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Rockies Outlook Chat
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Anthony Franco
4:58
Hey everyone, hope you're having a good one!
4:59
Let's talk about the Rockies
Vinny Castilla
4:59
There aren't many teams in the league with no hope, but the Rockies are sure close.
Guest
4:59
What is the most realistic plan of turning the Rockies into a contender again?
Anthony Franco
5:00
As you'd imagine, I got a bunch of this kind of question
They're definitely in a tough spot. It's more of an uphill battle to contention for them than almost everyone in the majors
5:02
I'll say that I think they're too far to actually commit to a rebuild at this point. Even if they wanted to pivot and tear things down (which they don't), they have so much money locked up in underwater deals and only a few high-value trade assets they couldn't do a whole lot in that direction
I thought a rebuild was the right play as recently as a year ago. They're pretty much pot committed now though
Dave just….dave
5:03
The Rockies are one of those teams that has to build from within and have a strong farm that will then turn into a strong team. They finally have a top 10 farm, and 4 players in the top 100. Could that push them to looking at the playoffs in 24/25?
Anthony Franco
5:03
So that obviously leads to the next question, which is what they could do to turn things around
5:04
I do like the farm system a fair amount, particularly the crop of younger position players they have on the rise. I don't think it's out of the question they could be competitive a couple years from now, but they'll need a bunch of those guys to hit and the rotation they've locked in (Márquez, Freeland, Senzatela) to turn things around in a hurry
rocco
5:05
would you start by trading Cron? he is a FA next year & they have Toglia to replaceme? then maybe Montero & Marquez? Toronto has shown interest in Marquez
Anthony Franco
5:05
Wouldn't trade Cron yet, although I'd be more open at next year's deadline if they're again out of it than they probably will be
5:06
Have to keep Márquez and hope for better after last season. It'd be a real sell-low now. Montero would have modest appeal but isn't going to bring back a ton
Shad
5:06
What about a free agent like Will Myers? (after he gets cut).. Dude rakes at Coors, and can play left or 1st pushing Cron/Blackmon to DH.
Anthony Franco
5:07
Yeah I like the fit there. Think they're a fit for any of the buy-low outfielders really (Gallo, Conforto, Myers, Naquin to a lesser extent). Get Blackmon more DH reps, probably could use two new outfielders
Grant
5:08
If you watch the Rox every night you realize the reason they struggle is their offense and middle relief. The starting pitching gives them a chance most nights. What will it take for the Rox (and the national media) to realize that Coors isn’t the most homer friendly park and neither are most of the nl west parks and for them to focus more on quality hitters with speed rather than sluggers?
Anthony Franco
5:08
I think this was true until this past season. Rotation (Márquez in particular) regressed pretty hard this year
5:09
I don't disagree with your point about prioritizing athleticism, particularly since I think you're right that a lot of what makes Coors so hitter-friendly isn't just that it's helpful to homers but that the huge outfield leaves large gaps for hits to drop
david
5:09
If starting pitching is the biggest need for the Rox (and it seems it is - 27th in bWAR for SP in 2022, maybe an argument for over the fence power), how do they solve this to become competitive in the next 3 years in the stacked NL West? Given their park and divisional headwinds, it seems like they are stuck...
bibbits
5:09
what is the rockies starting 5 pitchers and who might they add as far as free agents?
Anthony Franco
5:10
Márquez and Freeland are the only guys I think are locks for the season-opening rotation right now. Senzatela will get another shot once he's healthy
5:11
Lamet's an interesting wild card there. Guessing they'll probably leave him in the bullpen since he had some late-season success and has the injury history, but he'd be one of their five best starters if healthy
5:13
As for outside pickups, I think they'd be an interesting fit for Syndergaard after a down year. He lost some velocity relative to pre-surgery but still throws in the mid-90s, gets a fair number of grounders and leans heavily on a slider as his go-to secondary offering. It's the kind of profile they've had a bit of success with in the past, and his price tag shouldn't be huge
Slurms McKenzie
5:13
What are the odds Colorado begins next season with Cron, Montero and Toglia on the roster?
Anthony Franco
5:14
Expect they'll all be in the organization but Toglia starts back at Triple-A. Montero should be in the mix for DH at-bats
Rodrigo
5:14
Do you think Rockies doesn't hire "big name" or high profile names at GM or President so Dick Monfort has more impact in baseball operations?
Anthony Franco
5:14
No, not necessarily. I just think Monfort likes hiring people whom he knows personally so he constantly promotes from within
crisisjunky
5:14
Will Tovar start '23 in Denver?
Rotator Cuff Ron
5:14
Is Tovar the long-term answer at SS?
Anthony Franco
5:16
Yeah I think Tovar's the starting shortstop on Opening Day and gets a chance to cement himself there long-term. I'm still a little hesitant to buy into how aggressive he is at the plate, but it hasn't slowed him down thus far and it seems like prospect evaluators are all huge fans of his now
BDH
5:16
Where does Sean Bouchard fit into the Rockies plans ?
Anthony Franco
5:17
He's probably a bench bat/part-time corner outfielder. Had an impressive early look in the majors but he doesn't hit the ball super hard and has a fair bit of swing-and-miss. I'm skeptical he'll be enough of an impact offensive player to play everyday with the limited defensive profile
5:18
Even if he's just a part-time player who works a bunch of walks and runs into a few homers, that's great value for a guy they took in the ninth round though
Charlie Blackmon
5:18
Are my starting days behind me? Should I expect to be a 4th outfielder going forward?
Anthony Franco
5:19
Considering they didn't curtail his playing time at all to prevent him from maxing out his bonus money on next year's option, I don't think they're about to knock him out of the Opening Day lineup. Could sprinkle in some more off days but he should play 135+ games if he stays healthy
After next year, his contract's up. At that point, yeah, if he comes back it's probably as a bench bat
Larry Legend
5:20
Even if everything goes right (health mainly), is there any way the Rockies don't finish last in the division with the roster they currently have in 2023, or the next few years?
Anthony Franco
5:20
Sure, they're not that far behind Arizona as things stand. I wouldn't at all be surprised if they finished in fourth next year
Ryan
5:20
What do you think of Bud Black's comment about "Not trading our Range Rover for your Subaru" referring to not trading their pending FA's?
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