For years, the Colorado Rockies have had one of the best and most underrated shortstops in the game in Trevor Story.
The guy has a .860 career OPS and 147 home runs at age 28, which is not too shabby.
He is strong, fast, and capable in both the batter’s box and the field.
This season hasn’t been his best, as he has a .241 average, a .313 OBP, and a .743 OPS in 340 plate appearances.
Yet he has managed to stay productive with 13 home runs and 17 stolen bases.
He is in the last year of arbitration eligibility, and will be a free agent after the season ends.
One would think the Rockies would seek to sign him on a contract extension or, if they failed to do so, trade him and get a nice haul of prospects.
Before the season, the team said it didn’t have the budget to entertain an offer.
The Rockies are said not to have the budget for any big signing at the moment, so barring some big change there won’t be an extension coming anytime soon for superstar SS Trevor Story, as I just said in @MLBNetwork
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 2, 2021
The trade deadline passed, and neither happened.
The Deadline Blunder Of The Year
Story will play out the 2021 season with the hapless Rockies, who are fourth in the National League West division with a 46-60 record and way out of the playoffs picture, until his deal expires.
Even Story was surprised and confused that Colorado elected not to trade him, which implies that he won’t be coming back.
Trevor Story had a few choice words when describing the trade deadline to @psaundersdp
“I’m confused and I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded."
Story is clearly not happy with how things played out…. so why didn't the Rox trade him? pic.twitter.com/Dbpoeonlnu
— milehighsports (@MileHighSports) July 30, 2021
By now, it’s pretty clear that Story doesn’t want to commit his future to a franchise that lacks direction and with a front office that has proved its incompetence many times throughout the years.
As every major leaguer that takes the field, Story has aspirations for himself as a player and as a person.
He wants his family to have financial stability for life, but he also wants to win and be a part of something special on the field.
Sadly, he won’t get those things in Colorado, a franchise that essentially paid the St. Louis Cardinals millions of dollars just to take Nolan Arenado’s contract.
He likely does not want anything to do with an organization that used front-office staff as clubhouse attendants in 2020.
They preferred that rather than bringing back furloughed part-time employees for the shortened 2020 season.
Even speaking specifically about on-field circumstances, Colorado has failed to put championship-caliber team for years, and they blew it with Arenado by giving him such a rich contract with an opt-out clause that took away all of his trade value.
The Rockies Don’t Have Enough To Offer Story
This time, they blew it by not trading Story, Jon Gray, Daniel Bard, and other veterans and pieces that just won’t be around when they are competitive again.
Their farm system is not particularly good, and their present roster is not good enough to contend.
Will Story sign in Colorado long-term and just wait until the Rockies are ready to be competitive again?
There is always a chance, especially if he has spent his entire career with them, but it remains highly unlikely.
So far, the player has given no indications that will be the case.
And there are several teams out there a shortstop away from true playoff contention: the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics are good examples.
The Rockies may be a front office and ownership away from true contention, which is why Story will probably not sign there for the long haul.
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