Colorado Rockies Should Gauge Trade Interest For Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez
By Andrew Dill
Jul 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies left fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) looses his bat in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Rockies fell 16 games below .500 last night in a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates as we saw the team find yet another way to lose. The starting pitching from Jorge De La Rosa was fantastic, but the bullpen couldn’t seem to hold it together yet again as the red flags continue to rise.
Let’s face it, the Rockies are going anywhere this season as they need to remodel from top to bottom — that includes the front office. One way the Rockies can improve their pitching without trading away any prized possessions in the minors such as Jon Gray, David Dahl, Rosell Herrera, or Raimel Tapia. Gauge trade interest for All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and see what they could get.
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Yes, I know, Carlos Gonzalez is a perennial All-Star when healthy but it may be time to break up the band between he and Troy Tulowitzki for the sake of getting better as an all-around team, like Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports said. First off, I am as big as a CarGo fan as anybody, but Colorado has the depth in the outfield to trade him away. Sure, they don’t have an outfielder with as good as defensive skill/vision he possesses — especially his arm. However, Colorado does have the depth in the outfield in order to compete offensively — which we all know they are capable of.
Just last night, Carlos Gonzalez looked out of rhythm and his lack of discipline at the plate made for an atrocious day at the plate. CarGo went 0-for-5 last night — all five outs being strikeouts. Since coming back from his finger injury, Gonzalez is 4-for-18 (.222), with 2 doubles and just 1 RBI — not what you expect out of a prototypical three-hole hitter.
Colorado lacks depth in their starting rotation and any depth for that matter in their bullpen, which makes CarGo an interesting trade candidate. Colorado could ship him for pitching prospects but we all know they are terrible in terms of developing pitchers (ex: Greg Reynolds). If they do in fact trade a player of his stature, it should be for an MLB ready pitcher like David Price like Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post referred to in the offseason; that is if he would re-sign with the Rockies.
Colorado has some promising pitchers in the system such as Tyler Matzek, Eddie Butler, Jon Gray, and hopefully Tyler Anderson, but if they can re-sign Jorge De La Rosa and acquire a pitcher like Price, you would have to like their chances in 2015.
In the mean time, CarGo’s trade value is only declining as his poor play continues coming back from injury.