In a few days, it will officially be two years since the Colorado Rockies traded Nolan Arenado (and $50 million) to the St. Louis Cardinals. In return for the services of the Major League’s best third baseman, the Rockies got…almost nothing.
Austin Gomber, the big chunk of the trade, was forced to become a reliever after his setbacks as a starter, Elehuris Montero didn’t break anything in MLB, and the rest are guys who don’t play in the Majors.
That said, what I remember most in connection with this transaction are the comments of owner Dick Monfort following it, he who had said he wanted to fire himself and openly doubt the transaction.
And in the last days, he had confessed that he was thinking big for his club in 2023, predicting a presence in the series an edifying record of .500. Nothing less.
However, Monfort was not going to stop on such a good path. In fact, he also said he didn’t like seeing the San Diego Padres, a division rival who is also in a small market, spend the money.
The reason? He feels it puts pressure on him to spend.
Monfort, who signed Kris Bryant anyway last winter, doesn’t like to see a team like the Padres give away so much money, the ones who brought Xander Bogaerts, Matt Carpenter, Nelson Cruz and Seth Lugo to town this winter . He thinks that’s a lot and he doubts their strategy, saying the club has obvious holes.
If you look at their rotation, they have guys like Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, but after them it looks like our rotation. I don’t know if this is a good strategy.
Dick Monfort
Because obviously, when the time comes to compare two rotations, you have to discredit the three better pitchers on one side to have a fair portrait.
And clearly, while the Padres may not have won the World Series, the formula doesn’t have to be so bad. After all, the Californian team is a power in the National, and necessarily, it attracts crowds, while it must limit the purchase of season tickets because of too much demand.
It’s as if fans are more likely to come to the stadium when the owners strive to put a quality club on the pitch.
I’m not saying that pulling out the checkbook is the one and only way to build a good ball club. A club like the Rays, for example, is able to make up for its more modest means by unearthing under-the-radar guys and unlocking their full potential.
But at the Rockies, I doubt it’s guys like Kris Bryant, Charlie Blackmon, German Marquez and Randal Grichuk who are going to draw the crowds. Sometimes paying for big names is an investment, as you can see with the Padres.
Anyway, I can’t wait to see which strategy will be better in 2023: the Padres’ strategy, which is to spend to put top guys on the field, or the Rockies’ strategy, which is to limit spending and put blame it on other clubs spending too much.
I tend to be on the side of the Padres, but hey.
- Chad Pinder finds a job.
- What kind of season for Danny Jansen?
- Bo Bichette has finished 2022 well.
