Trevor Story Trade Rumors: Athletics Unlikely to Pursue Rockies Star Before Deadline

Should the Colorado Rockies move star shortstop Trevor Story ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, the Oakland Athletics may not be in the mix.

ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote the A's are "most obvious fit" but reported they "are unlikely to play in the Story market." He added Oakland may prefer to address the outfield to prepare for the stretch run.

Story is due to hit free agency after this season, and the likelihood that he'll stay in Colorado seems slim. The Rockies are fourth in the National League West at 33-47, and the trade of Nolan Arenado was emblematic of the dysfunction that's plagued the franchise for years. 

If Colorado was willing to move on from Arenado, one of the best players in team history, then it would be surprising to see the front office give Story a big contract.

Passan, however, noted the Rockies may not have a robust market for the 28-year-old. His impending free agency limits the potential suitors to teams in contention for the playoffs. The clubs with the best chance of reaching the postseason by and large don't need to make a big upgrade at shortstop.

The A's would seem to be an outlier in that regard.

They're 1.5 games back of the first-place Houston Astros in the American League West, so they tick the box as a contending team. And Oakland could use help on the left side of the infield.

Elvis Andrus has a .226/.295/.563 slash line, and he ranks 26th among qualified shortstops in WAR (minus-0.2), per FanGraphs.

Story, by comparison, is slugging .446 with nine home runs and 36 RBI. HIs .184 batting average on the road this year may lead Oakland and others to question his value away from Coors Field, though. He also has a noticeable home (.982) and road (.750) split in OPS over his career, per Baseball Reference.

Still, the non-Coors Field version of Story would be better offensively than Andrus.

Yet the Athletics appear to be out on the two-time All-Star, which raises the odds the Rockies will watch a valuable trade asset yield only a compensation pick in the offseason.