A hectic MLB trade deadline saw a flurry of big names on the move. Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, however, was not among them — and he doesn’t seem happy about how things turned out in Denver.
“I’m confused and I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded,” he told The Denver Post.
The 28-year-old was linked to the Mets and Yankees, as well as the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Tampa Bay Rays, but Colorado’s reportedly high asking price for the two-time All-Star left them with no takers.
Instead, Story is stuck with the Rockies with free agency looming after the season ends, and possibly longer. The team plans to give him a qualifying offer, and if he refuses it — as is expected — it will get a compensatory pick.
“I told Trevor in the past, ‘There’s a chance you still might be here. So he knew,” GM Bill Schmidt said. “And that disappointment, I understand that. But I think Trevor, one, is a very good professional. He’ll move on, and he’ll play through it. And we’ll go on and we’ll address it in the offseason.”
The shortstop needed a change of scenery — badly. In 89 games this season, the slugger has a slash line of .240/.312/.429, trending toward the lowest output of his career. He also has 13 home runs and 48 RBIs.
Story was not the only name that the Rockies had on the trade market and failed to move. The Mets, Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies had reported interest in pitcher Jon Gray. Colorado was less willing to part with the 29-year-old righty, as the two sides were already in talks about a long-term deal.
“We’d like to [re-sign] Jon,” Schmidt said two weeks ago. “If it’s possible, we’d like to work something out with Jon. But it always comes back to this: It takes two to tango.
“We can sit here and say, ‘We’d like to keep Jon,’ but it also depends on Jon and his representatives. So if they want to go in a different direction, then so be it.”
Despite not being active during the trade deadline frenzy, the Rockies did make some moves before Friday. On Wednesday, Colorado traded reliever Mychal Givens to Cincinnati for Case Williams, the Reds’ No. 19 prospect, and Noah Davis, their No. 24 prospect.