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Colorado Rockies: The lockout won’t be ending any time soon

By Noah Yingling

DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 12: Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during a press conference announcing a partnership with the Players Alliance during the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day at Coors Field on July 12, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 12: Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during a press conference announcing a partnership with the Players Alliance during the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day at Coors Field on July 12, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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Considering that MLB and the MLBPA had just two meetings in December and neither of which discussed the crux of their disagreements, Colorado Rockies fans and MLB fans, in general, were hoping that now the holiday season is over with, the two sides would start having some serious discussions.

But that is not going to happen … at least for now.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Twitter, the two sides don’t even have a meeting scheduled, let alone on the key issues that have caused the lockout.

The MLB lockout isn’t ending soon, to the chagrin of Colorado Rockies fans

As long as the MLB lockout drags on, the Colorado Rockies and the other 29 MLB teams will not be able to make any trades or signings for players on MLB contracts.

If the Rockies truly believe that they just “need more pieces” to be a playoff-contending team in 2022, they will have to not just hit the ground running but hit the ground sprinting like Usain Bolt, especially if the lockout ends in mid-February or later.

MLB teams could only have a few days before Spring Training starts for signing players and trades. Of course, they could do this into Spring Training but teams (and players, for that matter) would prefer that moves are made as soon as possible so that players can get settled in and work out for the team for the entirety of Spring Training, whether it’s six weeks or three weeks.

Back during MLB’s last work stoppage (the strike of 1994-1995), the Rockies signed starting pitcher Bill Swift, who came in 2nd in NL Cy Young Award voting in 1993, and future Hall of Famer Larry Walker within a week of the strike ending. They ended up getting to the playoffs after a dismal 1994 campaign.

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For the Rockies in 2022, though, they have a few more things to address as they, at bare minimum, need a power bat, an outfielder, an infielder, and some bullpen help. Those bare necessities and, arguably, many other things will have to be addressed when the lockout is over but that looks increasingly far away.

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