@MarkKnudson41
The Texas Rangers are screwing things up for themselves and the MLBPA. More on that in a minute. But they have not damaged the Colorado Rockies.
There are plenty of things for Rockies fans to be frustrated with and worried about these days. Losing Jon Gray to the Rangers is not one of them. The Rockies have a good number of #4 starters in the organization already. Gray and his .500 record is very replaceable from within. Be objective, and ask yourself this question: Is Gray worth more than German Marquez? Kyle Freeland? Antonio Senzatela? Or even Austin Gomber?
No, he’s not.
The Rockies were smarter than the suddenly free-spending Rangers when it came to offering Gray a free agent contract. That huge $56 mil commitment probably won’t work out too great for Texas. But the way they’re throwing money around in free agency, will they even notice?
It was time for a change of scenery for the former Rockies first round draft pick anyway. Perhaps moving back closer to his Oklahoma roots will be good for his game. His tenure in Colorado can best be described as “unfulfilling.” He could have been so much more than he was here. When Gray was on top of his game – which was not nearly often enough – the righthander always had “ace” stuff, and everyone in the National League knew it. But far too often he didn’t bring his best to the hill, and far too often, there were mid game meltdowns that ruined what could have been stellar performances. His overall performance during the second half of last season was borderline abysmal. A 2018 start in Texas against his new team is sort of indicative of Gray’s issues. Staked to a 5-1 lead after five and a half innings, Gray had been dominant. Then he melted down. Ended up giving up four additional earned runs in the sixth without getting an out in what became a 13-12 Colorado loss. That exact scenario happened more than a few times.
Even with his struggles, Gray’s stuff alone has value. The Rockies blundered at the trade deadline with both Gray and Trevor Story. They could have gotten a decent return for both of them had they pursued deals a little harder. It’s sort of forgivable since they didn’t have an actual General Manager at the time, and the front office was in a state of flux. But nonetheless, getting only a single draft pick in return for a pair of established big leaguers – and in Story’s case, a legit star player – was textbook mismanagement.
While the signing a big win for Team Gray, and will probably be something the Rangers regret, there’s another loser in this and the Rangers other big deals. The Player’s Union.
With collective bargaining negotiations on-going and a lockout looming, free agent signings like Cory Seager, Marcus Semien and Gray by the 100-loss Rangers actually hurts the Union’s bargaining position. Texas and several other Owners are spending wildly during the first two weeks of the free agent signing period, and it’s not just the good teams throwing money around.
The union’s major complaint leading up to these talks, which they’ve made public over the past few seasons, is that there are way too many teams in MLB that are content sitting back and taking in money and not really try to win. SuperAgent Scott Boras estimated that less than half the teams in the bigs are actually trying (as in spending on players) to get to the World Series. He’s not far off. Then again, he was probably including Texas in the “not trying/spending” group. Scratch them off the list.
But Boras still has a valid point. Unlike most businesses, in baseball you don’t have to be successful to be profitable. Several teams have obviously been “tanking” in the past, with various results. Houston famously did so a decade ago and their rebuild has been uber successful. Other teams like Baltimore, not so much.
But you can bet that when this issue is brought up in negotiations, the owners will point at Texas and say, “See, our clubs are trying to win. Look at all these phat contracts?” At least the public perception of the owners position will improve now.
Public opinion isn’t going to end the impending lockout or have any influence in the final draft of the new CBA, whenever it arrives. But if this thing drags on into spring training, each side will begin to point fingers. And nobody will be cashing any checks.
Be sure to catch “The Park Adjusted Rockies Podcast” with Mark Knudson and Manny Randhawa available where you find all your favorite podcasts.