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Rockies OiR Chat: 2022-23
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Anthony Franco
10:58
Hey everyone, happy Opening Day!
10:59
Let's talk Rockies before the season gets underway
Dick Monfort
10:59
What on earth are we doing?
Anthony Franco
10:59
Ha, I guess this is a good place to start
11:01
They're just too bullish on their own players. They've committed to a bunch of guys on above-market contract extensions (Elías Díaz, Antonio Senzatela, Kyle Freeland especially) and they've boxed themselves into a bad spot financially as a result
11:02
They went into the offseason without any kind of financial breathing room and a bunch of underwater contracts they wouldn't be able to offload on another club even if they wanted to kick off a reset -- which they don't, because they like this group more than other teams do
11:03
I don't actually have an issue with anything they did this offseason specifically. The Profar deal is good value. A $5MM upside play on Pierce Johnson is a little high but fine. I understand the Nolan Jones trade even if I'd probably rather have Juan Brito
11:05
The problem is they've dug themselves a hole with decisions in prior offseason that don't give them a clear path to getting out, at least until the likes of Even, Bernabel and Romo reach the majors. So every move they make comes off as kind of spinning their wheels because they've put themselves in a no-win situation
The Guy Next Door
11:05
Do the Rockies finally lose 100 games? Can we get a poll?
Anthony Franco
11:06
Not enough people in here to get real poll data but I'd take a slight over on 100 losses personally
Rox
11:06
This team seems content with mediocrity (at best). It’ll continue to be the same until Monfort sells the team, no? So as Rockies fans, why care about a team that doesn’t seem to care themselves?
Anthony Franco
11:07
I think ownership does care (and the front office obviously does, Bill Schmidt's been there forever). They've just not been particularly good at executing
If Monfort didn't care about winning, he wouldn't have signed off on a $182MM deal for Kris Bryant
KD
11:08
Any chance we trade Grichuk this season? His value seems like the highest it’ll be.
Anthony Franco
11:10
I don't think Grichuk has any value right now. Colorado owes him $5MM, which isn't massive but is also not nothing. He wasn't good last year on either side of the ball and is currently out with sports hernia surgery
11:11
Maybe he comes back, hits well for six weeks and becomes a viable deadline trade candidate. But even in that instance, they're probably not getting back more than a lottery ticket prospect. I think he's more likely to end up DFA than a priority trade target for another team
Smalls
11:11
The Rox go into the season on a new high for payroll, yet it still seems like they are afraid to spend. What would it take for them to start being similar to like the Padres or Rangers and go for bigger names?
Anthony Franco
11:14
I'm not sure that's ever going to be the case for Colorado. Peter Seidler in San Diego is an anomaly for mid-market ownership; Ray Davis in Texas has a bigger market size in the Dallas area
The Rockies enter 2023 with a player payroll that Cot's  Contracts projects 16th. That seems reasonable. The Rockies are a mid-market franchise and they're at an average spending level
11:15
It's an issue of resource allocation more than frugality
Outside the box guy
11:15
Do you think the Rockies would be better served by flipping young offense pieces for controllable pitchers and aim to maximize their success, even if it's not a conventional alignment, I.E. ground ball hurlers at home, flyball pitchers on the road?
Anthony Franco
11:17
While I think this is a cool idea in theory, I don't see any way you can execute it over a 162-game season. Injuries and workload concerns are going to intervene very quickly, it's impossible to have a strict divide in home/road pitching plans
Jimmy ryan
11:17
why Don’t you think they are doing some low end flyers through waivers or signings outside of Pierce Johnson  to hope to find a lotto ticket to start to help them get out of this mess?
Anthony Franco
11:18
They did this to some extent. Connor Seabold, Brent Suter and Nick Mears via small trade/waivers, Brad Hand in free agency
11:19
I agree that outside of Johnson, they targeted more high-floor types than more of the boom/bust profile I'd rather see them attack, but they've got a lot of holes on the roster and I understand the desire to just bring in a solid but not particularly exciting veteran like Brent Suter to add some kind of stability
Dinger da Dino
11:20
which promising young players could debut this year and give fans something to invest in what is likely a 100 loss team
Anthony Franco
11:21
Tovar already debuted obviously but he's the main one. Zac Veen should get an MLB look at some point. Brenton Doyle will probably be up too
11:22
I'm not really a buyer on Doyle -- think the strikeouts are going to put him in Sam Hilliard territory -- but he's got an interesting power/speed combination that could make him a fun player to dream on if he takes a bigger step forward in his approach than I'd anticipate
Arenado
11:22
Are Rockies fans still mad about the Arenado trade?
Arenado
11:22
Is Colorado still paying St. Louis cash for Arenado?
Anthony Franco
11:24
I assume Rockies fans are still irritated with the Arenado saga. It's not like Austin Gomber and Elehuris Montero have done anything to reward the organization's faith, and reinvesting the money in Kris Bryant didn't work in year one
11:25
They are still paying St. Louis, yeah. They're on the hook for $5MM annually from 2023-25 because Arenado didn't opt out. The Associated Press also reported they're paying the Cards $16MM this year, which they would've done regardless of Arenado's opt-out decision. That's technically to cover part of the 2022 salary but was essentially deferred to this year, is how I understand it
Gary Sanchez
11:25
Sign me!!!
Anthony Franco
11:26
I agree this should happen. Elias Díaz just isn't an MLB starting catcher for me
Fair Weather Rox
11:26
What would surprise you the most about this Rox squad
Anthony Franco
11:27
In terms of team results, a playoff berth obviously. But on a more granular level, I think it'll be interesting to see how they approach Germán Márquez's situation this summer
11:28
I fully anticipate he'll bounce back to the guy he was before 2022. The stuff is still good, the track record was excellent before last year. This is the final guaranteed year of his deal but they've got a $16MM option for 2024
If he bounces back but the team is bad, do they seriously consider moving him at the deadline? I doubt it
Connor⚾️
11:28
Did Nolan Jones not make the roster bc of his spring? I thought he had a good shot @ the team on opening day
Anthony Franco
11:29
Yeah I think he just played himself off the roster by not hitting in Spring Training
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