Hot Stove League Speculation Begins

Starting to read the "expert" opinions about what Dan O'Dowd, and the Rockies should do in the offseason. Rather than argue why some of them are wrong, I'll just put my list out there.

Huston Street--Despite the two bad games in the LDS, Street deserves a couple of years to see what he can do. Even if someone like Morales eventually takes over the Closer role, or it's a team closing with a left/right combination, he's still worth it to be the setup guy or late inning man. Taking a two or three year contract with him will stabilize things and not break the bank.

Garrett Atkins Likely to be non-tendered and become a free agent. That commits the Rockies to Ian Stewart at Third. Stewart needs to become a bigger bat and fill in as Cleanup or 5 hole. Playing all year at 3B will also help him and be consistent. Plus Atkins would be a free agent after 2010, signing him for next year doesn't make a lot of sense.

Yorvit Torrealba Yorvit is fun to watch and has done wonders with the pitching staff. The Rockies could keep him but would probably end up paying too much. Either way, Torrealba is best back as a backup to Iannetta, Phillips or someone else.

Clint Barmes Barmes is the one I'm most iffy on. He's a career .258 hitter and will be 31 next year. He has 2 years remaining before he's eligible for Free Agency. His defense without question is valuable, but the big question is whether his bat is a liability. A two-year contract with an 3rd year option might be in line. If he can bring his average up even 20 points, he'd be worthwhile.

Brad Hawpe Hawpe does not have to be moved this winter. He got off to a hot start and made the All-Star team, but his final numbers were pretty consistent with every season except for his career year of 2007. He can be expected to provide .285, 25 HR and 80 RBI. It's probably better for the Rockies if it's a little more spread evenly over the season. Career wise he tends to fall off a little bit in the 2nd half.

Jason GiambiAs much as I liked Giambi's influence in the dugout down the stretch, I'm not sure he'd be valuable on a year long contract in 2010. He's more fitted to be a DH, but showed some skills playing 1B. The big question would be, if Atkins doesn't come back who is the backup 1B option for the Rockies?

Starting Pitching The Rotation looks like Cook, Jimenez, and De La Rosa are solid, and Hammel certainly deserves a shot. Jimenez and Cook are already signed through at least 2012 with options. Francis could be the 5th starter (possibly as high as #3) depending on his recovery in the spring. If Contreras re-signs, he could possibly become a starter. Otherwise look for a couple of new faces to compete. It's also possible that De La Rosa could become trade bait after his success this year, however I like having him as a lefty starter with Francis. Expect Marquis not to be back, and I'm not convinced the Rockies need to sign or trade for a big name starter. Continue the trend of looking for good young sinkerballers and groom them for Coors. Belisle and Chacin may be two possibilities to be major-league starters next year.

Relief Pitchers O'Dowd assembled an amazing bullpen during the season which proved to be a big part of Jim Tracy's plan in making the Rockies playoff contenders. Street will be the Closer, Morales, and Betancourt likely setup.
There's much talk of Corpas being traded, but if he doesn't go, he and Buchholz are both recovering from injuries could be huge additions to Matt Daley, and Flores. I'm indifferent to Beimel.

First up is getting contracts lined up for O'Dowd and Tracy, and the Coaching staff.