Is It Time For The Colorado Rockies To Blow Things Up?

May 25, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies left fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) is congratulated by teammate Troy Tulowitzki (2) after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

As of Tuesday, July 22nd, the Colorado Rockies have lost 40 out of their last 55 games and seem to be in a never-ending tailspin towards the bottom of the Major League standings, where they’re currently tied for last with the Texas Rangers. One problem the Rockies have dealt with this season and like every other season is depth. Injuries have taken its toll on the team, missing key placers such as Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cuddyer for he latter part of the season while key pitchers Jhoulys Chacin, Jordan Lyles, and Tyler Chatwood remain out.

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Now we get to the part nobody wants to hear about. Should the Colorado Rockies start all over? Well, that’s not an easy question to answer regarding how talented their offense shapes up but pitching on the other hand has been rough to say the least. By pitching, I mean the bullpen which ranks dead last in the MLB in terms of ERA. Just this past series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado got more than quality starts with Jorge De La Rosa, Brett Anderson, and Tyler Matzek where they all deserved the win. The bullpen faltered in all three games, raising some red flags about the team moving forward.

I was a believer in this team early on to contend down the stretch and I’m tired of reiterating the phrase “if they stay healthy” because it never happens in baseball. Teams deal with plentiful injuries throughout the season just like the Rockies but they can cope with it due to depth. Moves this offseason including the Dexter Fowler deal for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes was a depth move. Lyles was supposed to be the security blanket in Triple-A to plug the hole in case of an injury. As it turns out, he was with the team during the first week of the season and had an incredible run until he too unfortunately, got hurt.

Now, I’ve posted a couple of columns regarding two of the Rockies All-Stars, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. For Tulo, Colorado would be foolish to trade the shortstop and regarding CarGo, Colorado should gauge trade interest for the outfielder. Personally, it seems Colorado isn’t going anywhere soon with these two on the roster and it’s time to consider you know what. I’ll be the first to tell you I want to keep Tulowitzki on the team, but the shortstop is entering his prime and it’s only fitting to trade him to a contender (not in the NL please). To counter that, I feel Colorado can be contenders next season if they can get a couple of arms in the bullpen, not named Matt Belisle and Wilton Lopez. But you know, I’m not a general manager.

Colorado can simply rebuild the bullpen and add a starter by trading Tulo or CarGo. I’ve made the case multiple times to trade CarGo due to the emergence of Corey Dickerson in the wings. For Tulo, there may be a replacement down the line with Trevor Story, but that may take 2-3 years. The Rockies simply said Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez will not be available for trade, but they should keep their options open.

Colorado is in a state of flux right now and we might see some moves soon, regarding player personnel. However, Dick Monfort needs to get off the high horse and stop being so loyal to Dan O’Dowd and Bill Geivett as we have witnessed the same old, same old every year.

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