Why these words about the Colorado Rockies should surprise no one

The Colorado Rockies are making an effort to win in 2022. Apparently, these words are very shocking to people, but why is that exactly?

Yes, the Colorado Rockies believe they can win in 2022 and that they are closer to competing than people think

When ESPN’s Buster Olney sent out a tweet on Monday afternoon saying that the Colorado Rockies were not selling off their most notable players heading into the heart of the offseason, there were plenty of reactions to the news. Among them, however, was a reaction of shock that the Rockies “intend to keep some of their tradable assets in an effort to win in 2022.”

This is nothing new nor is it newsworthy, as we tweeted out shortly after the Olney tweet was sent. After all, it’s the same attitude that now-Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt had at least season’s trade deadline when Colorado chose to keep shortstop Trevor Story and starting pitcher Jon Gray for the rest of the campaign rather than pulling the plug on their time at 20th and Blake. The Rockies weren’t willing to go into “sell mode” then, and that attitude hasn’t changed as the offseason churns into the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Rockies believe they can win in 2022. They believe in the players they have on their roster to form a core for that winning philosophy next season, one of the reasons why they have inked C.J. Cron, Antonio Senzatela, Jhoulys Chacín, and Elias Díaz from last season’s team that finished in fourth place in the National League West with a 74-87 record.

“There are pieces here to win,” Schmidt said during the recent MLB general manager meetings. “We just need more pieces.”

And that’s where the rest of the offseason gets very interesting for a team that needs not only more pieces, but the right pieces as well. They need to find the answer at shortstop with the very likely loss of Story. They need to find more power in the outfield. They need to find the answer to solidifying their bullpen. They need to find the answer as to who will be the fourth and fifth starters should Gray not return.

Of course, the Rockies believe they can win in 2022. What else would you expect them to say? The bigger question is how realistic that belief actually is with so many questions left to answer.