Quote:
Originally Posted by Roxpert
Given the silly money that is being thrown around this offseason, would you recommend that the Rockies do nothing on the free agent market, and strive to improve through the trade market?
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I'd try to do both, but there are only a select few free agents out there that I'd go after. Julio Lugo reportedly wants 4 years, $32 million; why he wants to shortchange himself like that is beyond me, but if he does, we'd be crazy not to take him up on it. He'd be a great solution for us at SS this year, and should have plenty of trade value if we want to get rid of him next winter to make room for Tulo. I wouldn't hesitate to go a little higher than the 4/32 figure if necessary.
Beyond that, I still think that Dave Roberts at 3 years, $15 million or so would be a fine signing, and I wouldn't mind bringing in Ray Durham on a short term deal.
We probably don't have the money to sign more than one of those guys, even if we deal Jennings (which, of course, we should). But there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to get one of those three.
I sure as heck wouldn't deal Holliday, though. I'd be very surprised if he loses any trade value over the next year or so (if nothing else, a somewhat rejuvenated top of the order should lead to more RBIs, and there are still plenty of teams left who care about such things). And with that in mind, I see no reason not to enjoy another year of cheap production from him.
Helton? We've discussed it a million times. And the league-wide inflation of salaries works both ways... on the one hand, it gives him more trade value, and on the other hand, it means we wouldn't be able to do as much with the money freed up by dealing him. I still find it very hard to believe that we could find a deal that would really benefit us.
Fuentes? Yes, absolutely, trade him. This is the right time. He's got the "proven closer" shine now, he'll be making $3.5 million next year, and between Ramirez, Corpas, and Ubaldo Jimenez (who might really benefit from a move to the pen), I think we'll be able to find an acceptable replacement.
Let's see... if we swap Jennings for Baker and Crain, sign Lugo, and deal Fuentes, that's a 14-run upgrade to the '07 Rockies (without adding anything at all to the payroll), and positions us quite nicely for future years as well. And that's assuming no contributions at all from whoever we get for Fuentes; an assumption made for the sake of convenience, not realism.
So that would be my general plan of attack. That, combined with a couple bargain-bin acquisitions (TIR suggested bringing back John Thomson; I'd love to see that happen), should get us to 83 projected wins or so, making us, at the very least, legitimate contenders for the wild card.