The Colorado Rockies are in third place in the National League West division, but don’t let that fool you. With the Rockies behind the Dodgers (70-31) and the Diamondbacks (57-43), they are currently holding the second Wild Card spot. They are playing very well, but they’re deficient at two positions – and the Mets could help them.
Once an MVP threat, right fielder Carlos Gonzalez has severely under-produced for the Rockies this season. In 83 games he has hit .227/.301/.342 with six home runs and 26 RBIs. The three-time Gold Glover has also regressed defensively, posting a -0.3 dWAR so far this season.
While there doesn’t seem to be much chatter surrounding Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce, the Rockies seem like a good fit for one of them. If the Rox are going to keep up with the teams above them in their division and stay atop the Wild Card race, they will need to upgrade in right field.
Gonzalez has just a 50 wRC+ compared to Granderson’s 104 and Bruce’s 121. Both are good defenders but the originally underrated Bruce has shown he is a good defender in right field, posting a 1.0 UZR and 6 DRS this season. Granderson has been even better in right field, posting a 2.8 UZR and 3 DRS.
When it comes down to it, both Granderson and Bruce would be upgrades over the aging CarGo both offensively and defensively.
Another area the Rockies need help with is catcher. While their current catcher Tony Wolters is okay offensively, he is a terrible pitch framer. He is very young, only in his sophomore season, and with four rookies in the starting rotation they would benefit from a veteran presence behind the plate. The Rockies have reported interest in Jonathan Lucroy, however a trade for him seems unlikely.
The Mets have two catchers that could be a good fit with the Rockies, Travis d’Arnaud and Rene Rivera. With Kevin Plawecki tearing it up in Triple-A, hitting .328/.378/.519, and prospect Tomas Nido lurking in Double-A, the Mets can afford to trade one of their catchers.
They wouldn’t be traded because of their offense, but because of their receiving. Despite having the 22nd most framing chances in the league with 3,555, Travis d’Arnaud is ranked 12th in framing runs with 4.5. Tony Wolters has 34 less chances, but he has -4.9 framing runs. Rene Rivera has only 2,804 framing chances but the 14th most framing runs at 2.9.
The Mets are far more likely to trade Rivera than d’Arnaud, however if the Rockies were to offer enough, Travis could be in the discussion. Rivera is probably a better fit for the Rockies to offer the veteran presence that Wolters can’t while also providing a major defensive upgrade, and would cost less for the Rockies in a trade.
The Mets could package one of their right fielders and one of their catchers in a trade with the Rockies, possibly bringing back a top prospect. The Mets don’t have to trade one of their catchers, however if they can find a suitor for one of their right fielders that is willing to pay, Sandy needs to take advantage of it.
