TUCSON — This is no ordinary spring for the Rockies. A walk through their training facility at Hi Corbett Field doesn’t provide a view of a baseball team so much as a heightening of the senses. Everywhere you go, you can see the development, smell the optimism and feel the stability.
“There’s not a lot of turnover here,” Rockies owner Charlie Monfort said. “There’s no chaos. I think this is going to be a place where players look to come instead of moving through.”
Players such as Aaron Cook, Troy Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe, Jeff Francis and Manny Corpas. Each has signed a long-term deal with the Rockies, giving the organization something it had lacked in 15 previous springs: a nucleus of quality young players secured financially for the long haul.
It’s all good for the defending National League champions, but it’s only a snapshot. Complicated issues face this franchise not far down the road in part because the kids, most notably Matt Holliday, have become better players than the Rockies could have hoped for. Some will hit free agency at or near the same time, putting a strain on the budget.
“That’s the tough part,” Monfort said. “Let’s face it, this offseason was pretty easy. We had arbitration cases and stuff, but no real free-agent decisions to make.”
They are decisions that could end up tweaking the Rockies’ lineup or change the face of the franchise. They could preserve the Rockies’ image as a run-producing machine or, thanks in part to the humidor, transform them into a team built around pitching.
“We might have to win a different way,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “You can see, two years from now, the strength of the club may not be its offense. It may be its starting pitching and its bullpen. Because, two years from now, the talent we have now that is inexperienced will be loaded with experience.”
Within those two years, Francis could find himself in a rotation that includes Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales and Greg Reynolds, the second overall pick in the 2006 draft. And there’s more young pitching talent on the way. Brandon Hynick is coming off a 16-5, 2.52 ERA season at Modesto, earning him the California League pitcher of the year award. And 2007 first-rounder Casey Weathers, a hard-throwing reliever from Vanderbilt, should arrive in the next year or two.
Holliday likes it here, but . . .The Performers Formerly Known as the Blake Street Bombers, winning with pitching? Strange as it may seem, it could be the Rockies’ new reality if Holliday walks away after the 2009 season, or sooner if the two sides are hopelessly far apart in negotiations next offseason.
Not that anyone involved wants that to be the case.
“I’d love to be here, I really would,” Holliday said. “Especially if we can keep these guys together. Obviously in my perfect world, I’d love to be here.”
Yeah, but . . .
“There are some things out of my control,” Holliday said. “Anytime you get money and business involved, it’s not always going to be a perfect world. I wish I knew what’s going to happen, but I don’t.”
Holliday has a two-year, $23 million contract, but is eligible for free agency after next season. For all the increased revenues the Rockies are anticipating after their Rocktober run, there is one thing certain about future negotiations with Holliday’s agent, Scott Boras: If some major- market club puts an otherworldly offer on the table — say, in the $160 million to $180 million range — the Rockies wouldn’t match it.
Instead, they’ll determine the outer limits to which they can stretch their budget, then hope clubhouse camaraderie and quality-of-life issues can convince Holliday to stay.
“We’ve already demonstrated that we’re willing to commit money,” O’Dowd said. “There are two people who take part in these discussions and ultimately the players — whether it’s Matty or somebody else — will have to make a decision. We’re going to arrive at a bigger point in time where some of our players are going to have to come to grips with the question of: What is financial security? What does that mean?
“Does it mean more than the quality of life, the fabric of the culture you’re involved in, the environment you have a chance to be a part of? I don’t mean just the Rockies, but the city of Denver and the state of Colorado. I’m not saying any of our players feel that way, but if chasing the last dollar is how you establish your sense of self-worth, then that’s what you have to do.”
Youngsters will get shot
Money alone won’t shape the Rockies’ big picture. When their young players are ready, they’ll be given their opportunity, just as Hawpe and Holliday and all the others were.
“There’s an economic factor and there’s a reality-based factor,” O’Dowd said. “At some point in time, we may have other players who we feel are going to be just as good who are making $400,000 or $500,000 versus somebody making $10 or $12 million. We may want to give them the opportunity.
“We have a lot of different ways we can go in the decision-making process. The talent is here for a tremendous upside. . . . We’re scouting- and development-based. And if you are, then when the kids are ready, you’ve got to give them an opportunity. If not, you’re really not staying true to the culture and identity you’ve tried to create.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
