3 free agents the Colorado Rockies should sign right now

The Colorado Rockies are two games into their season but there are a slew of free agents still left on the market. The Rockies still have a few areas where they could use some depth and/or upgrades.

Here are three upgrades/depth pieces that the Rockies should sign on the free agent market right now. We will also look at who these signings could impact on the current roster.

The Colorado Rockies should sign Michael Conforto

Michael Conforto is still on the free agent market and he is, by far, the best free agent left. We’ve examined the case for signing Conforto as far back as this past December.

Since then, the Rockies have signed Kris Bryant and traded for outfielder Randal Grichuk and they should provide an upgrade for the Rockies offense … but will it be enough?

Conforto would, arguably, be their best offensive player in the outfield. Conforto had a down year in 2021 but since 2017, he has hit .259/.364/.473. Bryant has hit .275/.376/.494 in the same span. Conforto has a wRC+ of 128 and an OPS+ of 127. Bryant’s has a 130 wRC+ and a 128 OPS+ in that same span so they are very close. Conforto is a year younger than Bryant too.

There are two issues with signing him, though. First off, he still has the qualifying offer attached to him. Bryant did not have the QO attached to him, which undoubtedly made it an easier signing for the Rockies. Secondly with signing him, the Rockies already have a lot of outfielders.

Signing him might mean that they would have to go with a more permanent DH. Charlie Blackmon would likely be that DH and Connor Joe would likely get a lot less playing time.

Last year, Joe had the second-highest OPS+ of anyone on the team last year (minimum of 200 plate appearances). He could be a super-utility guy and still play four days a week or so but that’s something to consider, particularly if they would be able to get Conforto on a relatively cheap, incentive-laden deal.