Postseason would delay big Rockies decisions
| September 22, 2009 | 9:55 AM
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The Colorado Rockies have two weeks until the end of the regular season, and for just the third time in their history they look like they’ll play beyond the final Sunday. The postseason would extend the Rockies career of a few players by a few weeks and delay a number tough decisions facing the team. A few players whose days might be numbered with the team:
Jason Marquis: One of the best trades Dan O’Dowd ever made was swapping Luis Vizcaino to the Chicago Cubs for Marquis, who anchored the Rockies rotation through a terrible first two months to this season. Marquis will be a free agent and according to a story in the New York Post, would love to play for the New York Mets. With a starting rotation already set to include Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis and Jorge De La Rosa and a handful of pitchers like Jason Hammel, Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers, Franklin Morales, Chaz Roe, Samuel Deduno and Christian Friedrich all trying to either keep or win jobs, the money it would cost to keep Marquis probably would be better spent elsewhere. But Marquis’ presence has been so important to the Rockies this season, both from his own performance and the effect he has had on other pitchers, the team at least should consider trying to resign him. At the very least, the Rockies need to offer him arbitration to receive draft picks when he signs elsewhere.
Yorvit Torrealba: The Rockies and Torrealba have a mutual option on a 2010 contract for $4 million with a $500,000 buyout. Torrealba’s antics challenging the strike zone of some umpires has put the Rockies in a couple tough spots this season, and despite his recent surge offensively — he is the Rockies’ most reliable RBI threat at the moment — Torrealba remains one of the streakiest hitters on the Rockies roster. His presence, however, has been a huge factor in harnessing Franklin Morales’ ability as a reliever and it could be the same with another Venezuelan pitcher, Jhoulys Chacin, next season if Torrealba were to stick around. But his recent run notwithstanding, Torrealba is a backup catcher and $4 million is a lot to pay a backup catcher when you need to find a way to boost your offensive production in the bottom third of the batting order for an entire season.
Garrett Atkins: The biggest disappointment of the Rockies season may be that the team did not trade Atkins when it had a chance. The Rockies could have acquired a piece or two for Atkins before the season and at least a minor prospect before the trade deadline. Ian Stewart, despite a large number of strikeouts and a batting average that has hovered around .230 for much of the season, has supplanted Atkins at third base. Atkins had a couple big games while Stewart was dealing with a back injury on the Rockies’ previous homestand, but he has otherwise been an offensive black hole for the team. His unwillingness to swing early in the count and the frequency with which he’ll chase a breaking ball out of the strike zone for strike three has kept him from being valuable to the Rockies off the bench. The team will almost certainly try to trade him immediately after the season, but it’s unlikely the team will find any takers — Atkins will be owed more than $7 million through arbitration next season. The Rockies career of one of the key members of Generation R likely will end with him being non-tendered and the Rockies getting nothing in return.
Rafael Betancourt: The Rockies hold a $5.4 million option on Betancourt, which might be too expensive for the team. But given the number of large contracts coming off their books — Marquis and Atkins almost for certain — the Rockies might be able to pay a slight premium to keep Betancourt around for another season. He has locked down the eighth inning for the Rockies with stunning regularity and his presence in the bullpen is a plus for young pitchers like Morales and Chacin. The Rockies don’t know how well Manny Corpas or Taylor Buchholz will pitch coming off injuries, and the current late-game combination of Betancourt, Morales and Street would be a good base to start with in 2010.
Joe Beimel: The other reliever acquired before the trade deadline hasn’t been quite as astounding a success as Betancourt, but the availability of the veteran lefty late in games has given manager Jim Tracy options and confidence in how he uses his bullpen. If the price is right, the Rockies could try to keep Beimel, who they tried to sign last offseason.
Brad Hawpe: The Rockies also could — and should — consider trading Hawpe to make room for an outfield of Seth Smith, Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler rather than wait and potentially watch the trade value diminish as it did with Atkins. Hawpe has made himself into a passable outfielder and despite his second-half slump, is still one of the better left-handed hitters in the National League. But the Rockies have more and better options in the outfield and the $7.5 million Hawpe is set to make could be put to better use, such as trying to acquire Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who is likely to be traded as his arbitration price tag rises to roughly the same amount Hawpe will make. With Ryan Spilborghs and Eric Young Jr., the Rockies still would have two solid backup outfielders.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
brad hawpe, colorado rockies, garrett atkins, jason marquis, joe beimel, rafael betancourt, yorvit torrealba
