Rockies’ window to compete has slammed shut

Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich once told me that he doesn’t believe in windows. Windows of contention for a big-league baseball team, that is.

While that might be true for big-spending, perennial contenders like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox, I don’t think it holds true for the Rockies, a team that has never won a division title in its 27 years. For the Rockies, windows open and slam shut quickly.

Last season, tied to this season, provides the perfect example.

Last year, the Rockies won 91 games, took the Dodgers to Game 163 and beat the Cubs in the wild-card playoff game before being dominated by the Brewers, who swept them in the National League Division Series. This year, a 3-12 start, terrible pitching and a slew of injuries in the second half doomed Colorado. A 95loss season looks likely.

A number of players have told me that they thought the front office and owner Dick Monfort blew it by not making bold moves at last year’s trade deadline. To paraphrase a few of those conversations: “We had a great chance to win the division, we should have traded some prospects. That was our best chance.”

We’ll never know what trades were discussed but never consummated last summer. Plus, looking back at what actually happened at the last year’s trade deadline, it’s hard to think of a specific deal that would have put Colorado over the top.

With this season ranking as one of the most disastrous in franchise history, I’m left wondering when another window will open.

“To see how far we’ve fallen back has been difficult, for sure,” star third baseman Nolan Arenado said.

Asked if the Rockies were facing a “rebuild,”

Arenado answered: “I don’t even know what it is right now. We are relying on a lot of young guys right now, for sure. I remember when I was young, I made a lot of mistakes, so I get it. They have to learn from their mistakes.

“But you want to win. Every year you want to have a chance to win, but this year just wasn’t one of our better chances.”

So what about next year? If the Rockies’ pitching — both in the rotation and in the bullpen — doesn’t improve dramatically, they have no shot at making the playoffs, let alone kicking the Dodgers off their NL West throne.

The lineup has a lot of talent, especially if outfielder David Dahl continues to improve and is able to stay healthy for a full season. And Ryan Mcmahon is flashing signs of being a future all-star. But if the Rockies are going to improve during the offseason, spending money is going to be a problem. Their current payroll of $156.6 million ranks 12th in the majors, according to Spotrac, but more than half of that payroll is being paid out to four players: Allstars Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, failed closer Wade Davis and inconsistent fourth outfielder Ian Desmond.

Plus, the Rockies will have to pay first baseman Daniel Murphy big money. Counting his $8 million salary for 2020 and the $6 million buyout for 2021, the 34-year-old has $14 million left in guaranteed money on his contract. Murphy has been only adequate at the plate (.277 average, 13 home runs, .798 OPS), and he’s a terrible first baseman.

So I certainly don’t see an open window in 2020. As for 2021, we’ll have to wait and see, with the knowledge that both Trevor Story and Arenado could say goodbye at

the end of it.