Baseball

COLORADO ROCKIES

2005 finish: 67-95, 5^th place in NL West

Manager: Clint Hurdle (5th season)

Free agents: RHP Byung-Hyun Kim, RHP Jamey Wright, C Todd Greene, RHP Dan Miceli, OF Dustan Mohr

On the block: OF Larry Bigbie, 1B Ryan Shealy, IF Aaron Miles

Looking for: Starting pitcher, relievers, outfielder, catcher, second baseman

What’s going on: With the contracts of Preston Wilson, Charles Johnson, Denny Neagle, Larry Walker and Mike Hampton finally cleared from the books, they have about $9 million to spend even though the payroll is expected to drop from the mid-$60-million range down to under $50 million. They are searching for a No. 4-5 starter to follow Aaron Cook, Jason Jennings, Jeff Francis and likely one of the Kims, Sunny or free agent Byung-Hyun, as well as setup men in front of closer Brian Fuentes. Elmer Dessens was a target, but he appears to be headed to Kansas City. Brian Meadows is another possibility. Byung-Hyun Kim will only return at a much lower price than the $6.5 million he made last season. Mike DeJean was re-signed and they are trying to sign Fuentes to multi-year deal. Jamey Wright could return in the pen if he can’t find a rotation job elsewhere. Todd Greene and Dustan Mohr won’t return, and Larry Bigbie, who was part of a deal with Boston that fell through in late July, most likely will be dealt. Ryan Shealy could be traded or move to the outfield, as he is stuck behind Todd Helton. They need a catcher to play in front of solid backup Danny Ardoin, but top free agents Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina are out of their price range.