If the Nolan Arenado and Troy Tulowitzki trades represent the worst value that the Colorado Rockies have ever received in transactions, the DJ LeMahieu trade represents the best.
It would not have been referred to as the DJ LeMahieu trade at the time with the baseball world at large focused primarily on a pair of prospects who had shown promise but also stagnation.
For the Rockies, that player was Ian Stewart. For the Chicago Cubs, it was outfielder Tyler Colvin.
The final piece of the trade was Casey Weathers, a right-handed pitcher the Rockies infamously took in the Top 10 of the draft in 2007, two picks ahead of Madison Bumgardner.
Weathers would sadly sputter out and never appear in the big leagues but neither Colvin nor Stewart fared much better. Stewart spent only 55 games with the Cubs, posting an OPS+ of 70 before it was game over for his career. Colvin had a nice 2012 campaign for the Rockies but was among the absolute worst hitters in baseball the following season and after 57 games with the Giants in 2014 he, too, called it quits.
LeMahieu, as you might well be aware, went on to become the best second baseman in Colorado Rockies history by a comfortable margin.
He spent seven years in a Rockies uniform, hit .299, won three Gold Gloves, appeared in two All-Star games, and won a batting title. He put up 16.6 rWAR for Colorado while the players they moved out for him put up negative wins above replacement, making this among the best value moves in the history of the franchise.
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