Spring Training 2011: The $200 Million Moves

In the offseason between 2000 and 2001, Dan O'Dowd the fairly new GM of the Rockies, believing that the missing ingredient to the Rockies success was a couple of good pitchers, spent $170 million on Mike Hampton (8 years) and Denny Neagle (5 years) to anchor the Rockies Rotation. It might have been the right idea, but he chose the wrong players. All told, they played for the Rockies a combined 5 years, produced 40-51 record in 134 starts.

Two years later, O'Dowd handed Todd Helton, one of the Rockies first home-grown stars a 9 year $141 million contract which was a much wiser investment. Sure Helton has fallen off in Stats over the past few years, but Helton was the perfect choice to help bring up the young players, as the Rockies moved to the youth movement.

O'Dowd took a risk and signed Troy Tulowitzki to a 6 year deal right after his Rookie year in 2007, but the total cost was only $31 million. Although Tulo had an injury-plagued sophomore year, he has come into his own the past two seasons and is still only 26 years old headed into the 2011 season.

O'Dowd took a lot of heat when he let Matt Holliday go, but he was left with no choice, as reports go, the Rockies made an offer somewhere between 4-7 years and up to $20 Million a year, but never heard back. Instead the Rockies traded him for a couple more young players. The Cardinals eventually gave Holliday 7 years and $120 million.

This winter O'Dowd has laid down the future of the Rockies. With Helton in the last year of his contract (unless the Rockies take the option for 2012), O'Dowd turned to Troy Tulowitzki as the future leader of this team, and extended it out until 2020. Total cost of the next 10 years is $157.75 (roughly 125 million more than they had already committed for the next 3 years.)

Next he somehow lured Jorge De La Rosa back for up to 4 years, and up to $43 Million, but only guaranteeing the two years at $21.5 Milion.

The biggest surprise happened later as O'Dowd presumably with Tulowitzki's help convinced Carlos Gonzalez, acquired in the Holliday deal, and only with 2 years of major league service under his belt, signed for $7 years and $80 million. Taking him through 2017, when he would be just turning 32.

So for $200 million for 16 player years over the winter, O'Dowd has laid the new game plan down. He is also expected to try to sign Ubaldo Jimenez by next winter to a long term deal.

It's now up to the players to go out on the field, and prove these moves were worth it. Somehow I think it will pan out better than Hampton and Neagle. All 3 of these players (along with Helton) seem committed to Denver and the Rockies success.