Colorado Rockies news and links for Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Yesterday morning in The Athletic, Andy McCullough published “The personalities of MLB’s trade deadline: Hunters, Fishermen and the Cleveland Grind Machine.” He goes on to describe how various general managers approach the trade deadline.
When McCullough gets to his discussion of the Colorado Rockies, the caricature of Bill Schmidt shows him wearing a purple half-zip (complete with CR logo) while waiting on a tiny island, complete with a single palm tree. I’m going to quote the article at length because it’s relevant given where the Rockies are:
Cleveland is not the only team with a reputation for transactional difficulty. Many rival executives viewed the Rockies as a franchise on an island, unwilling to make moves that other clubs view as obvious. “The Rockies never sell, even though they’re terrible,” one executive said. That has begun to change this summer, with the club flirting with the worst record in baseball history. On Friday, Colorado dealt third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Yankees, making the rare decision to trade a homegrown player who had signed a contract extension.
Before this summer, several executives lamented, the Rockies declined to engage in the basics of negotiation. When a team expresses interest in a player, it is customary for the seller to respond with what it would take to complete a deal. This can be specific or vague, but it at least furthers discussion. What Colorado would do, these executives said, was request that the inquiring team reveal which players they would give up in return. “They’re just not going to do deals,” another executive said.
Earlier this season, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt acknowledged this deadline would likely be different for his club. He shrugged off the criticism. “It’s about matching up what you think is fair value,” he said.
The Rockies front office “declined to engage in the basics of negotiation.” This seems like a questionable strategy given the nature of professional baseball, but as we’ve been clear: An organizational review (preferably by an outside evaluator) is essential as the Rockies move into the next phase of their rebuild. This provides yet another example of why the Rockies need new perspectives.
But to return to the subject at hand.
Moving Ryan McMahon was the right thing to do, and the Rockies need to keep going.
Now is the time to sell — and engage in the basics of negotiations.
The MLB trade deadline is Thursday at 4:00 pm MDT, and between now and then, Schmidt needs to be taking calls, trading players, and planning for the future. If nothing else, 2025 has made clear that the 27-78 Rockies are significantly “more than a few pieces away” from contending.
If a player will not be contributing to the Rockies in three years — and this is a conversation we had earlier in the season — then the Rockies need to be open to trading him.
I realize the Rockies are known for being conservative at the trade deadline, but I think this year is different because being not just bad but historically bad, changes everything.
Here are my predictions.
But first, a caveat: The Rockies will not move Ezequiel Tovar.
He’s on a team-friendly contract (seven years at $63.5 million), and he has become an essential part of the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies know that, and because he’s only 23, they can build around him.
Anyone else, though, I think they would be willing to discuss. Below are some obvious topics of discussion.
Germán Márquez
Márquez’s recent biceps tendinitis flareup and accompanying 10-day IL stint make him an unlikely choice for any contending team. That’s too bad because over his last six starts, Márquez has been very good, and it would be great to see him play for a good team.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Actually, I think the Rockies are fine with keeping him in Denver. I would not be surprised to see them sign him to a short extension during the offseason.
Likelihood of a trade: 10%
Austin Gomber
While watching Gomber over his last three starts, his frustration has been evident: He wanted to be good, and he just wasn’t, taking the loss in his last five games. This is, I suspect the result of two things: wanting to get out of Denver and on a contending team and setting himself up for free agency — both reasonable desires.
The Rockies, I suspect, will try very hard to trade him, despite his 6.03 ERA in 34.1 IP — though he’s been better on the road (3.86 ERA) than at home (7.52 ERA). Given the dearth of starting pitching, perhaps some clubs give him a serious look. After all, he’s still got a good curveball, and he’s been ill-suited to Coors.
Likelihood of a trade: 25%
Thairo Estrada
The Rockies surely signed Estrada during the offseason with the hope a finding a temporary replacement for a nontendered Brendan Rodgers while Adael Amador (No. 3 PuRP) continued to develop. Then, they could flip him at the deadline. After all, he’d always played well at Coors Field. As for Estrada, he surely hoped to get himself back in the national conversation after two years of injuries.
His luck could not have been worse as he has had three IL stints while with the Rockies. Two were the result of being hit by pitches and the third was caused by an awkward slide into third.
Currently, he’s had 136 plate appearances and is slashing .285/.311/.725 with three home runs and a 94 OPS+.
Probably, the Rockies will try to trade him, but I suspect there a limited market for a second baseman who’s seen limited action in 2025 and seems to be continuing an injury history that began in 2024.
If the Rockies do not trade Estrada, the question, then, becomes what the Rockies will do with their bumper crop of second baseman — Estrada, Amador, and Ryan Ritter (No. 17 PuRP).
If Estrada is not traded, he may be DFA’d following the trade deadline to make room for the Rockies future second baseman. (How that decision might play out is a topic for another day.)
Likelihood of a trade: 15%
Mickey Moniak
If a one-year signing has taken to Coors Field, it’s Mickey Moniak.
The former first-round draft pick is currently slashing .273/.324/.546 with 16 homers in 281 plate appearances. At Coors Field, he’s got a 173 OPS+ while that drops to 97 on the road. In addition, he’s a below-average defender.
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
I’ve seen speculation about Moniak, but I’m doubtful. I think he’s benefitting from playing at Coors, but I don’t see a big market for him. I mean, maybe, but he’s been in the league for awhile and never seen sustained success. Then again, he told the MLB Network last week that he’s healthy this year, which has played a significant role in his performance.
I think he will finish with the Rockies, though more due to the lack of a market than any reticence on the Rockies’ part.
Likelihood of a trade: 25%
As I enter the relief pitcher part of the discussion, it’s worth noting that pretty much every contending team needs relievers. This is the part of the market in which the Rockies are most likely to find success. Here, I think, the odds for trades improve. Plus, other teams have shown an ability to quickly improve the performance of relievers who’ve had problems at Coors Field.
Tyler Kinley
He’s been better on the road (4.44 ERA) than at Coors (7.52)
Still, his ERA (5.79) does not reflect the wickedness of his slider, and some teams may be interested. But get this: Over his past 12 appearances, Kinley has earned a 2.12 ERA with 17 K and just two walks. Plus, he’s stranded eight of 10 inherited runners.
Perhaps the Rockies move him as part of a package deal with another reliever.
Likelihood of a trade: 20%
Jimmy Herget
Jon Morosi has reported that teams are interested in Herget, who has quietly been very good this season.
On the road, Herget has a 1.23 ERA and at Coors a 4.06 ERA. Additionally, he’s on a one-year $850,000 contract and does not become a free agent until 2028.
There’s little reason to think he’ll stay with the Rockies. He’s the kind of reliever they’ve had success flipping.
Likelihood of a trade: 90%
Jake Bird
If the Rockies move Bird, they will lose the Iron Man of their bullpen. At 53.1 IP, he’s fourth among all MLB relievers in terms of innings pitched.
He’s currently got a 4.05 ERA (oddly enough, 2.48 ERA at Coors and 5.92 on the road). Still, his arsenal is for real and something any number of teams might like to have in their bullpen. Also, he’s under team control until 2028.
Bird is one of those players the Rockies would have had trouble dealing in the past, but 2025 is different, and given the Rockies bullpen depth, they’re in a position to move on. Plus, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports that the New York Yankees are interested.
Likelihood of a trade: 85%
Victor Vodnik
Here’s where things get tricky: those young controllable relievers with very big arms.
Here’s what The Athletic reported on Thursday:
The Colorado Rockies are listening to trade offers for reliever Victor Vodnik, but the asking price is high, league sources said. Similarly, the Rockies would entertain calls on reliever Seth Halvorsen, but would want a big return.
Each pitcher is under club control for a handful of seasons. Vodnik, 25, isn’t a free agent until after the 2029 season. Halvorsen, also 25, doesn’t reach free agency until after the 2030 season.
Currently, Vodnik has a 3.00 ERA in 30.0 IP.
Believe it or not, he’s been better at Coors Field (1.17 ERA) than on the road (4.91 ERA). Then again, he missed time with an injury, so there’s less data to consider. Still, the arm is the arm.
Since Vodnik’s time in Colorado is the result of a 2023 trade with Atlanta for Pierce Johnson, there’s a certain symmetry in the possibility that he’ll be moved along. But he’s another player the Rockies need to trade while they can.
Likelihood of a trade: 50%
Seth Halvorsen
Like Vodnik, Halvorsen is the kind of reliever that the Rockies would have clung to in the past — even more than Vodnik. But the fact that they’re even listening seems significant.
Currently, he was a 5.02 ERA in 37.2 IP. Oh, the Mets have interest!
Likelihood of a trade: 45%
Clearly, any other member of the Rockies roster could be part of a trade, but these seem the most likely candidates.
For now, we’ll have to turn on our phone alerts and wait for the action to start.
Prediction: I think the Rockies will make five trades, and I get credit for calling McMahon to the Yankees, so I need four more.
Leave your predictions in the comments!
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This week on the internet
It’s a new day.
Beyond McMahon being a Yankee, they keep referring him to “Ryan,” which I’m not sure when I last heard him called by his first name. It’s always “Mac” or “RyMac.”
I guess they can sort that out for themselves.
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MLB.com’s Thomas Harding on some Rockies trades as the deadline approaches | KOA Radio
When it comes to Rockies news, I trust Harding. In this clip, which about nine minutes long, he says a couple of interesting things. First, the Rockies are getting calls about Kyle Freeland; second, they’re open to moving anyone except Ezquiel Tovar.
The Sky Is the Limit and the Challenge for Colorado’s Juan Mejia | Pitcher List
Juan Mejia is starting to get noticed — and those home-road splits . . . .
Austin Hayes is locking in on his strengths and excelling as a Red | FanGraphs
I realize this is not a Cincinnati Reds website, and it’s not a Milwaukee Brewers website, which is the section I recommend reading. In that part of the article, David Laurila talks with various Brewers personnel about how the team has become so effective.
Walter McKiven, now the Chicago White Sox bench coach, spent some time in the Brewers organization. “I consider the word analytics to be evidenced-based decision-making, and we used evidenced-based decision-making to acquire players, improve players, and game-plan for opponents.”“I consider the word analytics to be evidenced-based decision-making, and we used evidenced-based decision-making to acquire players, improve players, and game-plan for opponents,” he said.
Rockies, are you taking notes?
MLB exec suggests New York Yankees fleeced Colorado Rockies in Ryan McMahon trade | Sportsnaut
According to Joel Sherman, who is cited in the story, “One NL West personnel executive with a lot of exposure to McMahon said, ‘He’s a really good player who will fit there. And it is not a big return (that the Rockies are getting).’” Do with that what you will. (I think the Rockies were more interested in offloading the salary.)
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