Colorado Rockies morning after: Quiet trade deadline and next steps

When the 2022 MLB trade deadline had passed, the Colorado Rockies had done what many had expected them to do: Nothing.

However, what people expected them to do and what people hoped they would do are two different things. And that’s where, as August 3 dawned and the MLB trade deadline was well in the rearview mirror, Colorado Rockies fans were left to wonder exactly what comes next for a franchise that saw game-changing trades happen within its own division while it sat by and said, “Wait ’til next year.”

What comes next for the Colorado Rockies after a quiet MLB trade deadline?

Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt was straightforward with the media as the Rockies prepared to play the second game of a double-header against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Colorado had just been whacked in the first game by a 13-5 margin and would go on to lose the second game, 3-2, dropping them into the National League West basement with a 46-60 mark.

“We are who we are,” Schmidt said of the franchise. “Trying to stay up with the Joneses, sometimes you can’t do that. We are not financially in that situation. We are going to do the best we can with the resources we have.”

The Joneses in this case are the Padres, who transformed their roster through bold trade deadline moves, including the acquisition of a generational talent in Juan Soto. He, along with closer Josh Hader, acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers and a pitcher who earned the win in Tuesday’s nightcap, were brought to southern California as the Padres hope to not only get into the postseason, but do some real damage as well once they get there.

While San Diego planned for what’s next, the Rockies planned for what could come next. And whatever rumors were swirling at the deadline about the possibilities of Chad Kuhl, José Iglesias, or Alex Colomé moving on to other teams, none of those possibilities were enticing enough to make a trade.

“At the end of the day, we weren’t able to pull anything off that we thought made us better at this point in time,” Schmidt said. “We decided to stay where we were.”

This point in time is a frustrating one for Rockies fans. Whatever the future may hold with Zac Veen, Drew Romo, and Ezequiel Tovar riding in on white horses to save the day, the present seems murky and convoluted. The prospects Rockies fans are excited to see take the field in Denver are still a ways away from getting there, with Tovar being the most likely to make his debut later this year or early next year.

Certainly there’s a plan in place within the Rockies organization, but it’s a plan that is hard to read and embrace for fans who wanted something, anything to point to as a sign of action. However, instead of action, Rockies fans found themselves with the only MLB team that didn’t make any kind of move at the trade deadline.

So what comes next for the Rockies, with Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos now fully taking everyone’s attention away from 20th and Blake? The Rockies will have to wait until the offseason to try to find complementary pieces to Kris Bryant, Ryan McMahon, Kyle Freeland, and the others who have signed extensions or contracts to be a part of the franchise’s future.

Colorado’s chief competitors in the division got stronger for the future at the trade deadline. The Rockies will have to try to find answers in the chill of winter, doing their planning while watching the postseason from home yet again.

The Colorado Rockies did nothing at the trade deadline. While they don’t have to keep up with the Joneses, they at least need to be in the same zip code as them. Right now, that’s simply not the case.