Hunter is good, man.
That is what the shirt, worn by some Rockies teammates, reads. It is a lie.
Hunter is great, man.
With the trade deadline looming on Aug. 3, vultures are circling and trade rumors are surfacing over what it would take for the Rockies to move Hunter Goodman.
Goodman tied his career-high with 31 home runs on Tuesday, dropping to his back knee to launch an 87-mph slider over the left-field fence. He remains on pace to tie the single-season club record of 49.
He has more power in his bat than his former high school football teammate Kenneth Walker III has in his legs.
Only seven catchers have hit 40 homers in a season, leaving Goodman stalking Johnny Bench’s National League high-water mark of 45 set in 1970.
Goodman is a big deal, an All-Star. But he is not bigger than the Rockies.
He is great. But he is not greater than the Rockies need for starting pitching.
The easiest way for the Rockies to rebuild is by dealing Goodman.
And that is exactly what should NOT happen.
There is more than one way for the Rockies to climb back to relevance. They can execute multiple moves, including trading Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy, Antonio Senzatela, Brennan Bernardino, Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen and others.
Shipping out their 26-year-old catcher is the fastest path forward. It is not the best. The Rockies can afford to be patient with this chess piece.
The idea of trading Goodman sounds nuts to Rockies fans who are slowly warming back up to the franchise after nearly a decade of incompetence and arrogance.
People familiar with the Rockies’ thinking say the front office would have to be overwhelmed to deal Goodman.
Two agents suggested Wednesday it would take four of an organization’s top 30 prospects, including one in the top three and a second in the top 10.
A former big league GM believes the Rockies could only land three players because a pair of other catchers are on the market, Oakland’s Shea Langeliers and Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman.
One-time Reds and Nationals GM Jim Bowden proposed a blockbuster with the Red Sox: Goodman in exchange for big league starter Connelly Early, middle infielder Marcelo Mayer, defensive catcher Carlos Narvaez and No. 4 pitching prospect Kyson Witherspoon.
That is not the Herschel Walker deal, but it represents a dramatic overpay.
That is why the Rockies must pick up the phone if Boston, the Yankees or Rays call. Any team making this move will view Goodman as a long-term solution and believe it can win the World Series.
Desperation is the world’s worst cologne, and if somebody wants to swing a deal that requires pinching their nose, the Rockies have to consider it.
Remember, they are under new management. No longer are they trotting out tired excuses — we love our players, we did not get any offers, we want to hold onto our guys until they have no value — that produced the annual Snoozapalooza at the trade deadline.
There is actually a good explanation for keeping Goodman, whom ESPN ranks as MLB’s eighth best trade candidate.
First are the finances. Goodman remains under team control through the 2029 season.
There has been no movement on a long-term deal — when shortstop Ezequiel Tovar got his extension in 2024, he approached the Rockies and signed what, at the time, was a team-friendly, seven-year, $63.5 million contract. However, the Rockies can follow Goodman through the arbitration process without breaking their budget.
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For now, he is the most cost-controlled big bat in the big leagues.
Secondly, Goodman has evolved into a serviceable catcher, improving enough to silence talk of a position switch or becoming a full-time DH. He is also a trusted pitch framer and ranks fourth in successful ABS challenges this season.
As the Rockies assess who will be part of their core when the team contends again, Goodman is penciled on the list because of his power, position and paycheck.
It would be cool if Colorado kept Moniak and McCarthy, players easy to root for because of their energy and production. But the Rockies desperately need rotation help, knowing prized free agents are never going to line up to pitch at Coors Field.
Colorado’s top pitching prospects — JB Middleton, Brody Brecht, Griffin Herring — are all struggling this season, and Sean Sullivan did not look like a future starter in his three-game big league cameo this summer.
The Rockies can never fear trading position players for arms, and they have a battery of capable outfielders on the big league roster and in Triple-A.
Moniak has resurrected his career in Colorado. He could pull a top 20 pitching prospect and a second player in the top 30. You have to trade him.
McCarthy profiles so well for the Rockies with his speed and positional versatility that it would hurt to ship him out. But with the Phillies and Astros making calls, DePodesta and Byrnes cannot be blamed if they take multiple pitchers for the leadoff hitter.
And if a contender wants a defensive whiz in Brenton Doyle for a first-round draft pick — that is what the Giants got for all-glove, no-hit catcher Patrick Bailey in May — do it.
Why deal Moniak, McCarthy or Doyle? Internal options. Cole Carrigg needs to play every day. Charlie Condon is thisclose to a promotion as he boasts 20 home runs and a .408 on-base percentage at Albuquerque. He strikes out 24.6 % of the time, countered by a 13.8% walk rate.
His bat is ready for the bigs.
“With Charlie, first of all, he’s getting used to playing first base and the outfield. Second of all, as he has evolved as a hitter, he is showing he is smart, structured and disciplined,” Byrnes said. “He is learning to strike that balance with getting to a spot to do damage. He has done that really well.”
The Rockies also have Jordan Beck hitting the reset button at the plate with the Isotopes, Zac Veen, a work in progress defensively, with 48 extra-base hits and the athletic Sterlin Thompson in the mix.
“We have real depth there,” Byrnes said. “And that’s a good thing as we think through our best roster moving forward.”
Senzatela, rejuvenated as a reliever, has to go. Same with the lefty Bernardino. The idea is to get younger and better, eventually.
The new front office, which impressed agents with its accurate draft valuations, is starting to inspire confidence that it can deliver a productive trade deadline.
It should not include Goodman. But clearly on the mound, the Rockies need a lot more good men.
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