Why Rockies GM called CarGo before adding Parra and what they discussed
Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez received a call from Colorado Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich over the weekend, and it wasn't to notify him that he had been traded, as speculation might have suggested.
Instead, Bridich phoned his star outfielder for his opinion on fellow Venezuelan countryman Gerardo Parra, who reportedly agreed to a three-year, $27.5-million deal with the Rockies on Tuesday.
"He told me he wanted to sign Parra and asked me some questions about him, and I told him he's a professional who knows how to play the game, one that can help us," Gonzalez revealed of his conversation with Bridich, via MLB.com.
Reports extending back to last season's trade deadline have pegged Gonzalez on the trading block, as his stock is high coming off a resurgent year, in which he hit 40 home runs with 97 RBI and a .271/.325/.540 slash line.
Nonetheless, the 30-year-old right fielder resisted the urge to ask Bridich about his standing with the club.
"I don't want to get in the way of the general manager doing his job, so I'm not going to ask him about me," he told MLB.com. "I'm on the Rockies, and he's the GM, and that's what I know. That's the way I see it. That's the way I handle it. No, he could have called me five seconds later and said, 'We traded you,' and all I can say is, 'OK, I got traded.' That's part of his job."
Although Gonzalez might not call Coors Field home in 2016, he has ignored all the speculation and remains concerned about the welfare of the Rockies organization.
"I've talked to a lot of my teammates: Nolan Arenado, Brandon Barnes, Corey Dickerson," he said. "When I talked to Bridich, I asked him about pitching, like how Tyler Chatwood and Jordan Lyles are doing. We talked about our team and we talked about baseball, plain and simple.
"He needs to make moves. I'm not going to get in the middle of that. If he has to move me or move anybody else for the best of the team, he needs to go ahead and do the best job he can as a GM."
