It's Our Time || Colorado Rockies Franchise (MLB the Show 16, PS4)

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ROCKIES ROCK THE BOAT EARLY

In a surprise decision, the Monfort brothers decided to other fire Jeff Bridich as the GM of the National League West club one year after he was placed in the position. In the wake of this decision the Rockies were left as a ship without a captain. The Monfort brothers kicked around different ideas before finally settling on hiring a completely unknown commodity in 26 year old CJ Sandmann.

"The decision was not an easy one and there were plenty of candidates that we had interviewed before finally deciding." said Dick Monfort in an interview shortly after the announcement. The decision to bring in Sandmann has left owners and GMs in a state of disbelief due to the fact that Sandmann has no experience in the front office at all. Only time will tell if this move will pan out and bring the Rockies their first ever World Series championship.

Franchise Rules/Settings
Sliders: Armor & Marinos
Rosters: Prospects roster (OSFM isnt out yet)
Difficulty: All-Star per Armor's sliders

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Reserved for year-to-year stats

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2016 Colorado Rockies Opening Day Roster
POS	PITCHERS	OVR	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	POT
SP	Brandon Beachy	75	R/R	29	6-2	215	C
SP	Jorge De La Rosa	75	L/L	35	6-1	215	B
SP	Tyler Matzek	73	L/L	25	6-3	230	C
SP	Jordan Lyles	72	R/R	25	6-4	230	C
SP	David Hale	69	R/R	28	6-2	210	C
RP	Jason Motte	77	R/R	33	6-0	205	C
RP	Adam Ottavino	77	S/R	30	6-5	220	C
RP	Chad Qualls	74	R/R	37	6-4	235	B
RP	Justin Miller	73	R/R	28	6-3	215	C
RP	Boone Logan	71	R/L	31	6-5	215	C
RP	Jairo Diaz	67	R/R	24	6-0	200	C
CP	Jake McGee	90	L/L	29	6-3	230	B
POS	CATCHERS	OVR	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	POT
C	Nick Hundley	77	R/R	32	6-1	205	C
C	Tom Murphy	64	R/R	25	6-1	220	C
POS	INFIELDERS	OVR	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	POT
1B/LF	Ben Paulsen	72	L/R	28	6-4	210	C
1B/3B	Mark Reynolds	69	R/R	32	6-2	220	C
2B/3B	D.J. LeMahieu	81	R/R	27	6-4	215	B
3B	Nolan Arenado	93	R/R	24	6-2	205	A
UTIL	Rafael Ynoa	60	S/R	28	6-0	190	D
UTIL	Daniel Descalso	70	L/R	29	5-10	190	C
SS/2B	Trevor Story	68	R/R	23	6-1	180	B
POS	OUTFIELDERS	OVR	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	POT
OF	Gerardo Parra	79	L/L	28	5-11	210	B
OF	Brandon Barnes	67	R/R	29	6-2	210	D
OF	Charlie Blackmon	82	L/L	29	6-3	210	B
COF	Carlos Gonzalez	91	L/L	30	6-1	220	A

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ROCKIES DEAL REYES TO TORONTO

Spring Training hasn't even begun yet and already freshly appointed GM CJ Sandmann is on the prowl. Barely a week into his new role he has already traded away former All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes amidst his present domestic violence charges.

"Domestic violence is something I will absolutely not tolerate at any point in time. While I wish the best for Jose throughout the rest of his career I will not have that sort of negative attention being brought on to the this team and to the wonderful city of Denver." said Sandmann just minutes after the news broke that Reyes would be heading back to Toronto.

Jose Reyes, 32, spent the 2015 season between Toronto and Colorado hitting .274 with 7 home runs and 53 runs batted in. The trade clears up roughly $8.5 million for the Rockies over the next two season but leaves a sizeable gap at the shortstop position. As of right now the frontrunners for the position going into Spring Training are going to be 29 year old veteran Daniel Descalso and 23 year old rookie Trevor Story.

While the gap at shortstop is a question mark for this season, Sandmann made sure to bring in prospects that will help the Rockies in the future. The Rockies recieved three prospects from the Blue Jays for Reyes, the biggest name of those prospects being Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The 18 year old outfielder is set to follow in his fathers footsteps in the future but will more then likely need a few years in the minor leagues to mature before coming up to hitter friendly Coors Field. The Rockies also recieved 21 year old speedster Anthony Alford giving them yet another top outfield prospect and 23 year old relief pitcher Lamont Sorenson.

Sandmann has definitely made a statement with this trade and one thing for certain is that he is in it to build a successful future for the Rockies in the long term but is the short term at risk for failure?

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SPRING TRAINING BATTLES TO WATCH

The Rockies will head into Spring Training this year with more then a few question marks on their roster. The biggest question mark being who will play shortstop in lieu of the Jose Reyes trade. On top of that, most the rotation and bullpen spots are up for grabs as well as the catcher and first base jobs too. Here are a few of the biggest spring battles to watch as we move ever closer to Opening Day 2016.

4th and 5th Rotation spots:
Chad Bettis - Jordan Lyles - David Hale - Yohan Flande - Christian Bergman - Chris Rusin

With the first three rotation spots locked up by De La Rosa, Gray, and Matzek it leaves quite a few players battling it out for the back end of the rotation. All six of these pitchers spent time in the bigs last season and could very possibly end up spending time up there again this season. Coors Field is not pitcher friendly for sure and what it will all come down to is who can keep the ball in the park.

Backup Catcher:
Dustin Garneau - Tom Murphy - Jackson Williams

Nick Hundley has a secure spot as the teams starting catcher after sporting a .301 average and 10 home runs last season. The question is who will be catching on his days off. While Garneau looks to be the favorite candidate for the job Tom Murphy could give him a good run for his money with Williams possibly laying in the weeds waiting to shock everyone.

Shortstop:
Trevor Story - Daniel Descalso - Cristhian Adames

The biggest question mark on the roster is this position right here. Story and Descalso look to be the two that will get most of the playing time in the spring but Adames versatility in the infield could ultimately lead to him getting a roster spot over one of the others.

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ROCKIES SIGN BEACHY AND MAKE FIRST CUTS

With two weeks of spring training in the past the Rockies have started to trim down their roster in preparation for opening day. Players that have been sent down for more seasoning in the minor leagues include: Eddie Butler, Christian Bergman, Yohan Flande, Jason Gurka, Jackson Williams, Simon Castro, and Gonzalez German.

In other news, the Rockies have signed free agent starting pitcher Brandon Beachy to a two year deal worth $2.1 million a year. Beachy was a member of the Dodgers organization last season after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He has a career 14-12 record with a 3.36 era while playing for the Braves and the Dodgers. The Indiana native also has a connection with new GM CJ Sandmann as they both attended the same university. Sandmann would have played with Beachy in his freshman year there had Beachy not signed with the Braves. As of right now, Beachy figures to slot into the 4th spot in the rotation unless he is outplayed during the spring.

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ROCKIES TRIM ROSTER TO 30

The new 2016 season is only a couple weeks away and the Rockies opening day roster is starting to take on shape as GM CJ Sandmann cut the roster down to 30 players today. Miguel Castro, Brian Schlitter, Kyle Parker, and surprisingly Jon Gray have all been sent down for more development in the minors. Castro, Schlitter, and Parker saw little to no time so far in the spring which made it a rather easy decision to send them down. Jon Gray, on the other hand, was a bit more complex.

Gray was thought to be one of the few sure things within the Rockies pitching staff but has struggled mightily throughout the spring. Gray has tossed 19.1 innings while striking out 14 and walking 7. The big worry for Gray is that through those 19 innings he has posted a 7.45 era and a 1.60 whip. This will be the first of three options that the club has used on Gray and they certainly expect him to turn it around in the minors and rejoin the big league club later in the season.

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SPRING TRAINING WRAP-UP/OPENING DAY ROSTER ANNOUNCEMENT

Spring Training is officially over and the Rockies will now be heading back to the mile high city to start their 2016 campaign. The Rockies spring certainly showed a lot of potential for the 2016 season which has led players in the clubhouse to start following the motto "It's Our Time".

"We feel like we're a team that can turn some heads." said third baseman Nolan Arenado. "We're a team that people aren't going to look at as a threat to start the season and it's been one of our biggest motivators because we want teams to fear us."

With the spring coming to an end, GM CJ Sandmann had to make the tough decision of which final four players to send back down to the minors. "It's never easy to tell someone that they're heading back to the minors. It's one of the worst parts of the job but it's necessary. I believe that all of our organization is buying into the vision we have for this franchise and whether that means they play a part now or in the future they do everything they can."

The final four cuts before opening day came from Chris Rusin, Dustin Garneau, Cristhian Adames, and Chad Bettis. The springs biggest performers ended up being Tyler Matzek (1.89 era), Jairo Diaz (1.38 era), Jake McGee (0.87 era), and Charlie Blackmon (.298-3-12). The Rockies will open their season against Zack Greinke in Arizona on April 4th.