Which one trade could best transform Rockies from pretenders to contenders?

Kiz: Nurse Kiz here, reporting for duty. It took nearly 90 games, but I’ve finally diagnosed the Rockies’ problem: They’re a bipolar baseball team. The Rockies are good enough to reel off eight consecutive victories or lose six in a row. The lack of consistency is maddening. So tell me: Is there a trade general manager Jeff “Doc” Bridich can make to level off these wild swings in performance and make this team a contender in a wide-open race for the National League wild cards? Newman: Bridich hasn’t made a blockbuster deadline deal for a high-profile starter or reliever — the team’s current biggest needs — in his tenure yet, and realistically I don’t see that trend changing. That said, Bridich has acknowledged this team’s playoff window is open and I believe we might see some sort of midgrade move to bolster the bullpen as Colorado did last year by dealing two picks and a player to be named later to Toronto for right-handed veteran Seunghwan Oh. The Korean was critical to the team’s success in 2018 but has faltered (and been injured) in 2019. Kiz: Colorado’s most obvious immediate need is another left-handed arm in the bullpen. But the bigger problem? I’m afraid right-hander Wade Davis is near the end as a rock-solid closer in the unfriendly confines of Coors Field. The market for quality lefty bullpen arms is very limited. There’s Will Smith from the Giants. But he’s a free agent at season’s end. And I have long admired Brad Hand, now with Cleveland, but the Indians are in the thick of the American League playoff race. Have you got better ideas? Newman: Smith certainly does present an intriguing option, as the southpaw who was once a failed starter for the Royals has become one of the rebuilding Giants’ best trade chips along with future Hall of Famer Madison Bumgarner (who’s highly unlikely to land in LoDo). I’d also target Pirates southpaw Felipe Vazquez, who has a 2.11 ERA and 20 saves in 35 appearances and is under club control through 2021. It might take a top prospect or three to pry him free from Pittsburgh — which also remains in contention — but what use is a stockpile of promising farmhands if the Rockies aren’t going to cash a couple in when necessary to win now? Kiz: To secure a wild-card bid, the Rockies’ probably have to go 43-30 the remainder of the season. Possible? Yes. Likely? No. So rather than surrender prospects in a deal that would promise Colorado nothing more than a one-game, win-or-go-home playoff scenario, I’d prefer Doc Bridich thinks long-term, rather than trying to salvage 2019. Who intrigues me? Baltimore’s Trey Mancini, who has blossomed as a hitter at age 27. Maybe Mancini could finally be the team’s long-term solution at first base.

If Colorado’s going to play conservative, it doesn’t need a Mancini to solve the first-base conundrum. By the time Daniel Murphy‘s two-year deal ends in 2020, the Rockies will have several prized corner infield prospects ready for the bigs in Colton Welker and Tyler Nevin, not to mention Grant Lavigne right behind them. As for this year, I disagree, Kiz. If German Marquez and Jon Gray continue to be rotation anchors and the offense keeps surging, 2019 is salvageable. Any potential gamble to get to — and through — the wild card is worth it. Sustained baseball success in this city is going to take simultaneously sustained guts by the front office. Now, with another proven arm desperately needed in some capacity, would be a good time to show them.