Colorado Rockies: The grades for their post-lockout moves

Signing Kris Bryant via free agency: C

This may be a bit of a controversial grading but before you jump down my throat, hear me out.

It’s a good move for the Rockies for a few reasons. Bill Schmidt knows Kris Bryant well and has for a decade. He provides them with a big bat in their lineup. The Rockies needed a bat in the outfield. The Rockies wanted someone that is versatile. Kris Bryant wanted to be a Rockie and has wanted to be for a decade.

But there are plenty of negatives too.

First off is the length of contract. Will Kris Bryant be an All-Star caliber player when he’s 37? Probably not. Just look at some projections for him then. They aren’t pretty.

Secondly, there are other teams that got bigger bats or comparable bats for much less (in length and total money). Carlos Correa, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, and Freddie Freeman all fall into this category. Correa and Freeman were the only ones who had a higher AAV than Bryant.

Thirdly, Bryant is not replacing Story defensively. He’s not as good of a defender and he’s not playing shortstop.

Fourth, he has had his fair share of injuries. Since 2018, he has spent time on the IL for shoulder inflammation twice, a finger injury, an oblique injury, and an elbow injury. Total he missed about 110 games for those injuries and a few day-to-day injuries since then.

Lastly, does Kris Bryant make them a playoff contender right now? He does not.

That’s why we have his signing as a C: five positives and five negatives.