‘Tis the season for offseason report cards and evaluations.
Baseball writers just can’t help themselves. We hand out grades and pass out evaluations well before catchers and pitchers check in at spring training. We proclaim winners and losers long before opening day. It’s usually a fool’s errand, but, of course, we do it anyway.
I’m guilty as charged. I weighed in this past Sunday, proclaiming the Red Sox and Indians hot stove winners.
I thought it would be interesting to see how some national writers judged the Rockies’ offseason. Not surprisingly, the Rockies’ decision to sign Ian Desmond to a five-year, $70 million contract and convert him into a first baseman has drawn mixed reviews.
Following is a sample of the national reviews:
SI.com: Winter Report Card: Rockies bet big on Ian Desmond in confusing offseason:
Preliminary Grade: D+
Desmond was the big-ticket signing, but it’s not clear if he qualifies as a big ticket. He is, at best, a good hitter with positional versatility, and while he should benefit from playing at Coors Field, he is not a superstar. The Rockies remain far behind both the Dodgers and Giants in the division, but adding Desmond and Holland doesn’t seem to be enough to make up last year’s 16-game deficit.
Jim Bowden of ESPN.com passed out a much more favorable grade, giving the Rockies a B.
“The Rockies did an excellent job selecting (Bud) Black as their next manager, and he should be a real difference-maker in the dugout and in handling their pitching staff. Their big free-agent signing came as a surprise when they gave Desmond a five-year, $70 million deal to play first base. The out-of-the-box decision to sign Desmond over a first baseman like (Edwin) Encarnacion, (Mark) Trumbo or (Mike) Napoli might have been a shock, but it could turn out to be a solid move.”
USA Today makes an early prediction of the Rockies finishing 81-81.
Trendy Team Alert: The Rockies (81 wins) are potential darlings this year, with a serviceable pitching staff, decent human and versatile slugger Ian Desmond and a solid manager in Bud Black. It certainly won’t be boring in Denver.
Real GM.com gives Colorado a C-plus.
While the Rockies have one of the best players in baseball in Nolan Arenado and an intriguing, young rotation, they’re obviously (and seemingly always) still trying to figure out how to put together a combination that will work. While these moves certainly didn’t transform the Rockies into instant contenders, and there were some moves that may not pan out in the long term, they certainly look better than they did for 2017 going into the offseason and it’s not that far-fetched to imagine them jockeying for a wild card spot.
Grade: C+
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