Colorado Rockies: 3 of the best trades in franchise history

Colorado Rockies trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in January 2016

Last but certainly not least, the 2-for-2 swap between the Rockies and the Rays was perhaps one of the better pitching-focused trades in Rox history. The Rockies traded away slugging outfielder Corey Dickerson and high-ranked third base prospect Kevin Padlo for dominant relief pitcher Jake McGee and promising pitching prospect Germán Márquez.

Over his three seasons with the Rockies, outfielder Corey Dickerson made 854 plate appearances, logging 255 hits and 198 strikeouts, giving him a three-season average batting average of.293. During his two seasons with the Rays, Dickerson’s performance dropped holding an average batting average of .264 over those two seasons, recording 359 hits and 286 strikeouts. He was designated for assignment by the Rays before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in February 2018.

Unfortunately for the Rays, high-ranked third base prospect Kevin Padlo did not live up to expectations. He spent a large majority of his time with the Rays in the farm system. In fact, he didn’t play in a big league game until the 2021 season, in which he had only 12 plate appearances with one hit, eight strikeouts, two walks, and a double for the Rays. After batting only .083 over those 12 at-bats, the Rays sent Padlo down to the Minors before the Seattle Mariners picked him up off waivers in August 2021.

During his four seasons with the Rockies, reliever Jake McGee unimpressively carried an average ERA of 4.50. Unfortunately for the Rockies, it seems McGee’s years in Colorado were among his worst. McGee carried a much nicer average ERA during his previous four seasons with Tampa Bay (2.57) and two seasons following departure from Colorado, with the Dodgers and Giants (2.69).

Last but certainly not least, the current Rockies ace, Germán Márquez, is arguably one of the better prospect pickups in Rockies history. Márquez’s career average ERA of 4.28 isn’t a good representation of his success in the Majors. In 2018, he tied an MLB record by striking out the first eight batters of a game before Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta reached base on a fielding error on an 0-2 pitch. Márquez would also go on to receive the Silver Slugger Award as best hitting-pitcher in the National League that same season, the first Rockie to do so since 2002. Márquez has been a valuable asset to the Rockies over the years and is still the best arm in the rotation.

It’s no question that the Rockies have a few good trades under their belt, but we can all agree that there are some bad ones. Keep an eye out for three of the worst trades in Rox history, coming soon.