Royals trade partner history: The Rockies

This one has a mile high stinker.

This is a series that looks back at their trade history with each team in baseball. So far, we have looked back at trades with the Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Orioles, White Sox, Angels, Marlins, and Brewers. Today we look at the history of deals with the Colorado Rockies.

Total number of Royals/Rockies trades: 10

The Rockies began play in 1993, but didn’t connect with the Royals on a trade until 2001. The first deal was an odd one - the Royals sent Sal Fasano and Mac Suzuki to the Rockies for Brent Mayne. Suzuki was still pretty young and had performed adequately for a pitching-starved Royals team, while Mayne had already been a bit of a disappointment to Royals fans as a former first round pick. But it worked out okay for the Royals - Suzuki’s career didn’t take off in the thin air of Colorado, and Mayne was a good veteran behind the plate for a young 2003 Royals club that had a surprise run.

One of Dayton Moore’s first trades as GM was with Colorado. He shipped out two inconsistent arms in Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista for a Triple-A first baseman named Ryan Shealy who was blocked by future Hall of Famer Todd Helton. Shealy never really panned out, while the Rockies at least got one good year out of Affeldt.

Best trade: The Royals traded Jonathan Sanchez to the Rockies for Jeremy Guthrie on July 20, 2012

The Royals were desperate to find pitching to accompany the promising crop of young hitters they had developed, and acquired Jonathan Sanchez from the Giants before the 2012 season for outfielder Melky Cabrera. Sanchez was going through personal issues and his performance was a disaster that summer with a 7.76 ERA in 12 starts.

But one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure. Dayton Moore’s persistence in finding a deal for his wild lefty paid off when the Rockies had interest in a “change of scenery” deal for Jeremy Guthrie, who was having a similarly bad season in Colorado. Sanchez continued to stink in the Rockies, but once Guthrie got away from the altitude, he flourished with a 3.16 ERA in 14 starts for the Royals. The Royals re-signed him to a three-year, $25 million deal and he had a big part in their post-season run in 2014, starting Game 7 of the World Series.

Worst trade: In a three-team trade, the Royals traded Jermaine Dye to the Athletics, the Athletics traded Todd Belitz, Mario Encarnación and José Ortiz to the Rockies, the Rockies traded Neifi Perez to the Royals on July 25, 2001

This was one of the most infamous deals in club history, right up there with “David Cone-for-Ed Hearn” in the annals of bad Royals trades. The Royals had already traded star outfielder Johnny Damon the previous year, and the clock was ticking for All-Star right fielder Jermaine Dye to become eligible for free agency. The Royals had come close to trading him to the Yankees after the 2000 season, but insisted on first baseman Nick Johnson and second baseman Alfonso Soriano, a price that owner George Steinbrenner was willing to pay, but was too rich for GM Brian Cashman.

Dye said he was open to a long-term deal, with his agent publicly saying “if they make a reasonable, long-term contract proposal to Jermaine, he’ll sign it.” But talks broke down and the two sides agreed to table talks until after the 2001 season, when he would have one more year under club control in 2002. When the club floundered that summer, the Royals insisted they weren’t looking to move their star outfielder, but his expected salary demands and the fact the organization was deep in outfielders meant a deal was imminent.

However the trade they executed was a real head-scratcher. The A’s engineered a three-team trade that sent Dye to Oakland for three prospects. But rather than keep the three prospects to help rebuild, the Royals insisted on getting veteran shortstop Neifi Perez from the Rockies. Royals fans were bewildered. Acquiring Perez - who was a free agent after 2002 like Dye - didn’t save the Royals much money. And although they expected to lose veteran shortstop Rey Sanchez, they already had a shortstop of the future in Angel Berroa. The move made zero sense. Unsurprisingly, Dye was terrific down the stretch for the A’s, who made a post-season run, while Perez was a malcontent who didn’t hit or play good defense and refused to take the field at one point.

Weirdest trade: The Royals traded Jorge de la Rosa to the Rockies for Ramón Ramírez on March 26, 2008

This was a minor trade that was a bit confusing at the time, although both players went on to have productive careers. Jorge de la Rosa was battling for a rotation spot for the Royals in spring training, but when he lost out to Brett Tomko and John Bale, the Royals deemed him expendable. They acquired reliever Ramon Ramirez from Colorado for a player to be named later, and designated de la Rosa for assignment to make room for him. The Rockies were interested in de la Rosa, but did not make a waiver claim on him, and he went to Omaha.

A month later, the Rockies decided they needed de la Rosa after all and acquired him from the Royals. But he was NOT the player to be named later, because the Royals had to send $200,000 to the Rockies to cover his salary, more than is allowed for a player to be named later. So technically these are two separate trades - Ramirez for cash considerations, and de la Rosa for cash considerations. But in spirit, they were swapped for each other. Ramirez had a 2.64 ERA in 71 relief appearances for the Royals before they traded him to Boston for Coco Crisp, while de la Rosa won 86 games in nine seasons for the Rockies.

Underrated trade: The Royals purchased Felipe Paulino from the Rockies on May 26, 2011

Remember the days when we were counting Felipe Paulino stock? The right-hander had not pitched well early in his career with the Astros and Rockies, and Colorado designated him for assignment. The Royals were starved for pitching, and picked up Paulino for cash. He impressed with a 4.11 ERA in 21 outings down the stretch, then looked very impressive with a 1.67 ERA over seven starts to begin 2012. But the other shoe dropped, and he tore a ligament in his elbow, requiring Tommy John surgery and ending his Royals career.