Colorado Rockies: The top five remaining destinations for Trevor Story

Former Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story doesn’t look like he will be signing anywhere anytime soon because of the MLB lockout. The lockout looks like it will last for a long time but before the lockout, some of Story’s potential suitors look they have filled their need for a shortstop, including his hometown team (the Texas Rangers) and Detroit Tigers.

But some teams could look to utilize Story at either second or third base instead, as he has played both positions in the minor leagues, so he could have a larger market with that.

Let’s look at the top options to sign Trevor Story when the lockout ends but before we do, let’s recap what Story wants in a team heading forward.

Former Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story is looking for a few things with a team.

Back in October during the Colorado Rockies final series of the year in Arizona, Trevor Story said that there are five things he said he was looking for.

• “Winning”
• Team “culture”
• Team “environment”
• “Geography”
• Having a roster that is “pretty close.” That could mean for camaraderie or close to playoff contention.

Story said that there are a few other things that he is considering too but he wouldn’t divulge them. For obvious reasons, the “winning” and “geography” are easiest to determine but we do know about some of the other stuff so we can fill in some of the blanks on those.

So we have that to work with, teams that have been rumored/linked to Story, and teams that need a shortstop.

Here are the top five fits for Trevor Story.

The Houston Astros could be the frontrunners for Trevor Story

Of the known things on Trevor Story’s list, the Astros are a fit for most, if not all, of them.

Winning: hey have been to the World Series three times in the last five years and the other two seasons, they got to the ALCS. Check.

Geography: Houston is about 250 miles away from his hometown of Irving, Texas, which is about a four hour drive away (or one hour flight). That’s as close as he’s going to get now that the Rangers have signed both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. Check.

A “pretty close” roster: In terms of playoffs, that an obvious “check.” In terms of camaraderie? That’s unknown.

The team culture and environment, obviously, was not great in recent years with the sign stealing scandal but they have moved on from it with personnel (the firing of A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow) and mentally as well (as they showed in 2021).

They are also unlikely to re-sign Carlos Correa, who likely will demand a deal worth $350 million or more this offseason. Story will likely get around half of that or less. The Astros have one of the top payrolls in baseball but they would rather spend $350 million and address shortstop, starting pitching (assuming Justin Verlander’s contract becomes official, that is addressed), an outfielder, and likely, some bullpen help rather than in one place with Correa.

The Seattle Mariners could be a fit for Trevor Story … at a different position

The Seattle Mariners are a peculiar team as a fit for Trevor Story on the surface.

Winning: The Seattle Mariners haven’t been to the playoffs in over two decades.

Geography: Seattle is further away from the Dallas area than Denver is … but if you think about it, they do play in Texas three times per season. For the Rockies, they, at most, play there once a season and oftentimes, they don’t play there at all in a season.

A “pretty close” roster: In terms of the playoffs, yes. They were in the playoff hunt until the final day of 2022 so, in theory, they should be in playoff contention. For camaraderie, it’s largely unknown but Story does have a former teammate there in catcher Tom Murphy.

But if you dig deeper, they could be a good fit. The Mariners would not want to use Story at shortstop but they would use him at second or third base. They already have a Gold Glove caliber shortstop (he won it in 2020 and was a finalist in 2021) in J.P. Crawford. But the Mariners need some offensive help and Story would provide that. The Mariners did acquire Adam Frazier from San Diego and he is primarily a second baseman but a) Story’s bat is better than Frazier’s and b) Frazier can play the outfield too.

So Trevor Story is not a perfect there but with some changing of things with their current roster, the Mariners front office could show that they truly are trying to get playoffs by signing Story.

The Philadelphia Phillies could look at Trevor Story

The Philadelphia Phillies, despite having the NL MVP Bryce Harper in their lineup, do not have a great offense. Outside of Harper, only first baseman Rhys Hoskins had an OPS+ better than 115 in 2021. In 2021, Story’s OPS+ was 103 but he was playing injured for some of the season. In the three previous seasons, his OPS+ was 123.

So let’s look at the checklist.

Winning: The Phillies have made moves to try to help them win (signing Zack Wheeler and Bryce Harper) but they haven’t made the playoffs in over a decade.

Geography: The Phillies rarely play the AL West so they rarely face the teams in Texas and Phildelphia is not close to Texas at all.

A “pretty close” roster: They are kind of close to playoff contention as they were 82-80 last season. But with the Mets making a bunch of moves, they are (in theory) better and the Braves won the World Series. So they aren’t as close as you’d think.

They have Didi Gregorius at shortstop currently but he’s not very good (-0.8 rWAR) but he’s owed $16 million next year so they have a financial reason to keep him there (unless they can trade him). The Phillies #2 prospect in Bryson Stott, though. He is MLB ready and he’s a shortstop so Story may not be a fit at short. At second, they have the veteran Jean Segura, who had an OPS+ of 111 there so the Phillies probably won’t want to move his bat.

If the NL gets the DH, Story could be a better fit but Segura is their best defender. Gregorius is their worst defender by DRS but, perhaps, the Phillies would look at using him in the outfield, at least one team considered that at the trade deadline last year.

The Phillies and Story have been linked before but it’s not a great fit. Perhaps if some things change (a trade, the DH, etc.) happens for the Phillies, he’s a fit but he’s not a great fit, as of now.

The St. Louis Cardinals are a better fit for Trevor Story

Other than the Houston Astros, the St. Louis Cardinals may be the best fit for Trevor Story as they check nearly every box on Story’s list.

Winning: The Cardinals have won the World Series two times since 2006 and they have made the postseason 15 times in the 22 seasons in the millennium, including each of the last two seasons.

Geography: It’s, admittedly, not great considering that the Cardinals rarely play in Texas and it’s about 650 miles away but it’s a two hour flight. Both of those are comparable to the distance between Denver and Dallas.

A “pretty close” roster: If taken in the winning perspective for that, it’s a yes since they are a playoff team. If taken in the camaraderie perspective, it is also a “yes.” Former Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and Story are still great friends with each other so Arenado may be able to convince Story to go to St. Louis.

The Cardinals also don’t have a great bat at shortstop in Paul DeJong. He hit .197 with an OPS+ of 86 in 2021. Story, even having a down year himself in 2021, is much better than that. DeJong is, arguably, as good or better defensively than Story so if the Cardinals wanted to keep him around, he could be on the bench or play second (more on that in a moment). DeJong platooned with Edmundo Sosa in 2021, who was much better offensively (108 OPS+) but not as good defensively.

DeJong hasn’t played second in a while but did play 20 games there in 2017. Sosa can play second, short, or third (and he did play center field for one out in 2021).

Tommy Edman is their current second baseman and he was good defensively, as he had 6 DRS and won a Gold Glove. But he has played third, short, and all of the outfield spots too, including 41 games in right field in 2021.

The Cardinals outfield is very good (when healthy) as they have Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, and Dylan Carlson out there but if the DH comes to the NL, the Cardinals could mix and match with the aforementioned infielders and outfielders in the DH spot.

The most likely action would be that DeJong would be traded but the Cardinals could make it work with all of them.

Final Thoughts on Trevor Story possibly returning to the Colorado Rockies

Most Colorado Rockies fans were probably hoping to see that the Rockies would be in the top five teams but at this point, it’s doubtful. There was a report just before the lockout that the Rockies “would like to try” to bring Story back.

Look at the language in that. That’s, oftentimes, the key to understanding rumors. Of course, the Rockies would love to have Story back. But will they spend the money? Probably not.

The Rockies “would like to try” to try to get Shohei Ohtani in a trade from the Angels. Well, so does every other team but it’s not happening.

Also too, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post said that there hasn’t been recent contact between the Rockies and Story.

There’s always a chance that he could come back as some of the boxes would be checked (particularly the camaraderie aspect) but Story was not happy with the Rockies front office at the trade deadline and he said he wants to win and that’s “at the top” of his list. That’s not happening in Colorado in 2022 or, probably, 2023.

So unless his market plummets and he has to sign a one-year deal to re-enter the market next offseason, he almost certainly won’t be re-signing with the Colorado Rockies and will be moving on to another team for 2022, much to the dismay of Rockies fans.