Rockies slowly making their way through shopping list

How much better is Michael Cuddyer than Josh Willingham? A platoon of Jonny Gomes and Seth Smith? The difference might be minor, but where the Colorado Rockies are concerned it's significant. Cuddyer isn't an All-Star regular or much of an MVP candidate, but he's a professional hitter who is striking out less as his career goes on, someone who is capable of hitting .280 with 25-30 home runs 80-90 RBI in Coors Field while hitting behind Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. In other words, he's a true No. 5 hitter whose presence allows Todd Helton to slide to the sixth spot, followed by catcher Ramon Hernandez and most likely Casey Blake, who provides a temporary solution at third base until Nolan Arenado is ready.

Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd hasn't had a splashy offseason, but he is steadily accomplishing what he needed to do:

• Change the clubhouse culture.
• Jettison salary that was eating up unnecessary payroll: Huston Street, Ty Wigginton, Ryan Spilborghs and Ian Stewart.
• Used that extra money to provide offensive upgrades in Cuddyer and at catcher by getting a better batting average from free agent Ramon Hernadez and spinnng off Chris Iannetta, the trade of whom help the Rockies ...
• Build rotation depth. The Rockies have yet to get their innings eater, but the team has added back-of-the-rotation arms in veteran Kevin Slowey and 21-year-old Tyler Chatwood, who could yet develop into an impact arm.

As it stands the Rockies will go into the 2012 season with a bullpen roughly the same as what they had last year, a rotation that while lacking a big arm has more depth and a slightly, but significantly improved starting lineup. So while the Rockies could have had Willingham for slightly less than they paid Cuddyer and maybe a platoon of Smith and Gomes would have produced 40+ home runs, neither solution would have been quite the fit that Cuddyer provides, not just now, but in the next couple years as Helton's career winds down.