runs this year), but the underlying metrics show it wasn’t all because of Coors Field’s spatiality.

The Rockies finished 28th in average exit velocity, 26th in hard-hit percentage, and 27th in barrel percentage. Overall, a power injection should be high on the team’s list.

Positionally, a middle infielder is a big need and an outfielder should be a high priority, as well.

All in all, they need more guys, as Bill Schmidt recently said in an interview with The Athletic‘s Nick Groke.

With that in mind, let’s try and scour the free-agent market for some under-the-radar additions. This article will feature a pair of players who could be had on MLB deals with an additional trio of potential MiLB signings.