On June 30, the Rockies were 44-40, in the playoff hunt and contemplating adding a trade piece or two.
But by the time Wednesday’s 2 p.m. trade deadline arrived, that plan had long since been scuttled. A 6-19 record in July dramatically changed the front office’s point of view.
“In this case, in large part due to the last month, we weren’t looking to add to our team or strictly buy,” general manager said. “We just never got to a point talking with other teams where it made sense to trade any of the guys who were the targets of other teams. We look at those guys as continuing parts of our future. So nothing big formulated.”
The Rockies did acquire right-handed relief pitcher Joe Harvey from the Yankees in exchange for minor-league left-hander Alfredo Garcia. In addition, Colorado designated left-hander for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster.
Harvey, 27, appeared in 10 games for the Yankees this season, posting a 4.50 ERA over 10 innings. He has not pitched in a big-league game since May 28 and will begin his time with the Rockies organization with Triple-A Albuquerque. His bread-and-butter pitches are a fastball and slider.
There had been speculation the Rockies would move one of their three high-priced relievers — right-handers and , and lefty — but that didn’t happen. Teams also inquired about starter and right-handed reliever . In the end, however, the Rockies’ basic roster remains the same.
“There was a lot of activity and interest in a good number of our players, in players we really did not want to trade,” Bridich said. “We could have, not easily, but we could have traded a large portion of our team if we wanted to.”
Bridich acknowledged that the Rockies were looking to clear some salary with an eye toward the future.
“There were conversations that way,” he said. “We told teams we were open-minded to a lot of things; if there were certain players of interest to other teams. But itap not like we had strict orders where we had to do things financially. A lot of times, we were trying to start conversations and get ideas flowing. And nothing came of it.”
The Rockies’ current payroll is $148.6 million, which is a club record and ranks 12th in the majors. With raises due next year for stars such as third baseman (rising from $26 million to $35 million), shortstop ($5 million to possibly $10 million via arbitration) and right-hander ($1 million to $3.5 million), the Rockies have committed a lot of money to their core players.
“This year’s payroll is higher than last year and we’re planning on the same thing next year,” Bridich said. “Itap not crazy, outlandish leaps. But it is appreciable growth.”
Bridich is clearly disappointed in how the Rockies collapsed in July after playing well in May and June.
“Itap been tough baseball to watch. We have to own this,” he said. “It is frustrating because itap the same group of guys. And we have our health. Injuries are not a part of this. So we have to own this and learn from it. I don’t think anybody saw this coming. I certainly didn’t, not to this degree.
“There is still a lot of time left in this season to see this group get better and grow together, which is important, because a lot of these guys will be back next year, conceivably.”
On Deck
Trending: The Rockies finished their season vs. the Dodgers at with a 3-7 record, tied for the most home losses vs. an opponent in franchise history.
At issue: Closer Wade Davis gave up five runs in the ninth inning Wednesday, tying his career-high for runs given up in one inning. Davis owns an 11.09 ERA at Coors Field.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Off
Friday: Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (6-7, 3.74 ERA) at Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-2, 5.67), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Saturday: Giants TBD at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (10-7, 3.88), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Sunday: Giants RHP Tyler Beede (3-5, 5.01) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-9, 7.48), 1:10 p.m. ATTRM
