Decisions on Story, Gray, more loom for Rox

DENVER -- Jon Gray stood in front of the Rockies’ dugout a few days back and said what one would think a guy on a sub-.500 team whose name often appears in speculation ahead of the July 30 Trade Deadline is supposed to say. He smiled, punched his right hand into his left and spoke with emphasis and conviction.

“It drives me crazy that not many people understand it, but I see how great winning in Colorado can be,” said Gray, who on Wednesday became the seventh pitcher to earn his 50th winning decision with the club. "That's more rewarding than any other team winning. I think it's hard to do.

“And I don't know, maybe I'm aiming too high. But I think that's something [where] if I want to win, that's where I want to win. And I want that. That would be so important to me.”

But the Rockies were 34-47 entering Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals, who brought along Nolan Arenado -- the former Rockies star whose expensive contract and desire to play for a surefire contender led to a trade.

The significant holes on Colorado's roster and the lack of experience with regular playing time and performance consistency all around the field and the bullpen make being a winner difficult. That’s even with Gray, Germán Márquez and Kyle Freeland leading a credible rotation.

It may sound and look like the Rockies are a long way from winning, especially since previous blueprints for success tended to come when homegrown prospects grew up. But outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who has been a presence since 2011 and holds player options this winter and following 2022, spoke with conviction that the Rockies will quickly be making news and, in turn, making waves.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction, and I don’t think we’re done,” Blackmon said. “I don’t think you’re looking at the finished product. All we need is more experience. The roster is going to keep changing. Then there are going to be guys that continue to get better.

“As it is in baseball, things don’t stay the same for long.”

With Blackmon’s statement, and with Gray’s faith, there is an energy beyond the dicey record. There also is quite a bit of unknown, and not just because the Rockies are being run by an interim general manager, Bill Schmidt, who has said he wants the permanent job.

It’s widely assumed that his participation in the Home Run Derby at Coors Field on July 12 will be the beginning of the final goodbye to shortstop Trevor Story, who is expected to be dealt before being able to leave as a free agent at season's end. Veteran relievers Daniel Bard and Mychal Givens are attracting phone calls, and power-hitting first baseman C.J. Cron could be seen as useful to a contender.

But how much more can the roster change?

Needs include overall power (which will become greater without Story), left-handed hitting, increased front-liners in the outfield and catching. With a Minor League system stronger at the lower levels, add general depth to the list.

And if the Rockies continue the best of former GM Jeff Bridich’s most successful mindset, they will seek Major League-ready pitching -- as they did in acquiring Márquez from the Rays after the 2015 season and lefty Austin Gomber from the Cards in the Arenado deal.

The national media has speculated about Márquez and his trade potential, but given his consistency, the team's preference to hoard starting pitching and his club-friendly contract through 2023, a deal would be hard to imagine.

But do they opt to part with Gray, the third overall pick in 2013 and the only pitcher to achieve double figures in wins for four straight seasons (from 2016-19)? Teams may covet the right-hander, but Gray has said all year he wants to re-sign.

Infielder Ryan McMahon and outfielder Raimel Tapia appear to be building blocks, but do the Rockies deal them through bared teeth? The speedy, right-handed Garrett Hampson is the multi-positional player that is in vogue in today’s game, whether in Colorado or elsewhere, if the team includes him in a trade.

Team history points to more success without roster upheaval than with it. The emergence of Tapia, McMahon and, lately, outfielder Yonathan Daza and infielder Brendan Rodgers (Story’s likely heir apparent at shortstop) could justify the idea that growth from within is prudent.

But with the difficulty all teams have keeping pitching effective, healthy and signed, anything can happen. But the man most likely to be traded, Story, pushes distractions aside and mentors teammates. So why should any player trying to build his career worry about whether he or someone else stays or goes?

“I'm gonna give you the answer, 'we're not really thinking about it,’ which is honestly a lie,” McMahon said. “Like, it's hard to not see it. It's written around baseball.

“But when Trevor is coming here focused every day, ready to win, everybody else falls in line with that.”

It won’t be easy. The Rockies have had front-office defections since Bridich’s late April resignation, so personnel are stretched with the Draft (Schmidt, previously vice president of scouting, will run it) and the Trade Deadline on July 30. But Márquez debuted in late 2016 with the also-ran Rockies, and the scene changed in less than a season.

“I made the team in '17, then got sent down,” Márquez said. “I came back a month later. When I got here, I saw a lot of veteran players, like Carlos González, Arenado, Mark Reynolds. I thought, ‘It’s an amazing thing. We can go far.’”