Inbox: What will Rox do at Winter Meetings?

The way the week has fallen, it looks more like the activity will be next week, rather than this one.
The Rockies have long held interest in first baseman/corner bat Carlos Santana but the Phillies sent him to the Mariners. Young standout Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard's name has been connected to the Rockies, but the ability to make a deal and the Mets' desire to do so were always questionable, and Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen did his best to quash the idea Tuesday. The Marlins' asking price for catcher J.T. Realmuto thus far has been unrealistic for the Rockies.
Indications are the Rockies up to now have not been in play for Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger, whose name has been bandied in reports as being available, or D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, or one of the Indians pitchers said to be available -- Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber.
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They haven't tipped their hand publicly or even to agents of available free agents, instead choosing to prepare their trading and signing strategies. If the Mariners, who have built financial flexibility into the future but haven't cut much in terms of 2019 salary costs, want to spin Santana, expect the Rockies to be involved. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has not ruled out trading Santana or first baseman Jay Bruce, who came in a trade with the Mets.
Multi-position free agents such as Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Harrison, and second basemen such as Brian Dozier, Jed Lowrie and Daniel Murphy are among the names the Rockies will have to evaluate.
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Ideally, the Rockies would play Ian Desmond primarily in left field, where he could get regular at-bats or share time if another outfielder emerges the way David Dahl did last year. Ryan McMahon's ability to play first base and second base offers more flexibility to accommodate a signing.

The beauty of last season was depth. The Rockies covered for Jon Gray's midseason struggles and injuries to Chad Bettis (blister), Antonio Senzatela (blister, right shoulder soreness) and Tyler Anderson (left shoulder soreness). Righty Peter Lambert, who turns 22 on April 14 and is the organization's No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, finished last season in Triple-A and could be a factor.
The Rockies believe Gray will rebound. There may be trade interest, but the more likely scenario is he'll compete to stay in the rotation -- and he is determined to get back to his 138 ERA+ form of 2017.

The New York Post last week connected Adam Ottavino with the Yankees, but all indications are the market is still developing. The Rockies have not jumped into the market, and their stated intention of improving the offense could make it difficult to prevail in what figures to be a multi-team competition for Ottavino's services.