ROCKIES’ BLACKMON HASN’T HIT HIS STRIDE

Jeff Bridich bet big on the Rockies being a playoff team in 2018. He can’t fold now. Colorado has to be a buyer at the trade deadline.

On the night of July 3, after a victory against San Francisco, Nolan Arenado sat at his locker, asking DJ Lemahieu if he wanted to go out and watch the fireworks show. It was two grown men acting like 10-year-old boys in all the best ways.

But this wonderful sense of brotherhood never lasts forever in major-league baseball, because business eventually intrudes on the fun.

The time for the Rockies to win is now. And the time is growing short.

Although Colorado has been a mediocre team, on balance, for nearly 90 games this season, the National League West is there for the taking, because every division rival seems flawed in a significant way.

So while Arizona eyes adding Baltimore infielder Manny Machado and the Los Angeles Dodgers look to beef up their bullpen, does Bridich have any choice except to add talent as the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline approaches?

Not really, unless Bridich wants to start tearing these Rockies apart. If Colorado isn’t in the race to win it, then it makes no sense to hold onto Lemahieu, expected to be gone as a free agent at season’s end. Give up now and Bridich might as well also listen to offers on Arenado, who has dropped hints for months that his top priority as a free agent in late 2019 will be finding a team that plays consistently in October.

Since being elevated to general manager late in 2014, Bridich has produced solid results, based on this franchise’s modest history of success. The Rockies improved their win-loss record in two consecutive seasons and qualified for the playoffs last year.

But, as a steward of ownership’s money, Bridich has been shaky, at best. His free-agent acquisitions have included big flops (Kyle Kendrick and Bryan Shaw) and a head-scratching $70 million gamble (Ian Desmond), while his best pick-ups have had fleeting success in a Colorado uniform (Greg Holland and Mark Reynolds).

Prior to this season, Bridich committed more than $100 million to put together what he hoped would be a rockin’ celebrity band in the bullpen, then doubled down by giving Charlie Blackmon a six-year deal for more than another $100 million.

All that money, it’s fair to argue, was to show Arenado the Rockies are serious about being playoff contenders each and every year.

When a June swoon threatened to wreck any Colorado hope of being a contender down the stretch, credit shortstop

Trevor Story and pitcher Kyle Freeland for refusing to let the Rockies fold. If I had a vote, I would put them both on the NL all-star team alongside Arenado.

The Rockies, however, have too many weaknesses for a deadline trade to remedy. Colorado could use a catcher with pop in his bat, a steady veteran hand in the starting rotation or a better bridge between Adam Ottavino and Wade Davis to close games.

Not long after Wilson Ramos appears in the All-star Game, Tampa Bay will almost certainly trade a 30-year-old catcher guaranteed to hit .300 at Coors Field. If it’s a veteran starting pitcher, manager Bud Black knows the book on San Diego’s Tyson Ross, while Toronto would gladly let you rent Marco Estrada, a proven postseason performer. It seems everyone in the playoff race needs a reliever; might Oakland be tempted to auction off Blake Treinen?

Give Bridich credit for establishing playoff expectations in the Colorado clubhouse.

Now Bridich needs to find a way to add talent to that clubhouse.

Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or @markkiszla