The Colorado Rockies are the worst team in baseball and are already preparing to be sellers at the MLB trade deadline in July. Years away from contention, it appears a pair of potential All-Stars could be moved this summer.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that the Rockies should shop All-Star infielder Ryan McMahon in July. In addition, Colorado might shop relief pitcher Jake Bird, who is widely expected to be their lone representative in the All-Star Game this year.
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- Jake Bird stats (ESPN): 2.23 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 52-16 K-BB, .629 OPS allowed in 40.1 innings
Colorado would be selling high on the 29-year-old reliever. In a breakout season, the 6-foot-3 righty boasts a 32.1 percent strikeout rate this season with a .199 batting average allowed. As a set-up man in the Rockies’ bullpen, Bird has covered two-plus innings in nine appearances this season.
What makes Bird even more valuable is his contract. He’s only owed a $770,000 salary this season and he’s arbitration-eligible through 2028, his age-32 season. Trading Bird this summer could net multiple high-end prospects for Colorado, providing a boost for a farm system that needs it.
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- Ryan McMahon stats (ESPN): .221/.333/.400, .733 OPS, 10 home runs in 240 at-bats
McMahon, age 30, earned his first All-Star selection in 2024. The foot-2 third baseman has seen a dip in his batting average this year, but he’s maintained a .700-plus OPS for the seventh consecutive year. Away from Coors Field, McMahon has a .529 OPS with just 2 home runs and 8 RBI in 132 at-bats.
He is under contract through 2027, carrying a $12 million salary this season with a $16 million salary in the final two years of the deal. He’s previously been on the trade radar of the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees.
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