4 of the biggest Rockies trade heists in franchise history

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MLB Trades are some of the hardest deals to make in all of professional sports. Often times you are trading very proven, major league ready talent. A lot of times these players are All-Star level players looking to leave a rebuilding team, or looking for a serious pay day.

These deals can be so hard because major league talent for major league talent rarely happens. This causes teams to look at young players that could eventually become serious major league contributors, or possibly even All-Star level players. With this inherent risk that teams take by trading away major league talent, a lot of times the deal either works out great, as the acquired players go on to become perennial All-Stars and it looks like a steal; or the acquired players struggled to get past a certain minor league level and the deal is a complete bust.

Every team has examples of both sides of these, and a lot of fans may remember a lot of the bad trades teams make, resulting in the loss of seeing elite level players compete for your franchise. There are still some very solid trades that teams make, and the Rockies are no exception. Today, as we sit here in doom and gloom as the Rockies continue to struggle, we are going to look back at four trades that were absolute steals.

Rockies acquire Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street and Greg Smith from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Matt Holliday

Holliday is a franchise icon and will forever be enshrined in Rockies history. He was one of the best players in franchise history, during the best run, in franchise history. It felt like Holliday spent forever with the Rockies, but he was only there for a little over five years. In those five years Holliday ranked top 10 in fWAR, 11th in home runs, third in batting average, and second in wRC+. However, Holliday and the Rockies not being able to agree to an extension would end his tenure with the Rockies.

The trio that the Rockies received was arguably the best deal in franchise history. Carlos Gonzalez would go on to put up the ninth highest wRC+, fifth most home runs, a top five fWAR, and three gold gloves and was a three time All-Star in his 10 years with the Rockies. He has also played in the third most games in Rockies franchise history. CarGo was one of the most exciting players in franchise history and rewarded the Rockies in a big way.

Street would only spend three years with the Rockies, but they were some really solid years. Street combined for 2.6 fWAR in those three years, displaying something that the Rockies seemingly have completely gotten away from (high strikeouts, low walks). His ERA was anywhere from 3.06 to 3.86 showing that he figured out how to compete in the thin Colorado air.

Rockies acquire DJ LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers

DJ LeMahieu was one of the most likeable players in franchise history. The second baseman gave the Rockies a solid, high average, and consistent hitter to put anywhere in their lineup. LeMahieu ranks ninth in games played in Rockies history and was nearly top 10 in fWAR.

Ian Stewart had so much potential, but just could never live up to it. The Rockies gave up on the former first round pick and after one year with the Cubs, and one year with the Angels, Ian Stewart would be out of baseball.

Rockies acquire Dante Bichette from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Kevin Reimer

The Rockies were an expansion team when they selected Kevin Reimer from the Rangers with the ninth overall pick in the expansion draft. They weren't thrilled with that pick and immediately flipped him to the Brewers for Dante Bichette, which would prove to be an absolute steal.

Bichette would spend seven seasons in Colorado, ranking seventh in home runs, third in RBI, fifth in stolen bases, and fourth in batting average. Bichette was the Rockies slugger during the steroid era and he would destroy the baseball, capping it off with a second place MVP finish in 1995 with 40 home runs, and a league leading .620 slugging percentage.

Reimer would go on to play the 1993 season with the Brewers, hitting just 13 home runs with a .249 average, and an 87 OPS+. After that, he was out of the league as he watched Bichette go on to become one of the best sluggers in baseball, during one of the best offensive eras in baseball.

Rockies acquire Jake McGee and German Marquez from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Corey Dickerson and Kevin Padlo

In one of the more recent trades, the Rockies finally acquired a solid starting pitcher (and also got a very solid bullpen arm). The Rockies have never been able to produce or maintain strong pitching, but this trade broke that mold and continues to yield results.

Through just eight years with the Rockies, Marquez already ranks second in fWAR, behind just Ubaldo Jiminez. The former All-Star seemed like he had shown the ability to tame the friendly confines of Coors Field. Would you be surprised to learn that Marquez is already fourth in innings pitched in a Rockies uniform? Once he returns from his injury, (and considering he is still just 29), Marquez has a very solid chance of going down as the best pitcher in Rockies history.

McGee would go on to become one of the better relievers in franchise history, over four seasons. McGee would throw another three innings in the major leagues before retiring after the 2022 season.

Dickerson was a slugger that seemed to have a lot of potential with the Rockies, but after being traded away from Colorado, Dickerson could never replicate the same type of numbers and as of 2024, is still looking for a job.

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4 of the biggest trade heists in Rockies franchise history