Trades in offing for capitulating Rockies

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DENVER -- Let's talk trades. The Colorado Rockies sure are.If putting pitcher Jeff Francis on the disabled list Wednesday was not their white flag, it was pretty close. Francis could have continued to pitch through an inflamed shoulder, but the way he's pitching and the Rocks are playing, why risk it?"If I was 9-4 instead of 3-7, I don't know if we'd be having this conversation," Francis admitted. "If I was being effective with pitches and getting people out, there wouldn't really be any concern. I could battle through it."This is now a team with Mark Redman and Jorge De La Rosa holding down two of the five spots in the starting rotation. The unfathomably weak National League Worst still provides the illusion of contention, but let's be honest: it's not happening.So here are the top candidates for this month's trading block: Closer Brian Fuentes, third baseman Garrett Atkins and left fielder Matt Holliday.This is principally because all three are on a track for free agency -- Fuentes after this season, Holliday after next season and Atkins after the following season."If we have a shot to stay in this, there's no reason to trade," Fuentes insisted. "I mean, you're still playing for this season. Let's not worry about next season or who you're going to get for me. Let's try to win. I think I can help this season probably more than anyone they're going to get."The Rocks have not tried to sign Fuentes long term, which may be all you need to know. They've tried and failed with Atkins. He knows trade rumors are an inevitable result."If we're here and the Rockies want us, that's great," Atkins said. "If we're not, we understand that's the nature of the game, when you've got guys making pretty good money and your team's in last place. There's not too much you can do about it."I am now operating on the assumption that Holliday, a close friend of Atkins, is in the same category. After he signed a two-year contract in January that takes him to free agency, the Rocks indicated they would try to clarify his long-term status sooner rather than later.A cone of silence has since been dropped on the subject, which suggests to me the Rocks made their best offer -- something on the order of $100 million -- and Holliday and his agent, Scott Boras, turned it down, knowing his free-agent value to a big-market team in a year and a half could be twice that.Holliday has every right to go after the most lucrative deal. In fact, his hiring Boras telegraphed that he would. By the same token, the Rocks have every right not to offer him a contract few mid- market teams could afford. I can't afford a Lamborghini. That's life.So here are my odds on these three veterans being traded by the July 31 non-waiver deadline, relevant because none of them would clear waivers to facilitate a trade after that date.-- Fuentes: 1-2. The veteran reliever is more likely to be traded than not. If he walks as a free agent this winter, the Rocks get a pair of draft picks in compensation, so they have to do better than that to make a deal. It says here that some contender -- maybe the Rays, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Yankees or Cubs -- will make it worth the Rocks' while.-- Atkins: 2-1. Two facts would make this relatively easy for the Rocks despite Atkins' offensive credentials. One is the presence of ready replacements in Jeff Baker and Ian Stewart. The other is that Atkins is gone sooner or later anyway.His three-run homer Wednesday night was well timed. The Angels, Dodgers, Phillies, Rays, Marlins and Yankees could all use a corner infielder with power. Even the Twins might take a shot.-- Holliday: 4-1. Odds are against it before July 31, only because it would take quite a package -- probably including a rotation-worthy starter, now or in the future, and top offensive player or prospect as well. Such a blockbuster might be easier to pull off in the relative calm of next winter.The Rocks will wait most of the month to get other teams' best offers. If they suddenly reel off 10 in a row and climb back into the race, they can always step back and play the hand they've got, as Fuentes said.But the state of their rotation suggests that's unlikely, and shutting down Francis when they didn't absolutely have to suggests they are beginning to look to the future, which only makes sense, given their record.General manager Dan O'Dowd has not pulled the trigger on a major trade since the Jason Jennings deal a year and a half ago. By the end of this month, I'm guessing that streak will be over.(Contact Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News at kriegerd(at)rockymountainnews.com.)