I’m trying to move past my kneejerk reaction to the Rockies’ decision to do next to nothing during baseball’s otherwise frenzied week of trading. I’m going to try and put things into perspective.
* Make no mistake about it, Trevor Story is angry that he didn’t get traded. Story is the ultimate good soldier and team player, so when he said, “I’m confused and I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded,” that was a red flag about the state of the organization.
* Interim general manager Bill Schmidt insisted that he kept Story in the loop, telling the shortstop all along there was a chance that he would still be with the Rockies the rest of the season.
“The disappointment? I understand that, but I think Trevor’s a very good professional,” Schmidt said. “He’ll move on. He’ll play through it. We’ll go on and address it in the offseason.”
That’s fine, for the short term. But here’s the thing: Star players talk to each other — a lot. So do their agents. Nolan Arenado forced his way out of town because he didn’t believe the Rockies were committed to winning. Story, obviously, feels the same way, which is why he’s not open to signing a long-term deal. What kind of message does that send to potential free agents when the Rockies come calling in the offseason?
* Schmidt is taking a lot of heat for Colorado’s decision to hang onto Story and not work a deal to gain prospects. Schmidt, however, was in a tough situation. His predecessor, Jeff Bridich, should have traded Story before the season started. Maybe he wanted to, maybe owner Dick Monfort said no. I’m sure the Arenado mess muddied the waters.
* Schmidt didn’t say it, but Story’s relatively poor performance this season certainly brought down his trade value, at least as a rental. But I have no doubt that Story has more all-star seasons ahead of him.
* This past week provided more evidence the Rockies will likely remove the “interim” tag from Schmidt’s job description. I’m on the record as saying that I think the franchise is too insular and needs to shake things up and hire from the outside. Numerous agents and rival executives have told me exactly that.
Schmidt, however, is highly respected throughout the game. And there are those who believe he’s the right fit for the Rockies’ situation.
“Bill has the perfect temperament for that role,” said one former big-league executive who knows the Rockies well. “Dick (Monfort) just needs to allow Schmidt to surround himself with the right front-office team.”
* One encouraging thing that came out of Schmidt’s Friday afternoon Zoom session was that he said Monfort and team president Greg Feasel allowed him to do his job.
* Schmidt seems very comfortable with his decision to hold onto Story.
“It wasn’t for lack of effort,” Schmidt said. “We had some talks with other clubs. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.”
And Schmidt reiterated that Colorado’s front office believed that any trade offer for Story had to at least be equal to the value of a compensatory draft pick, which will come next summer. Schmidt has also noted that the Rockies originally selected Story in 2011 as a compensatory pick (45th overall).
But here’s the thing. The baseball draft is a crapshoot, and even if the Rockies make the right pick, that player will be at least four years away from the majors. The Rockies have a strong starting pitching core — right now. You’d think the Rockies could have engineered a trade for Story that would have given them some more immediate prospects to pair with their pitchers over the next couple of years.
But to use Schmidt’s phrase, “It is what it is.”
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August 01, 2021 at 04:54AM
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Saunders: Trevor Story non-trade tells us a lot about state of Rockies - The Denver Post
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