Report: Rockies likely to trade former All-Star before deadline

For the second straight season the Colorado Rockies are likely to trade a former All-Star ahead of MLB’s trade deadline, this time it’s Elias Diaz on the way out of town.

According to New York Post MLB Insider Jon Heyman, the Rockies are listening to offers on their starting catcher after contract extension talks have broken down. The reporter writes that there’s an 83% chance that Diaz is wearing a different uniform come August.

The Rockies are probably able to get a decent prospect or two out of a Diaz trade given his production is decent. Diaz is slashing .296/.340/.417 this season which is just above league average. Diaz has rated as both an above-average arm and a defender who does a solid job controlling the basepaths too.

Colorado extended Diaz after the 2021 season and this is the final year of that contract. With the threat of walking and not getting anything back, it makes a lot of sense that the Rockies would look to flip the 33-year-old. Considering he’s a backstop and a sound defensive one at that, it makes him pretty valuable especially to teams with no solutions at the spot. That could create enough momentum for the Rockies to actually move Diaz unlike in the past.

Colorado let both Trevor Story and Jon Gray walk a few years ago and then held onto Daniel Bard on an extension instead of trading him. It’s a similar story with the team’s history where they often hold onto guys through the season even if that year is lost. And Colorado is steadily headed toward a second-straight 100-loss season in 2024. Last year the team held onto Brent Suter for no real season but they did allow themselves to send away C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk and Pierce Johnson. Those deals have already paid off with Victor Vodnik, who came from the Braves, being one of the more promising Rockies relievers. Even so last year was the anomaly—all it takes is going back two years to when the Rockies didn’t flip closer Bard but rather extended him to show how the team thinks. That contract by the way has been a disaster with Bard not pitching yet in 2024 and he didn’t want the closer role in 2023. Maybe the Bard scenario has flipped the team’s thinking.

Moving Diaz and perhaps his backup Jacob Stallings, would open up a ton of playing time in the final two months of the season. They are the only true catches on Colorado’s roster with Hunter Goodman only spending limited innings behind the dish. With an opening, the Rockies could hand over the reins to Drew Romo. Currently at Triple-A Albuquerque, the 35th pick in the 2020 draft will need to be added to the roster this offseason anyhow to avoid the Rule 5 Draft. He’s slashing .300/.504/.494 in 67 games for the Isotopes.

The Rockies are said to be possible sellers of pitchers too ahead of the July 30 deadline.

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