Last night, the Colorado Rockies lost to the San Francisco Giants. Well, maybe that’s an understatement. Falling 23-5 is a bit more than a loss. After opening the year 11-5, the Rockies have slipped to 17-19 and fourth place in the NL West. Their recent struggles are evidence of a larger issue. This larger problem was the first thing I mentioned on the Rockies in my NL West predictions: The Colorado Rockies are a directionless franchise.
Colorado has been blessed with the likes of Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and Trevor Story. They had DJ LeMahieu up until a year ago. Despite their ever-present offensive talent, they made the postseason just twice in the past decade. The Rockies have won only one playoff game in ten years. Common sense would tell you that the front office should maybe start to pick up the slack and start building around the talent they do have. Make no mistake, Nolan Arenado is one of the best players in the league. DJ LeMaheiu was always really good, but no one realized it while Colorado was perennially average. Unfortunately, I doubt the Rockies front office will get it done while their stars are still around.
Will the Colorado Rockies Ever Be Buyers?
Colorado has had two General Managers in the last decade. Dan O’Dowd was replaced in 2014 by Jeff Bridich, the current GM. Credit to O’Dowd, he did get the Rockies to the World Series in 2007. They got smacked by the Red Sox, but credit where credit is due. Despite the change in management, the franchise has remained largely inactive in free agency or the trade deadline. At this trade deadline, the best acquisition they got was Kevin Pillar. I like Kevin Pillar, but when are the Rockies going to be buyers? They’re always a middling team with no direction. Build around Arenado and Blackmon for crying out loud!
It is so unclear where the Colorado Rockies are going from here. What’s the plan? They’re apparently unwilling to commit to a full rebuild. But as it stands, they aren’t nearly competitive enough and are wasting the primes of their best players. Colorado needs to figure something out soon. Either tank, start being active in the player market, or keep existing in a perpetual state of mediocrity.
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