Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders posts his Rockies Mailbag every other week on Tuesdays during the season.

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

I begin the latest edition of my Rockies Mailbag by answering two similar, but slightly different questions regarding the Trevor Story, Jose Reyes situation at shortstop.

I was glad to see that the Rockies didn’t let arbitration eligibility get in the way of Trevor Story being named the starter at short. What happens when Jose Reyes comes back? Please tell me that his large salary doesn’t automatically give him his place back.

— Chris, Fort Collins

The Rockies aren’t going to send Story down when Reyes comes back, are they? The guy is overpaid and has a bad attitude, not to mention he apparently beats his wife. I know cutting him requires the management group to admit they made a big mistake in bringing him here in the first place. Story has earned a starting spot with his early play.

— Nancy, Denver

Chris and Nancy: This is a hot topic that I will linger over the Rockies until the Reyes situation is resolved.

As you probably know, Reyes will not go to trial in Hawaii on charges of domestic abuse after his wife refused to testify. Major League Baseball, however, can still suspend Reyes under its new domestic violence policy. That decision would come any day now, though I imagine there are still issues to be worked out with the players’ association.

My guess is that commissioner Rob Manfred will suspend Reyes from between 30-50 games, but that’s just a guess. Others believe he’ll get an 80-game suspension.

OK, now on to your questions.

First of all, Story will not be sent down if or when Reyes returns. I think the Rockies are committed to Story as their starting shortstop. He’s earned the job and he’s having an historic early season.

I’m not saying Story will never be sent down to Triple-A. If he falls into a prolonged slump — something that could happen given his youth and proclivity to strike out, he could be optioned to Triple-A.

I don’t think that’s going to happen, and I know that Story won’t be bumped for Reyes.

Another big question is what the Rockies will do with Reyes once MLB makes its decision. He’s owed $48 million over the next two seasons (counting a $4 million buyout after 2017). Would the Rockies actually eat that contract money and simply release Reyes?

They just might.

Here is what owner Dick Monfort told me last week.

I asked him: Will the public relations aspect to the Reyes decision and the fans reaction to it play a part in what you do with him?

Monfort replied: “I’d like to know exactly what exactly happened. It’s easy for us all to speculate on whatever happened. But until we really know, it’s hard. You’re dealing with a guy’s life, too. But if he did something wrong, he should pay for it.”

Monfort wants to be fair to Reyes and respect his legal rights, but this is a major quandary for the Rockies and MLB. There is a public relations angle at work here.

Here is what I think could happen:

• Reyes will be suspended for 30-50 games and will subsequently lose money for each game he misses.

• I do not think the Rockies will be able to trade Reyes to another team, because of his high salary and his current, controversial situation.

• The Rockies will sit tight while Reyes serves his suspension, then they will release him, thus saving some of the money originally owed him, but still having to eat the remainder of his contract.

In other words, I don’t see Reyes playing for the Rockies again.

This is only my prediction of what could happen. There could be legal ramifications of which I am not aware. Plus, we really don’t know what happened in that hotel room in Hawaii.

This I know, Story is the starting shortstop for now and for the future.

Will the Rockies consider hiring a dedicated president to run the baseball operation who will enjoy a fair degree of autonomy? I think of Alex Anthopoulos of the Dodgers, formerly the Blue Jays, as an example of a solid baseball person who would also be able to understand the business side of things. Keli McGregor really hasn’t been replaced yet.

— Jim, Canada

I’ve answered this question many times in recent years. Monfort, who stepped into the role McGregor used to have, has given no indication the Rockies will add a president.

It’s been my contention that bringing in someone from outside the Rockies organization for a president’s role would be a smart move. It could provide the Rockies with a different point of view and some fresh perspective. I think the Rockies are too insulated and too isolated.

Having said that, I applaud Monfort for giving young general manager Jeff Bridich the freedom to shape his vision for the team. Bridich has shown he’s not afraid to make bold moves — the Troy Tulowitzki and Corey Dickerson trades being the prime examples.

Patrick, the new slide rule this year is so bad. I understand trying to keep players safe, but this is like watching little league now. The college slide rule allows more contact than the professional rule does. Do you see the league altering the wording of the rule?

— Blake, Littleton

Yes, I think the rule will be tweaked after this season. I see this as a testing period, and we are seeing a lot of people who are not happy with the rule.

I think the spirit of the new rule is fine. MLB is trying to emphasize safety, even though a lot of players don’t like the new rule and believe it is “wussifying” the game.

Henry Schulman, Giants beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, recently wrote an excellent article investigating the problems with the new rule.

Here’s what Schulman wrote:

With so much unhappiness around baseball, the rules are bound to be tweaked. Baseball has a history of making common-sense alterations. The 2014 rules to protect catchers were amended within months to allow catchers to keep a foot on the plate before receiving a throw on force plays.

For a different perspective, I suggest you read this column from Jeff Passa, the excellent baseball writer for Yahoo Sports. He contends that the players will have to live with the rule and accept it.

Why is it that the Rockies only wear the mountain logo caps during spring training and batting practice, but only wear the interlocking CR caps during actual regular season games?

— David, Albuquerque, New Mexico

David, it’s really pretty simple. A lot of teams have separate caps for spring training, then they return to the traditional caps for the regular season.

It’s part of baseball’s tradition to keep the original logo on the uniform. MLB doesn’t want teams shifting their look too much.

That said, you will see variations of the cap during the season, for Veterans Day or the Fourth of July, etc. But the basic logo remains in place.

What’s with the radio broadcasts? Pre-game and post-game shows are limited to 10 minutes. Not enough time for any real information. KOA gives the Broncos five hours of pre-game coverage.

— Geo K., Denver

I’m sure you must be talking about KOA’s programming during spring training. Now that we are into the regular season, KOA’s pre-game show is at least 30 minutes long for every game.

Hey Patrick, what do you make of Dick Monfort’s Q&A with your colleague Nick Groke? Monfort said “Every year we try to win. That doesn’t always happen.”

Well I have news for him, the Rockies need good starting pitching to make that happen.

— Keith, Aurora

We don’t get to talk — on the record — to Monfort very often. He finally agreed to meet the media right before opening day, which is where Nick got his Q&A.

It was a decent interview, even though Monfort is playing things close to the vest these days. In other words, he was upbeat, but vague. I wouldn’t expect much more from him after some of his public relations mistakes in the recent past.

Monfort thinks Bridich is on the right track by trying to flood the organization with powerful, talented young arms. Monfort, however, is not going to spend a ton of money to get a veteran starter. Besides, there are not very many free-agent pitchers willing to pitch in Colorado — regardless of how much they would get paid.

In that Q&A, Monfort made one statement that I thought was very interesting.

Monfort was asked, “Do you hope this season goes in a way where we’re not asking you this question about trading Carlos Gonzalez?

He answered: “Yeah I hope you don’t have to ask that question. I hope you’ll be asking me, ‘Hey are you going to get such-and-such?’

In other words, Monfort was saying he hopes the Rockies are contenders and in a position to add talent to get the team over the hump. Then it would be put-up or shut-up time. Would Monfort be willing to sign off an deal to add a veteran starter?

It’s an interesting question, but not one that I think will come up in 2016.

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders posts his Rockies Mailbag every other week on Tuesdays during the season.

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.