Trevor Story is widely seen as one of the top trade candidates in baseball, and if the Rockies don’t move him prior to the July 30 trade deadline, they reportedly can’t count on him returning as a free agent for 2022 and beyond.  Story doesn’t plans to re-sign with the Rox when he hits the open market this winter, sources tell Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post.

The two sides hadn’t discussed an extension as of February 23, according to Story, though it isn’t known if any negotiations took place during March or even beyond Opening Day.  That said, given the amount of discussion that would go into working out a long-term deal worth well north of $200MM, the fact that the Rockies had yet to broach the subject even by late February of Story’s walk year could be seen as a sign that the team wasn’t counting on Story sticking around.

Frankly, it would be more surprising if Story did have designs on a return to Denver, considering that the Rockies are struggling through another losing season and seem closer to a rebuild than a return to contention.  Interim GM Bill Schmidt told Saunders and other reporters that the team has been showing some improvement on the field, and felt that the Rockies were just a few clutch hits away from having a much better record than their current 24-36 mark.  Even if Colorado was a few games closer to the second NL wild card slot than its current 10.5-game deficit, however, that still shouldn’t change the equation about how the Rockies seem overdue to reshuffle their roster.

Regardless, it’s clear that the Rockies haven’t publicly thrown in the towel on the 2021 season just yet, as Schmidt said that it’s “not necessarily” the case that Story or Jon Gray would be dealt.  Trade discussion has yet to pick up in general, as Schmidt said that “some clubs have reached out and expressed (interest), if we get to that point.  But there has not really been anything to talk about…There is nothing really to follow up on.”

The Colorado Rockies reportedly aren’t expected to sign All-Star shortstop Trevor Story to a contract extension “anytime soon.”

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Tuesday the Rockies don’t currently have the budget flexibility to make an offer to Story, who can become a free agent after the 2021 season.

The 28-year-old Texas native burst on to the scene with 27 home runs in just 97 appearances during his 2016 rookie season, and he really hasn’t stopped slugging ever since.

Story has posted a .277/.343/.535 triple-slash line with 134 homers and 80 stolen bases in 603 regular-season games over the past five years. His 17.9 WAR over that time span ranks fifth among MLB shortstops, per FanGraphs.

He explained when spring training got underway last week that he’s focused on the upcoming season, not his contract situation.

“I’m focused on personally being the best teammate I can be,” Story told reporters. “I try not to look too far ahead. I’m trying to be where my feet are, which is right here in spring training with the Rockies.”