Rockies Owner & CEO Dick Monfort publicly "backed up his belief in his team with a vote of confidence" for Exec VP & GM Jeff Bridich, and also "downplayed the rift" between Bridich and 3B Nolan Arenado, according to Kyle Newman of the DENVER POST. Monfort said things between Bridich and Arenado had been "blown out of proportion." Newman notes the issues Monfort spoke of are the "basis for many fans' ire toward Bridich and the front office overall." The Rockies are the "only club to have spent $0 in major league free agency this offseason." Monfort said that the lack of signings is due to the "multi-year contracts Colorado committed to over the past several years," including Arenado, which have left the club in a "position where spending on the open market wasn't an option" (DENVER POST, 2/2). In Denver, Sean Keeler wrote there is a "fine line between healthy optimism and denial." Monfort, who "doubled down" on the competitiveness of the Rockies after losing 91 games last season, is "operating on a different planet from the rest of us." While division rivals "reloaded, the Rockies spent the winter in neutral, engine idling in the cold" (DENVER POST, 2/2).
