The deadline is close enough now that every contender's front office has a shopping list, and Hunter Goodman's name keeps showing up on it. The Rockies catcher has hit his way into the trade conversation with a big power season, but the price rival teams are willing to pay hinges on something less flashy than home run totals: can the guy actually catch.
Ken Rosenthal broke the news that questions about Goodman's defense are shaping how teams view his trade value.
How questions about Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman’s defense could impact his trade value. Analysis with @WillSammon, unlocked and free to read. https://t.co/xAwIiZE2Sd
Rosenthal's reporting, done alongside Will Sammon, zeroes in on Goodman's receiving as the sticking point. He's hitting.260 with 31 home runs, numbers that would make almost any team's lineup better immediately. But catching is a premium defensive position, and if a club doesn't trust the glove behind the plate, that changes what they're willing to give up in prospects — and whether they see him as a long-term catcher or a bat that needs a new position.
There's a wrinkle working in Goodman's favor, though: the market for catching just got tighter. An injury to another notable backstop around the league has thinned the available options, which could push teams to overlook some defensive risk just to land a proven power bat behind the plate. That's the kind of scarcity that drives up asking prices even when the scouting report isn't spotless.
Rosenthal's Fair Territory podcast dropped the same day, with Goodman's situation slotted alongside the rest of the week's biggest trade deadline storylines.
The story didn't stop at the initial report. Rosenthal and Sammon went back and updated the piece hours later with a quote from Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer, giving Colorado's own voice on the matter instead of just outside scouting chatter.
The updated version of Rosenthal's story added comment from Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer on Goodman's situation.
How questions about Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman’s defense could impact his trade value. Story updated with quote from Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer. With @WillSammon, unlocked and free to read. https://t.co/xAwIiZE2Sd
For a Rockies team that's been buried in the standings for years and is unlikely to be buyers anytime soon, Goodman represents exactly the kind of asset front offices are supposed to flip for controllable young talent. Whether Colorado gets a haul or has to settle depends entirely on how many teams actually believe in the glove. With the deadline about a week out, that debate is playing out in real time — and it's Goodman's bat carrying the value while his defense decides how far it goes.