Prior to the Colorado Rockies’ 11-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday at Coors Field, Rockies star right fielder Carlos Gonzalez spent a couple minutes shooting down a trade rumor that surfaced earlier in the day.
The report, which came from national baseball writer Jon Heyman, said that Gonzalez was frustrated with losing in Colorado and “expressed an interest in going elsewhere.” Initially, Heyman even went as far as to say that Gonzalez had a meeting with the Rockies’ brass to express those feelings. Later in the day, Heyman walked that statement back a little bit.
Pre-game, Gonzalez denied that a meeting with Colorado executives regarding him wanting to leave via trade ever went down.
“I got a call from Scott Boras, my agent, asking me about what happened,” he explained. “But I was surprised because I didn’t know what was up. I guess there was a story in the newspaper that I asked the front office I wanted out. I don’t know when that happened; maybe I was asleep because obviously it didn’t happen. For me, I don’t think I’m in that position to go out there and talk to whoever, the owner, the GM, whoever, that I want out.”
When pressed further, Gonzalez said that he hadn’t expressed a desire to be traded away to anyone — not even to his wife or kids.
“Nothing is true because obviously I haven’t talked to anybody,” he said. “I didn’t say that to anybody. Not even my wife, my kids, my mom. Whenever I get home, I’m frustrated because I didn’t do well or we didn’t win the game. But I never complain that I want to go somewhere else.”
So there you have it. Someone reported that an athlete wants a trade, and said athlete denied it. What’s new?
Gonzalez is in the midst of one of the finest seasons of his career. He’s smashed 18 home runs and 51 RBIs on .319/.368/.556 averages. He was elected to his third All-Star Game, scheduled for Tuesday, earlier this month.
The 30-year-old Gonzalez is under contract through the end of next season, when he’s owed $20 million. This is his eighth season with the Rockies, who prior to Thursday’s game sat 38-46 on the season and were 14 ½ games out of first place in the National League West.
