[Young Drachma]

By Woody Collins
Mile High Sports Chronicle

DENVER — Let's start with the headline: The Colorado Rockies just went all-in.
The first-place Rockies acquired 1B Noé García (.280/.360/.433 this season) and SP Mochi Zavada (8-9, 4.01 ERA) from the Yankees, with New York retaining 80% of Zavada's $24.25M salary and 50% of García's $7.45M deal. The cost? Just their future: 2B Jessie Hayes, top pitching prospect Elmer Horta (#11 overall), SS Jamad Duvall, LF E.J. Lucas, and C Jayden Wood.

This is the kind of move that defines a franchise's trajectory.

García will slot into the 5-hole of an already potent Rockies lineup that's been steamrolling the NL Mountain Division. Zavada, despite some recent struggles, immediately becomes their No. 2 starter – a role they've desperately needed to fill behind their ace.

The money part is clever – the Yankees eating most of Zavada's contract through 2065 makes this more palatable. García's a rental, but when you're 58-34 and haven't sniffed a title since '56, maybe that's exactly what you need.
But here's what keeps nagging at me: I've sat in the press box at Coors for 30 years, and I've seen deadline moves that felt like opportunity and ones that felt like desperation. This one? This feels like both.

Yes, García's bat plays. Yes, Zavada's splitter could be devastating at altitude (when it's working). But Horta wasn't just another prospect – he was the kind of pitching talent that small-market teams dream about. The type that anchors a rotation for a decade.

I remember sitting with Sarah Chen-Martinez when she bought this team, talking about building something sustainable in the Mountain time zone. Hard to square that conversation with shipping out five young players for a rental bat and a veteran arm.

The Rockies are better today than they were yesterday. García's left-handed power will play beautifully in that lineup. Zavada, even in a down year, gives them 180 innings they desperately need. But at what cost?

This is the kind of trade that defines careers – both for the players involved and the executives who make them. If the Rockies are hoisting a trophy in October, nobody will care about Horta's potential or Hayes' promise. But if they're not...

Well, let's just say I've seen enough deadline deals to know that sometimes the trades that look the best in July look the worst in hindsight.

The Rockies are all-in. They've pushed their chips to the middle of the table. In baseball, just like in poker, that's either very brave or very foolish.
We'll know which by October.

Woody Collins is a Hall of Fame baseball writer who has covered the Colorado Rockies since their inception. His column appears Sundays and after significant team developments.