Rockies Off Season Moves

[Old Sweater]

Leading off

SPRING TRAINING '07

• Colorado Rockies key dates: Thursday - Pitchers and catchers report; Friday - First official workout for pitchers and catchers; Feb. 22 - Position players report; Feb. 24 - First full-team workout.

ROSTER MOVES

• Oct. 12: LHP Justin Hampson lost on waivers to San Diego. RHP Nate Field and LHP Mike Venafro sent outright to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

• Oct. 13: C JD Closser lost on waivers to Milwaukee.

• Nov. 1: Declined options for RHPs Jose Mesa and Mike DeJean and LHP Ray King. All filed for free agency.

• Nov. 11: 3B Vinny Castilla retired.

• Dec. 8: RHP LaTroy Hawkins signed one-year contract.

• Dec. 12: RHPs Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz and OF Willy Taveras acquired from Houston for RHPs Jason Jennings and Miguel Asencio.

• Dec. 20: RHP Danny Graves signed minor league contract with invitation to big-league spring training.

• Jan. 9: C Javy Lopez signed to one-year contract.

• Jan. 11: RHP Dave Veres signed to a minor league contract with invitation to big-league spring training. RHP Rodrigo Lopez acquired from Baltimore in exchange for RHPs Jim Miller and Jason Burch.

• Jan. 15: INF/OF John Mabry and INF Erick Almonte signed to minor league contracts with invitations to big-league spring training.

• Jan. 18: INF Luis Gonzalez sold to Yomiuri Giants.

• Jan. 22: RHP Brian Lawrence signed one-year contract with club option for 2008.

[rockiesfan4ever]

Castilla didn't offcially retire until like 5 days ago

[Old Sweater]

Castilla didn't offcially retire until like 5 days ago


That was just for the party.....

[Old Sweater]

Saturday's moves Feb. 24th.
The Associated Press
BASEBALL

National League COLORADO ROCKIES-Agreed to terms with OF Steve Finley on a minor-league contract. LOS ANGELES DODGERS-Agreed to terms with RHP Jonathan Broxton, RHP Chad Billingsley, RHP Zach Hammes, RHP Eric Hull, LHP Tim Hamulack, LHP Hong-Chih Kuo, LHP Greg Miller, OF Matt Kemp and OF Jason Repko on one-year contracts.

Well Finley is definitely getting up there but I think he is still a great bench player even though he had a bad 2006.

[jwkfs]

Now that Spring Training has started, how would you evaluate the Rockies off season moves / current status?

One of the big holes coming into this off season was center field. Choo and Cory Sullivan were good defensively, but not so hot offensively. The Rockies acquired Willy Taveras from Houston:


Player AB HR RBI SB CS OBP SLG AVG
Taveras 1122 4 59 68 20 .329 .340 .284
Sullivan 764 6 60 22 9 .332 .394 .280
Freeman 285 3 29 6 7 .296 .333 .225


Taveras is a better option than Choo for sure, but he has comparable numbers (and less power) than Cory. I don't know if you can just give the starting job to Taveras right now; we might see a platoon situation (similar to last year), especially since Taveras bats Righty and Sullivan hits Lefty. If that's the case, I see this as an upgrade from last year.

Javy Lopez:
This is kind of a puzzling move. The guy's getting older and hasn't performed well recently. Probably see him in a back up role if Ianetta struggles, or as a pinch hitter off the bench. Maybe if he doesn't have to play too much, he can regain some of his hitting form, but it's still a question mark. The Rockies have lacked a good PH since Piedra's down performance last year. Could be a good move; at least, he's just "veteran presence" in the clubhouse.


G AB HR RBI OBP SLG AVG
2006 94 342 8 35 .297 .386 .251
Career 1503 5319 260 864 .337 .491 .287


Pitching rotation:
I was a little shocked that they traded away Jason Jennings. Hirsh and Buchholz do not have good MLB numbers, but they have potential. I think the starting 5 is kind of a question mark. Francis, Cook, and Fogg will be out there for sure, but the other spots are wide open.

Bullpen:
I think losing Jose Mesa hurts -- he was an effective part-time setup man. LaTroy Hawkins might replace him in that role. Ramon Ramirez really impressed me last year; I think he should improve and be a good middle reliever. Not sure why Tom Martin is still around. As a situational "lefty-on-lefty" I didn't think he performed too well. The 9th is still set with Fuentes, of course. Overall, the Rockies have a lot of guys vying for bullpen spots, so we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

Infield: We'll have to wait and see how Tulowitzki performs, but other than that the infield looks set with Atkins on one side and Helton on the other. Other than Tulowitkzi, the only question is Jamey Carroll at 2B; he played great last year, but was it an aberration? If he flounders, look for Kaz Matsui to get a chance. Louis A. Gonzalez will be in Japan next season, so he's out.

What do you guys think? What sort of grade can you give this offseason?

[Old Sweater]

Grade, I give a C at best. Face it, the Rockies didn't pick up near the names as the rest of the NL West and never will until the Monforts spend some money. Just hope to see some of that potential from Hirsh or Buchholz.


I agree with most of your post but I see a Finley and Taveras platoon in CF and some of Baker and Hawpe in RF if Hawpe doesn't hit leftys early in the season. I also see Rodrigo Lopez as a solid for a SP then Fogg.