It's now November, so let baseball free agency reign! The Colorado Rockies have seven players who will be available to the highest bidder. They are: pitchers Joe Beimel, Jorge De La Rosa, Octavio Dotel and Jeff Francis, infielders Jason Giambi and Melvin Mora and outfielder Jay Payton. De La Rosa and Dotel both offer draft pick compensation depending on what happens with them. Steve Foster of InsideTheRockies.com explains:
The Rockies would be in line for draft-pick compensation if they offer arbitration to two of their free agents — De La Rosa and Dotel — and the players sign elsewhere. De La Rosa, a Type-A free agent, would bring the signing team’s first- or second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Dotel, a Type-B free agent, would bring a supplemental first-rounder.
The deadline to offer arbitration is Nov. 23 and the Rockies are almost sure to offer De La Rosa arbitration. Dotel could receive a hefty one-year contract if the Rockies offered arbitration and he accepted, seeing that his $4.5 million options was recently declined. The Rockies could bring him back on a much cheaper deal later on, but the risks of offering arbitration could prove to be too much for the team.
Of the seven free agents, Jeff Francis and Melvin Mora are the two most likely to return. Francis made a return from injury this season and had his ups-and-downs. He would keep the rotation from being all right-handed if he signed, Of course, if De La Rosa did re-sign with the Rockies, this would leave Francis hanging. However, De La Rosa's preference for a five-year deal will likely preclude that from happening.
Mora turned from being the 25th man on the roster to one of the key offensive contributors during the 2010 season. He has versatility in the infield, playing first, second and third. While he would not start for the Rockies, Mora could take over third base if Ian Stewart fails to show improvements early in the season.