(The Spread) – The Colorado Rockies may have restocked their farm system by trading ace Ubaldo Jimenez over the weekend, but their odds to win the 2011 World Series took a massive hit in the short-term.
At the start of last week, the Rockies were long-shots to win this year’s World Series at 60/1 odds. According to online sports book Bodog, the Rockies’ odds are now 75/1 after dealing Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. (The deal didn’t become official until Sunday afternoon.)
In exchange for their one-time ace, the Rockies received right-handers Alex White and Joe Gardner, as well as minor-league titman Matt McBride and a player to be named later. After misses on first round picks like Greg Reynolds and Casey Weathers, it was a move Colorado felt it needed to make in order to restock its farm system. And seeing as how the club is well below .500 at the moment, it was a decision that’s hard to argue.
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Still, the Rockies have always been known as a second-half team and the NL West is once again weak this year. The defending World Series champion Giants are in first place by a few games over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but their offense is horrendous (even after acquiring Carlos Beltran at the deadline) and the Diamondbacks are expected to run out of gas eventually. In other words, the Rockies weren’t completely dead despite their overall record.
Yet, as a GM, trading well-liked players like Jimenez is never an easy decision. Neither is waiving the white flag on August 1. But that’s exactly what Colorado has done in trading their one-time ace and now the Rox will look to the future with White and Gardner.
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