Trading Drew Pomeranz was the right move for the Colorado Rockies

The chorus from Colorado Rockies fans is growing louder. The grumbling has hit a new level. Fans want Dan O’Dowd and the rest of the front office removed from 20th & Blake.

The front office deserves plenty of criticism, and I have certainly been vocal in my opinion that change is extremely necessary. However, the trade of Drew Pomeranz to the Oakland A’s in exchange for Brett Anderson isn’t a bad move. In fact, it looks like it could be really good for the Rockies.

Watch Pomeranz on the mound for five minutes and it was clear that he looks like he would rather be anywhere than on a Major League mound. His body language was the only thing worse than his mechanics. The deer-in-the-headlights look took on a whole new meaning with the lefty.

The fact is, Pomeranz wasn’t going to find success in a Rockies uniform, and he wasn’t going to materialize into the pitcher that made him the centerpiece of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade and the most impressive member of his draft class less than a year after being selected.

Was some of that the Rockies fault? It could be argued that it was all their fault. The stories of Pomeranz “working on his arm angle” and “changing his arm slot” while he was in Colorado Springs were bothersome to say the least. The more the Rockies seemed to tweak his mechanics, the higher his ERA seemed to climb. Eventually, the Rockies got into the lefties head so much that he was beyond hope.

So there are two options in a situation that the Rockies found themselves in. They can either admit that they can’t fix what they may have messed up and move him, or they can sit on him and try to keep working with a guy who frankly isn’t going to survive at Coors Field and isn’t likely in the best place to hear the Rockies pitching advice.

The answer the Rockies picked was the best one for everyone involved. Trade Pomeranz while he still has some value and get something in return that could help the Rockies in the short-term, or even the long-term.

In Brett Anderson, the Rockies aren’t getting a guy who needed a change of scenery like Pomeranz, they are getting a guy who needs to stay healthy. The big lefty showed promise, winning 11 games in his rookie campaign, but has dealt with injuries ever since, from his shoulder to his foot, everything has given him issues.

Essentially the trade gives the Rockies a guy who has the chance to succeed, in return for a guy who simply wasn’t going to work in Colorado.

One frustration Rockies fans have is that with Alex White dealt a year ago and now Pomeranz today, the Rockies have essentially received Wilton Lopez and Anderson for Ubaldo Jimenez.

That frustration is understandable. However, it is time to turn the page on that deal as well. When the Rockies pulled the trigger on the Jimenez deal, many were saddened by it, but the consensus from the experts was that the Rockies were getting the better end of the deal. The Rockies may have blown that in the way that they developed White and Pomeranz, but the fact is, the talent that they received for Jimenez wasn’t a journeyman and a struggling reliever.

This is by no means a pass to O’Dowd and his crew. The damage has been done. A team that was poised to be a perennial contender has been decimated by bad moves, poor drafting, and utterly terrible player development. However, the move to bring in Brett Anderson, a guy who has plenty of talent and may be a good piece, is a very good move when viewed in a vacuum for the Rockies.

Rockies fans have plenty to complain about, but trading Pomeranz for Anderson isn’t one of them.

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