Colorado Rockies: Start from Scratch?

The Colorado Rockies are in a unique situation following the Troy Tulowitzki trade; thus, they should clear house and start from scratch to build a contender.

The Colorado Rockies continue to build towards contention; however, it is time for the Rockies to clear house and start from scratch. The Rockies need to address their pitching woes moving forward, but to acquire front-line pitching, the needs to trade away some of their better players. Sure, free agency provides a stop-gap approach for the Colorado Rockies, but that does not ensure sustainability with the team. Furthermore, the Rockies are not in line to sign any of the ace-caliber pitchers in free agency this off season.

With players like DJ LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Gonzalez, the Colorado Rockies own some players capable of nice returns. Many of the position players for the Rockies present nice trade bat; therefore, it may be wise for the Rockies’ upper management to start from scratch and trade away some of their valuable pieces. Although Rockies’ fans do not want to see their big names dealt away anytime soon, it looks like a necessary evil for the team.

The Colorado Rockies need to follow the footsteps of Braves’ upper officials John Hart and John Coppolella. The Atlanta Braves are clearing house to transform their team into a contender. While it comes at the expense of their star talent, they are trading to build a strong farm system full of pitching. The Colorado Rockies possess a strong farm system with capable hitting; however, they lack the pitching needed to succeed in today’s baseball.

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With the Colorado Rockies’ strong farm system with capable hitting, the Rockies possess the ability to fill their positional voids through the farm system. Thus, the Rockies need pitching, and one could argue that the Rockies are closer to contention than the Braves were before Hart took over and made his monumental moves. The Braves finished their 2014 season with a depleted farm system; thus, that was Hart’s first line of duty.

With the Colorado Rockies trading Troy Tulowitzki, management shifted focus to the future in Denver. The Rockies traded their superstar shortstop for Jose Reyes and a trio of prospects (Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesus Tinoco), showing the need for pitching in their farm system. While this one trade will not solve the Rockies’ pitching problems, it is a step in the right direction to load their farm system with pitching prospects.

The Colorado Rockies must build a team around Nolan Arenado, their budding superstar. With Brendan Rodgers and Trevor Story in the farm system, the Rockies have their middle infield-in-waiting ready to assume a role for the Rockies. While Trevor Story looks ready to begin the 2016 season as a member of the Rockies, Brendan Rodgers remains a couple of years away from his debut. Also, with a heavily loaded farm system full of bats, anyone on the Rockies looks to be expendable.

Next: Troy Tulowitzki: Assessing the Colorado Rockies' Trade

With Charlie Blackmon coming off his strongest professional season in 2015, the Rockies should sell-high on the outfielder. Also, Carlos Gonzalez presents an opportunity to get a nice haul in return. Lastly, DJ LeMahieu is a former Gold Glove winner, and basing off what the Braves got for Andrelton Simmons, the Rockies should shop his glove around. The Rockies need to act fast to sell high on some of their because time is of the essence.

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