Rockies ‘plan to keep’ Hunter Goodman, despite reported interest from Yankees

Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman headed for Philadelphia and Tuesday’s All-Star Game without a spot in Monday night’s Home Run Derby.

He also does so with the Rockies having added two college players at his position in their first four draft picks: Georgia’s Daniel Jackson (No. 37) and Cincinnati’s Jack Natili (No. 76). Both were in MLB Pipeline’s top 75 prospects heading into the draft — Jackson at No. 28 and Natili at No. 74 — and Jackson earned the Dick Howser Award as the best college-baseball player last season.

But the expected arrival of those two prospects into the system — albeit with each almost certainly two years away from the major-league conversation — doesn’t mean that Goodman is out of the Rockies’ long-term plans.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Rockies “plan to keep” Goodman, despite reported interest from the New York Yankees, who also are sniffing around Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, although Minnesota reportedly wants to keep him, too.

ROCKIES HAVE TEAM CONTROL OF GOODMAN THROUGH 2029

Goodman is currently playing on a one-year, $810,000 deal, with three arbitration years to come if the Rockies don’t work out a long-term deal.

With those years of team control, the Rockies could extract a massive haul for him if they change their minds. But that team control is attractive to the Rockies; they have the National League’s best power-hitting catcher at a reasonable price.

The question that must be asked about any Rockies player as the trade deadline approaches is this: Are they going to be a part of the next playoff contender that blossoms at 20th and Blake?

Despite the palpable progress shown this season — with the team on pace for a 21-game improvement over last year — and the offense becoming one of the most potent in MLB, the team’s pitching continues to struggle. Colorado’s pitchers as a collective rank dead last in MLB in ERA, WHIP, strikeout percentage and opponents batting average, OBP and slugging percentage. None of that has been helped by opponents average on balls in play (BABIP) sitting at .321, the second-highest rate in MLB.

Even if you considered only road games to eliminate the Coors Field factor, the Rockies would still rank last in WHIP, opposing batting average and on-base percentage and 29th in ERA opponents’ slugging percentage.

YANKEES LIKELY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF WHAT ROCKIES WOULD WANT, ANYWAY

Understandably, If the Rockies were to consider trading Goodman, they’d likely want pitching. The Yankees don’t have any pitching prospects in MLB Pipeline’s most-recent top 50, although two — Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange — sit at Nos. 74 and 81, respectively, and both are at AAA.

Rodríguez has already made his major-league debut, starting four games over two previous call-up stints with the Yankees this season, notching a 4.76 ERA, a 1.765 WHIP in those contests. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in any of those games, which saw him log more walks (11) than strikeouts (10). He has a 2.85 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP at AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre this season.

Lagrange has yet to make his major-league debut. He’s made 18 appearances this year — including 11 starts — at Scranton Wilkes-Barre, posting a 4.55 ERA and an 11.8 K/9 rate with 18 appearances, including 11 starts before he was moved to the bullpen in June. He had a 1.98 bullpen ERA before giving up five earned runs in his most-recent appearances June 28, after which he landed on the injured list due to a capsular sprain in his right (throwing) shoulder.

But those two pitchers could not anchor a deal on their own. And the Yankees certainly aren’t trading their ace, 25-year-old All-Star Cam Schittler, who made his major-league debut last year.

Any potential deal would likely have to involve a top-30 prospect. New York’s top prospect, infielder George Lombard Jr. — listed at No. 20 overall by MLB Pipeline — made it to AAA earlier this season. He’s currently on the injured list with sprained fingers, but he appears close to a major-league call-up, posting a .923 OPS in his most-recent 27 games.

But that doesn’t solve the Rockies’ continued and pressing need for pitching. All of the Rockies’ top-six players in the MLB Pipeline rankings are position players, and none of their pitchers sit in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100.

Someday, the Rockies might deal Goodman. But it isn’t likely to be now — and certainly not to the Yankees.