Baseball’s all-star break gives players a chance to hit the pause button and relax. But right around the corner, the league landscape is about to break apart.

As teams rush headlong toward the July 31 trade deadline, the Rockies sit in a holding pattern. They’ve spent 83 days in last place. They’ve trailed by at least 10 games in the National League West every day in July.

Jeff Bridich, the Rockies’ first-year general manager, is working from this position. How will it affect trade decisions and call-ups over the next two-and-a-half weeks? Will Troy Tulowitzki wear a different uniform soon?

Bridich talked to The Denver Post last week from Coors Field about a range of issues facing the Rockies as their season moves forward:

Q: Big picture, what is your assessment of the first half? What has gone well? What hasn’t? Any surprises?

A: Our start was fairly decent. It’s been a season of fits and spurts. We came out of the gates playing pretty good baseball, in many facets of the team. Obviously we hit that very difficult patch of a losing streak. And we got through that, rebounded from it and put together a better month. The thing that defines us the most is, there’s been times when our pitching has been very good in the first half, there’s been times when our hitting has been very good, there’s been times when our pitching has been pretty poor and there’s been times when our hitting has been pretty poor. And a lot of times, those things aren’t locked in step. (Wednesday’s loss to the Angels) was a good example of that. We got pretty darn good pitching, and then our offensive performance was just embarrassing, it was abysmal. All that leads to us being 14 games under .500.

Q: The Dodgers and Giants aren’t running away with the division. Is there hope you cling to still? Enough to think you should be aggressive with player moves to get back into contention? Has your plan changed?

A: Some of the injuries that have occurred certainly hurt. It would be nice to get a couple of the guys back, depth-wise, who we can have back. I’m not sure what Justin Morneau’s situation is quite yet, it’s really more of a wait-and-see proposition right now. We’re hopeful Corey Dickerson will be able to play again this year. Brooks Brown, Christian Bergman. There’s depth there. That would be nice if we can get those guys healthy. In terms of other guys developing and coming up to contribute, that’s the hope and goal for somebody like Eddie Butler. That the lessons he needs to learn at the Triple-A level, he’s learning, and can come back in the second half and put together meaningful starts. If you’re hedging toward the trade deadline, the line that I’m going to continue giving is the same: We’re basically open to discussing anything, any which way. If we feel like it makes us better, we’ll consider it. There’s not going to be some wholesale direction, one way of the other. That’s not realistic for us. But we’ve never stopped talking and engaging and keeping our minds open to possibilities.

Q: At some point, you’ll be faced with an opportunity to get better now at the expense of something next year. How do you make that decision?

A: At some point in the next two-and-a-half weeks, we’ll be put in position of, are we going to make trades or not? And what that comes down to is the quality of what we’ll get back in return. And ultimately, with who we are and how we’re built and how we’ll be built moving forward, I don’t think it will be wise to get short-term fixes on anything we do. No matter if it’s perceived as a big trade or a little trade. I don’t think we’ll acquire a bunch of guys like LaTroy Hawkins or Rafael Betancourt who are close to or at the end of their careers and on one-year, short-term deals. That doesn’t make sense for us, especially where we’re at right now. But also in general, I’m not a huge fan of it, unless we’re in the driver’s seat like the St. Louis Cardinals — which we’re not.

Q: You do have young, controllable players who, looking at your system, have replacements available in the minors who are at or near the big-league level. Charlie Blackmon or DJ LeMahieu, as examples. Are you any more or less willing to make that kind of trade?

A: Those are hypothetical. That would take one of the 29 (other teams) coming in and being super aggressive for a player like that. We’re in a position where we can never say never. But there would have to be somebody who really covets those types of guys and says, “Yeah, that’s somebody who we’ll make an incredible baseball deal for.” I won’t initiate that. Will I listen? Sure, but we won’t aggressively initiate that.

Q: What is the percentage chance that Troy Tulowitzki is on your team next year?

A: (Laughs) I don’t know. What do you think it is?

Q: 95 percent chance? Wild guess?

A: I really don’t know. I think we’ll know more over the next two weeks.

Q: His situation has changed though. He’s been healthy. He’s hitting well.

A: To this point, yeah. He’s healthy. He’s basically playing most of the time, like he should be. We’ve given him regular rest, like we should, with any player who has played a lot in his career and plays a demanding position and has the injury history that he does. His surgery was successful. The rehab was successful. The maintenance he does has helped him. All that combined has helped him be a very productive, elite player.

Q: Has interest increased with him since before the season?

A: There was never anything in the winter time that got to be serious interest. Some teams were poking around. The injury was complicated. There was never anything that remotely came close to happening. But, I’ve already had discussions with GMs. I plan on having 29 of those discussions, at least, before the deadline is over. So I imagine his name will come up. With some of that, it’s partly who he is and the type of player he is and also the time of the year.

Q: What about Carlos Gonzalez? There are teams, especially the Royals, as a recent example, who could use a player of his quality.

A: His stats aren’t as good as Tulo’s or some of the other guys on our team, so if a team is just going off that, I don’t know. But we’ll certainly know more in 10 days to two weeks. Alex Gordon’s injury happened just this week. I’m sure the Royals are still figuring out what they want to do.

Q: Trade activity has been slow so far. Are you waiting around for calls? Does it seem surprising how it’s worked so far?

A: The way the calls work is, some teams are more aggressive with that stuff because of the personality of the GM. Some teams lay back and try to figure things out. It’s part of the complexity of the new wild-card playoff system. Some of the conversations I’ve already had are, “We’re kind of in a holding pattern, trying to figure ourselves out a bit.” And they’re taking their time to do it. But it’s still relatively early. Certain teams are playing better the last few weeks, which give them hope. “Hey look, we’re only X games out of the wild card. What should we do?” It makes the decision-making this time of year probably deeper toward the deadline.

Q: You had a good reputation when you were hired as GM, you’ve been around awhile, and people had respect for you. But you are the new guy. Have you noticed GMs try to take advantage of you being new? Low-ball you, something that made you roll your eyes?

A: Is that really somebody trying to pull the wool over your eyes? Or is that just a difference of opinion? Is it two groups of people trying to do their jobs and just have clear difference of opinion on a player? I would rather it be an easy plane back and forth without a lot of politicking or game-playing, and if there’s ridiculous stuff or perceived ridiculous stuff, then so be it. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like anybody has tried to deliberately take advantage of the new guy. I have enough faith in myself that I won’t allow that to happen. And there are enough good people around me to say, “Hey look, if you’re thinking about this idea, you’re probably pretty stupid.”

Q: The Rockies have had a difficult time producing pitchers who last at the major-league level. Have you changed your viewpoint how that might be better approached since you’ve taken over as GM?

A: The reality of pitching, with Tommy John and injuries, we need a reality check. What does long-lasting mean? Does it mean superlative performance over a long time? I don’t think any team has had that for awhile. I’m not trying to say we’ve done an excellent job of developing starting pitching. That’s been a challenge for us. It’s something we need to do better. But we have to be realistic about what that really means in this day and age. Depth is key. And to put a lot of eggs in one or two baskets, is not the best way to go. But then you have a guy like Jorge De La Rosa who basically has pitched to his contract every time we’ve re-signed him. He’s done it over multiple contracts. It’s not easy for anybody. It’s easier for some. This is an offensive ballpark and probably always will be. It doesn’t mean we can’t. But we definitely need to do a better job by creating depth for ourselves.

Q: Has that shaded your approach with Jon Gray and Eddie Butler? Are you more likely to be patient with younger arms, trying to protect them?

A: Honestly, I was the guy who pushed for Eddie Butler to come up last year. I felt like he was ready. In hindsight, maybe not the best recommendation in the world. It didn’t go so well. He probably wasn’t ready. But at the time, I felt he did enough to make that jump. I hope that the experience of it all will lead to a lot of learning and much better things for him at this level. The journey to the big-leagues as a player or a pitcher is an individual thing. There’s no one way we’re going to do things. It comes down to the individual. The growth of him as an athlete and a person, his maturity, it’s not like it’s formulaic. We’re talking about human beings.

Q: If a trade offer came to you that you were intrigued by, that you wanted to pull the trigger on, do you feel empowered enough to make that happen and to convince Dick Monfort it’s the right idea?

A: Dick and I are in constant communication. We have been since I was offered the job. Nothing will change at the deadline. We’re constantly talking. We’re always sharing ideas. And I’m updating him, day-by-day, on the deadline and where we’re at. That’s always been part of the process. It won’t change. Empowered? Yeah, I feel empowered as the GM to make trades. I was empowered in the offseason to do what I thought was necessary. Certainly, we all work within certain constraints and limitations. But within that, yeah, I feel empowered. It will be on me and Dick and everybody else to maintain quality communication throughout the process. Nobody should be surprised about anything.

Q: You don’t have the checkbook.

A: It’s not my money. If I had that much money, I’m not sure I’d own a ballclub. I might own an island somewhere, sitting on it.

Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke

The Rockies have struggled on the road and at home this season. How they’ve fared in and out of Colorado and by month:

Overall through Thursday:

W L Runs Against Win pct. Overall 36 49 370 435 .424 HOME VS. ROAD Home 18 24 221 238 .429 Road 18 25 149 197 .419 BY MONTH April 11 10 88 105 .524 May 11 16 119 130 .407 June 12 17 140 157 .414 July 2 6 23 43 .250

How the Rockies’ offense and defense ranks among all MLB teams (through Thursday):