The Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays all have losing records and are completely out of playoff contention, which has likely prompted their front offices to look toward next year.
Colorado has a number of question marks surrounding Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. All of these players missed a majority of the season with injuries - Cuddyer with shoulder and hamstring issues, Gonzalez with season-ending knee surgery and Tulowitzki with season-ending hip surgery. Cuddyer is a free agent, but manager Walt Weiss said he wants the 35-year-old veteran back; after all, he's one year removed from an All-Star season and NL Batting Title. It all depends on the market demand for Cuddyer, and if it's a lot, the Rockies will probably back off.
As for Gonzalez and Tulowitzki, the team is committed to them for the long term. Gonzalez is signed through the 2017 season and Tulowitzki is signed through 2020, with both being owed hefty annual salaries. The New York Mets expressed interest in the two players prior to the trade deadline, but the Rockies said they weren't willing to part ways with them. Now that the two underwent season-ending surgery in August, it's likely they won't produce the expected value in a trade because other teams will be wary of their health. But will that matter for the Rockies? How many more seasons can they spend banking on the health of Gonzalez and Tulo? Gonzalez has missed a total of 144 games over the past two seasons and Tulo has missed 222 games over the past three seasons.
In Philadelphia, general manager Ruben Amaro may no longer have a choice but to work out a trade to send Jonathan Papelbon packing in the offseason. It was speculated he would be dealt before the trade deadline, but Amaro remained inactive with a roster full of moveable players. Now, Papelbon has been disciplined for grabbing his crotch in response to the crowd's boos when he blew a save on Sunday, whereby he was ejected from the game, suspended for seven more and fined an undisclosed amount by the MLB. The Phillies are entering rebuilding mode and they won't need to be paying a closer $13 million per year, especially with 24-year-old Ken Giles thriving in the bullpen. Papelbon has been exceptional this year posting a 2.10 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP with 37 saves. Will there be any takers in the offseason?
Tampa Bay might be more transparent about their intentions. Team owner Stuart Sternberg said the team's payroll next year is "clearly going to be lower" than this year's franchise-record $80 million. He noted that the team's highest payrolls (2009 and 2014) featured the only seasons in which the Rays weren't playing competitive September baseball since 2008. It's a strong possibility that they won't pick up second baseman Ben Zobrist's team option for $7.5 million since they traded for Nick Franklin earlier this year, and they also have an option to trade some of their arbitration eligible players who could garner interest, including pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and outfielder Matt Joyce.
The MLB offseason and winter meetings will certainly be interesting and they'll be here in the next couple of months.
