Rox look to next wave: 'They need to step up'

DENVER -- In a nearly hour-long conference call discussing the trade of Nolan Arenado to St. Louis, general manager Jeff Bridich and owner Dick Monfort said the Rockies were not embarking on a teardown or full rebuilding effort and that they do not intend to trade shortstop Trevor Story.

It seemed unlikely, once Arenado was traded, that Story would be around long enough to become the new face of the Rockies franchise. Story, at 28 and in a contract year, seems like the type of player who could bring a haul of players for a retooling organization. However, Bridich answered, “I think so,” when asked if Story will start 2021 in Purple Pinstripes.

The Rockies not only dealt Arenado, whose Gold Glove defense and 40/130 HR/RBI offense had been a given, but this offseason they also non-tendered David Dahl, who will see if he can shake his injury history and reach his potential with the Rangers. To replace that production, the Rockies are looking to unproven players from a lightly regarded farm system to emerge.

But during Tuesday’s press conference, Bridich and Monfort reflexively recoiled at any suggestion the Rockies depart from seeking answers from within.

“We’re shorter on talent than we were a year ago,” Monfort said. “But we've got a lot of guys, that to be quite honest, it's time to [fish or] cut bait. This could be the challenge that they need. They need to step up and fill in this void.

“The other thing is, these days come. Whether it's free agency, whether it's an end of a career or whatever.”

But even if a trade becomes inevitable -- like sending Arenado to the Cardinals -- Story’s story embodies the Rockies’ modus operandi.

Let’s explain:

At the 2015 Trade Deadline, Bridich dealt face of the franchise Troy Tulowitzki to the Blue Jays. Story, a 2011 first-round pick but nowhere to be found on industry-wide rankings of top Minor League prospects, was the closest-to-the-Majors alternative. Instead, the Rockies went with veteran José Reyes, received in the Toronto deal, while Story finished the year at Triple-A Albuquerque.

Even when Reyes’ days with the Rockies came to an end because of a domestic violence arrest after the 2015 season, Story was seen more as a guy with an opportunity, not a star in the making. Only after a bang-up Spring Training and a historic first month was it clear that the Rockies had developed a star.

After eight postseason-less years, the Rockies generated a playoff berth in 2017 with the combination of a mostly homegrown lineup and starting pitchers who had never thrown for another team. In ’18, the Rockies took the Dodgers to a Game 163 for the National League West title.

The two straight postseason berths were a first in club history. But a series of decisions -- letting DJ LeMahieu depart, and investing big money in free agents Daniel Murphy, Ian Desmond, Wade Davis and Bryan Shaw, none of whom produced in Denver -- the Rockies tumbled to fourth in the NL West in 2019 and ’20.

Days after the collapse in ’19, Monfort, Bridich and manager Bud Black stated that there would be no big expenditures that offseason. Arenado, who had signed an eight-year, $260 million deal to stay in Colorado prior to the season, was not happy. He and his agent, Joel Wolf, spoke with Bridich and Monfort at the General Managers Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., and by the Winter Meetings that December, Bridich acknowledged the Rockies were listening to offers for their star third baseman. In January 2020, Arenado went public with his displeasure.

“After the ’19 season, I thought we were going to make a move, and then we didn’t,” Arenado said to Denver media on Tuesday. “I guess that’s kind of where it started.”

The Rockies have been down this road before, having gambled and lost on big-money deals with Mike Hampton in 2002 and Tulowitzki in ’15. This time, they’ll hold on to the $148 million they unloaded in the Arenado deal and challenge their organization to produce quality players, as they did with Arenado and again with Story in 2016. Tuesday’s press conference was predictably rough, but Bridich and Monfort relished talking about development.

The Cardinals sent the Rockies five players for Arenado -- lefty Austin Gomber, who has Major League experience, and four to develop.

If Arenado had exercised his opt-out clause at the end of ’21, the Rockies would have received just one supplemental-round Draft pick as compensation.

Fans may not be excited by the prospect of a move to third for Ryan McMahon, who a couple of years back replaced LeMahieu at second, or for the chance for 2015 first-round pick Brendan Rodgers to emerge at second base. But the Rockies, who use players at multiple positions in the Minors so they can plug them into any vacancy, expect them and others to fuel a challenge to the World Series-champion Dodgers and the Padres in the NL West.

“Their readiness is key, and we do have guys already on the roster that we feel like are well-positioned to take advantage of this opportunity,” Bridich said. “Players off the roster in the organization that certainly will garner consideration.

“When we look back at Matt Holliday. We traded him [to the Athletics in a deal that brought productive Rockies Carlos González and Huston Street] after the ’08 season, and Willy Taveras left. It provided an opportunity for players like Dexter Fowler, Seth Smith, Ryan Spilborghs to take the next step in their careers.

“When we traded Troy [Tulowitzki], we were fortunate at that time that Trevor Story was positioned well to take advantage of that. We didn’t know that he was going to shoot out of the gate like he did at the Major League level. Now is the opportunity for other kids. Were confident that we have talented guys. Now it’s up to them to grab the opportunity and run with it.”