DANA POINT, Calif. — The business plan has stages, some wildly successful, some about as appealing as chewing through concrete.
Before the 2005 season, the Rockies committed to an unannounced youth movement — Todd and the Toddlers. The formula was to develop kids into successful big-leaguers. It paid off in 2007 with a captivating World Series berth. Sustaining it proved difficult, with last season a disaster, the most disappointing in franchise history given the expectations.
Now, the Rockies, committed to a bottom-third payroll, have entered the next portion of the plan — turning over the roster while trying to win or, at the very least, stay competitive.
Only the A’s and Twins have pulled this off with any consistency during the past decade.
So it is that Colorado finds itself shopping Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins and Willy Taveras this week. All three could be shipped out this winter — though logic screams Holliday and Atkins should be an either-or proposition. Losing both would siphon the lineup’s right-handed power.
The sobering reality is that general manager Dan O’Dowd can’t miss on these trades, particularly Holliday. The Rockies have a solid minor-league system, but its top-end strength lies in position players, unless pitcher Franklin Morales recovers.
Colorado needs better pitchers. For all of the Rockies’ faults last season, the pitching issues were the most frightening when looking toward the future. Even in a watered-down National League West, the Rockies can’t contend with Three Men — Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jeff Francis — and a Maybe.
There will be plenty of hits on Holliday, including some surprise names. Oakland has enough depth to ship off multiple players without crushing its farm system. Kansas City and Washington could get involved. These teams need offense and could deal Holliday at the trading deadline next season if the experiment fails.
At the end of the day, the Yankees make a lot sense. They would have to unload Hideki Matsui — Seattle could be a fit — and be willing to part with starter Phil Hughes and perhaps second baseman Robinson Cano.
There’s no perfect deal when trading a star. But anything less than a good deal could set the Rockies back for years.
