N.L. West In 2015: Colorado Rockies

Let’s be honest: when the Colorado Rockies hired Jeff Birdich as their general manager, they were in desperate need of a new direction, and a plan on how this team was going to be competitive again.

Instead, while teams like the Diamondbacks, Padres, Dodgers, Cubs, Marlins, and others were busy this offseason, the Rockies did nothing, and at this point, nobody knows what this front office is doing.

Of the five teams that changed general managers this offseason, the Rockies are the only ones that didn’t make significant changes, and it calls into question what direction this team is trying to go in. I’m sure if you talk with any Rockies fan, there probably frustrated.

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With that being said here is what Colorado did this offseason:

Losses: RF Michael Cuddyer, INF Josh Rutledge, LHP Brett Anderson, LHP Franklin Morales, RHP Matt Belisle, RHP Nick Masset, RHP Juan Nicasio. Morales and Masset are still free agents.

Additions: C Nick Hundley, INF Daniel Descalso, RHP Jario Diaz

Other than Cuddyer who had a great year in 2014, the Rockies actually didn’t loose a whole lot, but they also didn’t add much.

They added some catching depth in Hundley, and they added some INF depth in Descalso just in case Troy Tulowitzki gets injured.

While those are good moves, as I said before, they didn’t make a big move, and they didn’t address their biggest needs.

This organization is at a crossroads, and at some point there going to have to pick a direction there going to go in.

You can’t talk about a Rockies offseason without talking about SS Troy Tulowitzki. When he is on the field, many will argue that he is the best player in the game because of the value that he provides at a premium position. However, he rarely stays healthy and that is the problem.

Last season he played in just 91 games, and the most games he has played is 155 in his career. Last season he finished with a 171 OPS+. Just imagine what he can do if he stayed healthy for a full season.

A lot of the off-season talk centered around if the Rockies would trade their star SS. The Mets and Yankees were interested, and needed a SS, but a deal never came to fruition especially for the Mets because of several factors.

Tulo is going to make $100 million over the next four seasons, and unless the Rockies are willing to eat most of that money, than teams aren’t willing to invest in a player that can’t stay on the field, and is being paid that much. He still could get traded in July.

Carlos Gonzalez also can’t stay healthy, and that doesn’t help the team either. He played in just 70 games last season, and will make $16 million this season. There was talk about him getting traded, but his case was the same as Tulo’s.

The Rockies rotation of Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Jordan Lyles, Tyler Matzek, and Kyle Kendrick is going to struggle, and to be honest the Rockies are never going to be able to attract a top free agent starter because of the Coors Field affect. The bullpen will also struggle.

Despite missing Cargo and Tulo, this team scored the third most runs in all of baseball with 775: they need pitching.

When I look at this team, they stood pat this offseason hoping that Jon Gray and Eddie Butler can keep developing and be at the top of the rotation soon, and see where there at. They can also build around Nolan Arenado.

For 2015, I think fourth place is the best case scenario but I see this team finishing in last with 74 wins. Every other N.L. West team improved.

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