Troy Renck: The pairing represented hope and renewal, but hidden beneath their jerseys were expiration tags that had quietly passed. Before the Rockies’ 2022 home opener, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson bathed in a standing ovation and threw out the first pitch to slugger Kris Bryant. It was arguably their best moment in Colorado. Wilson went 11-19 in two seasons, paid $124 million before he was cut in March with an $85 million cap hit spread over two years. Bryant has become a ghost in uniform, landing on the injured list seven times in two-plus seasons, earning the title as the worst contract in baseball. Sean, what can the Rockies possibly do next with Bryant, who has “no idea” when he will return after a left rib contusion was diagnosed as an internal oblique strain this weekend?
Sean Keeler: Promotions? Photo ops with fans during games? (“Want an NL MVP to entertain your party at Coors Field? Just text 1-800-BAD-BACK with your seat location!”) Have him serve food to guests inside the Legacy Club? If Bryant were a car, you’d sell him for parts. The logical answer is to cut KB23 and move on from the worst free-agent signing in Rockies history. But since when has Dick Monfort ever subscribed to baseball logic?
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Renck: Watching Bryant receive applause at Wrigley Field earlier this season conjured memories of his greatness. But let’s be clear, this isn’t second guessing. The Bryant signing — owner Dick Monfort’s response to getting fleeced in the Nolan Arenado trade — never made sense. He needed to hit 30 home runs with a .900 OPS given his defensive shortcomings, especially in the outfield. He hasn’t approached those numbers since 2019. There are two solutions: cut him after the season or attach some sugar to a poison pill in a trade, by including a young prospect and eating roughly $100 of his remaining $108 million.
Keeler: I’m with you, but here’s what I can picture the Rockies doing: riding this out. Why? They’d prefer to get something back for the nothing they signed. Ergo, they’re going to do everything in their power — which ain’t much — to get Bryant on the field and playing at least semi-regularly so that they can showcase him as a flip candidate to the next sucker … er, team. That’s assuming that “semi-regularly” is even possible, of course. Me? I have my doubts.
Renck: The Rockies, going against their grain, must act boldly. Draft University of Florida first baseman Jac Caglianone, who would be a candidate to make the team in spring training. Accept the sunken cost with Bryant and move on and make Ryan McMahon and Brendan Rodgers available in trade talks next month. I get that they love the team-friendly deals of McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar, both potential All-Stars, on the left side of the infield. But McMahon’s value will never be greater. You can find hitting in the draft and free agency. The only way the Rockies climb out of his sinkhole is to add quality starting pitching, like a premium star at Double-A right now, to pair with future rotation stalwart Chase Dollander.
Keeler: Fortune favors the bold, hermano. Alas, the Monforts’ idea of bold is extending contracts for “fan favorite” players longer than any franchise that preferred winning to gooey nostalgia ever would. I’d flip anything that wasn’t nailed down for pitching prospects — including McMahon or Brendan Rodgers. The Rockies found the formula seven-eight years ago — grow your own stars — but lost it, trying desperately to keep that 2017-18 core together, no matter what, instead of focusing on a second wave of prospects that could either push or replace them. And welcome to Purple Purgatory.
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