Colorado Rockies: Six trade targets from the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies have shared a lot of different players in recent years. DJ LeMahieu is the former Colorado Rockies player that has flourished the most in a Yankees uniform but the Yankees poached some former Rockies directly off the Rockies scrap heap and made them into good players (at least for a short period) or they grabbed them as a veteran in the twilight of their careers.

Since 2016, that list includes relievers Adam Ottavino, David Hale, Tommy Kahnle, catcher Chris Iannetta (in 2020 but he never played in a game with them), Chad Bettis (similar case to Iannetta), Mike Tauchman, Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday, and Eric Young, Jr.

For the Rockies, former Yankees players that have been with the Rockies in that same time frame are Joe Harvey, Philip Diehl, James Pazos, Chad Qualls, Boone Logan, Matt Holliday (was a Rockie for a second stint after playing with the Yankees) and Jhoulys Chacín (who was a Rockie before he was a Yankee and the Yankees released him after Spring Training in 2021 before the Rockies signed him for his second stint with the team). Obviously, the first list is the best of the two.

But that could change if the Colorado Rockies swung some trades with the Yankees for some major league talent. That’s not to say that the Yankees would (or should) trade some of these players but some of them may be traded when the MLB lockout ends because, despite being a playoff team, the Yankees have a lot of things they have to address before the start of the season.

The New York Yankees could be looking to trade first baseman Luke Voit and he could be a big bat for the Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are not in the market directly for a first baseman. After all, they do have C.J. Cron, who was the Rockies’ best hitter in 2021 and he just inked a two-year extension. However, if the DH comes to the National League, the Rockies really need another bat and New York Yankees’ first baseman Luke Voit could fill that void.

Voit, who turns 31 in February, is just one year removed from leading the American League in home runs and coming in ninth in AL MVP voting but in 2021, he wasn’t as good and he was injured for more than half of the season. His OPS+ dropped from 157 to 109 and the Yankees showed that they needed a first baseman when they traded for Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline. Rizzo is a free agent but first base is something that is still an issue for the Yankees.

Especially if they trade for Oakland’s Matt Olson or sign free agent Freddie Freeman, Voit will be on his way out.

The problem for the Rockies is that they don’t want a single DH and with Cron and Voit only playing first base, one of them would have to DH and one would have to play first base. The Rockies likely wouldn’t pigeon-hole themselves that way but depending on what the Yankees would ask for Voit, they should also explore the idea of it.

New York Yankees infielder Gio Urshela would also be a good target for the Colorado Rockies

Gio Urshela, 30, has been with the New York Yankees since the 2019 season after playing a handful of games with the Toronto Blue Jays and being drafted by and making his MLB debut with the then-named Cleveland Indians. He could provide the Colorado Rockies with a versatile infielder bat.

Urshela had always been known as a “defense first” kind of player, which is not usually something that you see out of a third baseman. In fact, with Cleveland and Toronto, Urshela didn’t show that he had an MLB-quality bat (57 OPS+). But he fixed his bat with the Yankees. In 291 games with the Yankees, he has hit .292/.335/.480 with an OPS+ of 119.

In 2021, he regressed a bit offensively as he hit 14 homers, 49 RBI, a slash line of .267/.301/.419, and an OPS+ of 96.

Despite being a primary third baseman, Urshela is currently slated as the Yankees shortstop due to Gleyber Torres’ woes at shortstop but he can play all four infield positions if needed.

Urshela has two years remaining until he becomes a free agent (under the current CBA guidelines).

New York Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo would be a huge bat for the Colorado Rockies

Two or three decades ago, there’s a chance that Joey Gallo might not even be on a team. After all, he has a sub-.210 batting average in four of the last five seasons. However, Gallo’s former team, the Texas Rangers, and his current team, the New York Yankees have Gallo around for a few reasons.

Gallo, 28, is the poster child for the “three true outcomes.” In 2021, he either struck out, walked, or homered in 58.8 percent of his plate appearances, which was by far the highest of anyone in baseball in an era where the “three true outcomes” are at an all-time high at just above 35 percent.

Part of the reason why Gallo’s average is so low is that teams shift to the right side for the left-handed-hitting outfielder. After all, he pulls the ball 10 percent more than the average MLB player. But when he does get a hit, it is usually a mammoth home run with his phenomenal exit velocity and barrel percentage.

Despite having walls that would be further back than most stadiums if he was at Coors Field, the thinner air would be a perfect haven for Gallo to tee off on some balls and hit them into the Rock Pile, the Captain’s Deck, or to The Rooftop.

Gallo is also a great defender as he has 28 Defensive Runs Saved since 2020 so having him in the big Coors Field outfield would be another positive

The Rockies also love their versatile players and Gallo can play left field and right field and has experience in center field, first base, and third base as well.

The Yankees could look to get rid of him this offseason because, despite them trading for him at the trade deadline last year, the Yankees already have a lot of “three true outcomes” players (Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, the aforementioned Luke Voit, etc.)

Gallo, under the current CBA, is a free agent after next season so he could be a perfect player for the Rockies to target in free agency.

New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes could do wonders for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field

Despite having over three years of service time, New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes has not pitched a ton in the major leagues. He split the 2021 season between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Yankees and he had more MLB appearances in 2021 (69) than he did in the previous three seasons combined (47). He wasn’t particularly good for the Pirates in those 47 appearances (5.91 ERA) or his 44 appearances with the Pirates in 2021 (4.93 ERA). But what attracted the Yankees to him is what should attract the Colorado Rockies.

Holmes, 28, appeared in 25 games for the Yankees and turned things around. He had a sparkling 1.61 ERA for the Yankees down the stretch because he dramatically reduced his walk rate. He was walking more than six batters per nine innings in his overall time with the Pirates (5.4 BB/9 in 2021) and when he went to the Yankees, he dropped it by more than 75 percent down to 1.3 BB/9. For the Rockies, he is particularly intriguing because of his groundball rate.

Since 2019 among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched, Holmes has the second-highest groundball rate: 65.0 percent. Antonio Senzatela and Germán Márquez (both pitchers that pitch better at Coors Field than on the road) are both in the top ten in groundball rate for all starting pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched since 2019. Their groundball rates are, per FanGraphs, 52.1 and 50.4 percent.

In other words, Clay Holmes could be a great pitcher out of the Rockies bullpen, especially at Coors Field, with that groundball percentage.

The next team up in our series of potential targets is the Tampa Bay Rays.