Colorado Rockies, most underrated SS make a deal
By Ryan Sanders
The Colorado Rockies came to a deal with Trevor Story to buy out his remaining arbitration years. Story will receive $27.5M over the next two seasons.
The Colorado Rockies have bought out Trevor Story‘s remaining two arbitration seasons, obtaining cost certainty over the star SS for $27.5M. The Rockies are hoping to move on from the Arenado trade saga and with cost certainty
This is a smart decision by the Rockies for a number of reasons. It continues to grow their relationship with Story, who could be more open to a long term extension next season. The Rockies already set the precedent with two big extensions for homegrown players on the books with Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. The cost certainty over Story could make him a more appealing trade target to teams, especially those near the luxury tax line or cost-conscious teams.
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Trevor Story has a tendency to be a little forgotten. The position of SS is chock full of superstars like Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Xander Bogaerts, and so many others. It also doesn’t help that he’s not even the guy on his own team as he shares one side of the infield with 3B Nolan Arenado. Story’s deal presents a great time to highlight how awesome he is.
This past season, Story hit .294/.363/.554 for a 121 wRC+, swatted 35 dingers, and provided excellent defense on the way to 5.8 WAR which was fourth among all SS. Story has eclipsed 5 WAR each of the last two seasons and has been a top 5 SS since making his debut in 2016. Were it not for a lackluster 2017, Story would have a case for being the best SS in all of baseball.
Story’s StatCast profile provides more insight into how electric of a player he is. Story is in the 83rd percentile for exit velocity at 90.9 MPH. He’s also one of the fastest players in all of baseball and at 29.2 feet/second Story runs the same speed as Mike Trout. By Outs Above Average, Story is the fifth-best player in the entire league on defense at an incredible +15 OAA. Put it all together and you get superstar production at SS and a major reason why the Rockies can call themselves a contender despite getting so little production elsewhere.
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The Colorado Rockies remain one of the most confusing teams in baseball. They spend money smartly (Arenado, Story, Blackmon) and questionably (middle relievers, Ian Desmond). They have done a great job of developing homegrown talent yet can’t support that talent with even replacement level free agents. The Rockies will continue to be interesting for all the wrong reasons. You should, however, tune in to watch Trevor Story play next to Arenado. Together, they make up the best-left side of the infield in all of baseball.