Rockies trade deadline: Ryan McMahon big winner, German Marquez big loser

As Major League Baseball’s trade deadline drew to a close Thursday, things got wild.

The Astros rocked the American League by pulling off a mega-deal with the salary-dumping Twins to bring shortstop Carlos Correa back to Houston

The Padres showed they’re going for it in the NL West by trading with the Athletics for closer Mason Miller and starter JP Sears. The Padres also acquired first baseman Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramon Laureano from the Orioles in exchange for six players.

The Rockies? They didn’t make any blockbuster moves, but they weren’t wallflowers either. They traded veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon last Friday, veteran reliever Tyler Kinley on Wednesday, and righty reliever Jake Bird on Thursday

Following is a look at the Rockies’ dealings:

Biggest winners: McMahon and Bird, both of whom were shipped to the Yankees in exchange for four prospects. McMahon and Bird went from a team on the cusp of its third consecutive 100-loss season and possibly the most losses in baseball’s modern era, to a legitimate World Series contender.

Of course, with opportunity comes pressure. Expectations in the Bronx are exponentially higher than in LoDo.

“Hopefully, the environment is a great thing for him, that he falls into that and doesn’t have to be the guy,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of McMahon when talking to reporters last Friday. “Go do your thing. Go find the role. But it’s our job — my job, staff, coaches, players — to make sure they’re welcomed and get them as comfortable as possible.”

Biggest loser: Veteran right-hander German Marquez, who was a likely trade candidate until he went on the injured list with biceps inflammation. Multiple big-league sources said that several teams were eyeing the 30-year-old Marquez as a rental starter for the remainder of the season. Marquez, really bad early in the spring, was starting to resemble the pitcher he was in his 2021 All-Star season. He posted a 2.97 ERA over six starts in June.

Now, he won’t get a chance to show his stuff for a contender, something that could have enhanced his value when he becomes a free agent this offseason.

Most intriguing prospect: Roc Riggio, a fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Oklahoma State. Part of the Bird trade, along with lefty starter Ben Shields, Riggio was the Yankees’ No. 10 prospect. He’s not big — listed at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds — but he’s scrappy and has some sneaky power.

Though not a speed burner, he’s aggressive on the bases. Riggio stole 27 bases in 2024 and has nine steals so far this year.

Brendan Rodgers never became the second baseman the Rockies envisioned, and Adael Amador has shown no power and only middling skills as a big-league hitter. Perhaps Riggio, who’ll start out with Double-A Hartford, can be a long-term answer.

“He’s always been a competitor, he’s a gamer,” general manager Bill Schmidt said. “There’s a toughness to him.”

Salary dump? Several folks have written that trading McMahon was nothing more than a salary dump. The Yankees assumed the remainder of McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the rest of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons.

Schmidt told me that he doesn’t see the McMahon trade that way. I agree. It was time for McMahon to move on, and while the Rockies got some salary relief for the future, they also picked up a couple of decent prospects.

Now, if Colorado can find a way to reduce Kris Bryant’s annual $27 million salary through some sort of deferral arrangement, perhaps the Rockies can add an impactful, veteran hitter during the offseason.