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.

Finally Rockies GM Jeff Bridich made a move that will hopefully be great for the Rockies. With that said, will Bridich listen to, or ask for input from Bud Black when it comes to roster moves? Hopefully Black told Bridich he wants input during the interview.

— Victor, Alameda, Calif.

Victor, that’s a very good and important question. I asked Black a similar, but much broader question, after his introductory press conference. I wrote about it last Sunday in my column.

When you mention roster moves, I’m not sure if you mean moves made during the season or moves made during the offseason to construct the team. My guess is that you meant the latter, so I will try to answer that.

I think Black is a very strong-willed person, so I imagine he’ll have some input on building this team, particularly when it comes to rebuilding the bullpen. I imagine that Bridich will consult with Black to some degree.

That was true with former manager Walt Weiss, at least at the beginning of Bridich’s tenure as GM. However, last offseason, Weiss had almost zero input as he and Bridich drifted apart. However, because Black is Bridich’s choice as manager — whereas Weiss was not — I think Bridich will be more open to Black’s ideas.

That said, Bridich is definitely the boss now and I think owner Dick Monfort is giving him a lot of freedom to construct the team. When push comes to shove, and when Bridich is working the phones, the major decisions will be made by Bridich and his staff.

Also, at next month’s winter meetings, I’ll be interested to see the interaction between Bridich and Black.

How do you see the Rockies dealing with their first base vacancy? Trade? Free agent? Internal?

— Dave, Fort Collins

Dave, that’s become the annual question for the Rockies ever since Todd Helton’s glory days. Bridich doesn’t reveal a lot when he talks to the media, but when he does I pay attention.

“If we can add an impactful bat at first base — we still have not solved the post-Todd Helton era, large shoes to fill — that’s certainly on our mind,” Bridich told MLB.com‘s Thomas Harding at the general manager’s meetings earlier this month. “And how can we upgrade the bullpen? I don’t think it’s going to be a bullpen overhaul in our future, but we’re going to be strategic.”

To me, that’s a telltale sign that Bridich plans to upgrade first base. I don’t think he will do it via a trade, but I do think free agency is a very real possibility. Perhaps the Rockies will try to re-sign Mark Reynolds and pair him with rookie Jordan Patterson at first base. That’s very possible.

Another short-term solution is to sign a veteran such as Matt Holliday or Mike Napoli. Both would provide right-handed power and both are considered strong leaders. But both would be costly, even for a one- or two-year deal. I would imagine landing Holliday would cost about $10 million for a one-year deal.

I wrote a recent column about the plausibility of Holliday’s return to Colorado. It’s an intriguing idea, and Holliday is open to the idea, but it’s not a sure thing.

If the Rockies make a bolder move, I could see them making a run at free agents Mark Trumbo or Brandon Moss, though Moss would be a much more affordable option. I could envision Moss, 33, signing for two years, $14 million.

Trumbo would be a much bigger, and much riskier investment. I’ve seen projections that he’s seeking a four-year, $60 million deal. The Mariners traded Trumbo to the Orioles last December as a salary dump and he responded by mashing 47 homers. However, he’s an unproven commodity as a first baseman.

Bottom line: I expect the Rockies to bolster first base, but I don’t think they’ll drop a bombshell. In other words, I think Reynolds will end up returning.

Do you think it’s a better idea to move Carlos Gonzalez to first and sign a role player, stop gap like Angel Pagan until Ramiel Tapia can prove he’s major-league ready or keep CarGo in the outfield and sign a first baseman like Trumbo?

— Jason Kirk, Aurora

I could see CarGo moving to first base in the future, but not in 2017. Which means he would have to sign a long-term deal with the Rockies for that to happen. Possible? Yes. Likely? No.

Which means the Rockies need to find a solution at first base (see the above question). That also means that Tapia could begin the season at Triple-A and might bounce back and forth between the majors and the minors this season. Or he could be a super-utility outfielder and a spark off the bench.

Bridich has indicated that he wants to keep both Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon. If he does, the Rockies need to decide what to do with Tapia.

What do you think of Trumbo at 1B? I know his defense isn’t that great, but his power at home could be amazing. Just look at how well Reynolds was doing before injury.

— Scott E., Colorado Springs

Scott, as you can see from questions I’ve already answered, Rockies fans seem to have an obsession with filling the hole at first base. I understand that completely. It puzzles me that a team that plays at Coors Field and has fielded star players like Andres Galarraga, Helton and Justin Morneau, is still searching for an answer at first.

Trumbo, as you hinted at, is better suited to being a designated hitter in the American League than being a first baseman in the National League. As a hitter, Trumbo is very one-dimensional. He hit 47 home runs but walked only 51 times while striking out 170 times last season for the Orioles.

That said, adding his power to the already potent lineup of Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu, Gonzalez and Blackmon would make the Rockies very scary for opposing pitchers. If the Rockies trust him as a first baseman and an occasional fill-in in right field, the move could work. The money he’ll command, however, could be a deal breaker.

This might seem to be an absurd question, but any thoughts on moving Tyler Chatwood? Considering his very low road ERA he could be very marketable? This is his last year of arbitration before free agency and I would highly doubt he would look to return. He might get a fairly decent return.

— Mike S., Castle Rock

Mike, that’s not absurd at all, but I have not heard a thing about that. The Rockies need all the pitching they can get and Chatwood is very popular in the Rockies’ clubhouse. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

Chatwood’s splits were extreme. His ERA at Coors Field was 6.12 and opponents hit .303 against him. On the road, his ERA was 1.69 and opponents hit just .190 against him.

Still, I think Chatwood can win at Coors Field. His stuff moves very well on the road, not so well at altitude. That gets him in trouble. But I think Chatwood is smart enough and disciplined enough to find a way to cut down on his big mistakes at Coors Field and become effective there.

Patrick, the Chicago Cubs are World Series champions. Man, that has a great sound to it. Wanted your thoughts on the series and what you think about the Cubs having Steve Bartman throw on the first pitch on Opening Day? I think they should even give him a ring for all he went through.

— Jim L., Denver

Jim, the Cubs winning the World Series was tremendous, although having the Indians win it all would have been a terrific story, too. The TV ratings were great and I think it was an overall boost for my favorite sport.

The Cubs’ immense talent and depth certainly paid off for them, although manager Joe Maddon made some moves that nearly cost the Cubs the series. The fact that the Indians almost won it all despite losing quality starters to injuries, goes to show you just how important a talented and deep bullpen has become in contemporary baseball.

As for Bartman, I hope he’s allowed to fade into history. I don’t think he wants the limelight and I hope he’s left alone.

Though I was not surprised to see Weiss let go at the end of the season, I was a little surprised the pitching coaches were retained. I was also surprised that the Rockies’ hitting coach, Blake Doyle, was not retained. It seems that Doyle was very influential in helping Rockies’ hitters since he came on board. Am I right in that assessment or was it just a coincidence?

— Ross Sasso, Rapid City, South Dakota

Ross, I too was surprised to see pitching coach Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes retained. In retrospect, I should not have been surprised. Toward the end of the season, Bridich was communicating quite a bit with both Holmes and Foster, and very little with Weiss.

I will say this: I think Foster and Holmes make a solid team and I think that was illustrated by the ability to get starting pitchers back on track through the course of the season. Foster was very good at the mental side of the game and Holmes was good at tweaking mechanics. Unfortunately, that expertise didn’t fix the bullpen, in large part because the bullpen lacked talent and depth.

As for Doyle, I was certain he would be gone once Weiss departed. He was Weiss’ guy from the very beginning. And although Doyle knows hitting, I had a sense that job was wearing on him.

You, and others, seem very high on Black based on the fact that he was a major-league pitcher and previous manager in the NL West. He had a losing record in San Diego, never took the Padres to the playoffs and blew a 6 1/2 game lead in September 2010.

Perfect, he’s just like all the other Rockies managers. My concern is that he was a major league pitcher who could not win as a manager in a pitcher’s ballpark. What’s he possibly going to do in a hitter’s ballpark. So, here is my question. Why are you so high on him? What has he done to lead you to believe he will embrace analytics? Why do you think he will be a good manager in a hitter’s ballpark, when he had only two winning seasons in a pitcher’s ballpark. As you can tell I’m not high on Bud Black, so convince me.

— Wayne, Rotonda West, Florida

Wayne, if you have read any of my recent columns, you would have a sense why I like Black, but I can provide you with a number of other reasons:

The Rockies players I have talked to are thrilled with the selection. Word through the big-league grapevine is that Black is considered to be a knowledgeable, strong and fair-minded manager.

The Rockies have never had a manager with a pitching-rich background, so I think trying something new is a smart move.

I like that Black is not an authoritarian manager. He empowers his coaching staff. His style is based partially on his personality and partially from observing the managers he played for and served under as a coach. I think his hiring of Mike Redmond shows he wants a strong staff.

Black was pitching coach when the Angels won the 2002 World Series. In his 15 years as manager and pitching coach, his pitching staff has finished with one of the five lowest earned run averages in baseball seven times. Yes, part of that has to do with Petco Park, but I think he knows pitching.

He was the Nationals’ No. 1 pick last winter before negotiations went sour and the Nationals went with Dusty Baker.

Black genuinely wants to be in Colorado and does not seem intimidated by Coors Field. I think that’s a big deal.

Finally, from a selfish perspective, I’m happy to have a media-friendly manager. Not that you care about that, but it sure makes my life easier. Plus, I think it’s good for the organization.

One year is a short sample, but is there any indication of how the raised fences in the outfield reduced scoring at Coors Field? Are the Rockies planning any further modifications to Coors Field in order to reduce scoring and help out some of their young pitching talent?

— Craig, Providence, Rhode Island

Craig, the Rockies have said they will provide data on the effects of raising the fences at Coors Field, but so far I haven’t seen anything. I certainly don’t think the new configurations hurt the Rockies’ offense. The Rockies scored 845 runs, their most since scoring 860 in their 2007 World Series season.

I have not heard of any more changes planned for Coors this season.

Hello Patrick. I’ve been following you for a while and always appreciate your educated and honest insight. My question is, in what ways could the Rockies and Bridich bolster the bullpen other than one big free-agent signing. Obviously the development of Matt Carasiti, Carlos Estevez, and Eddie Butler are vital to the future success in the bullpen. As we’ve seen in the playoffs this year it takes a bullpen of multiple shut down guys in order to be successful in the playoffs.

— EJ Sanchez, Round Rock, Texas

EJ, you are absolutely right about the bullpen needing to be deep and talented. I’m on the record as saying Colorado should try to sign former Golden High (Colorado) star Mark Melancon, though he’s going to be tough to get.

In addition to the young relievers you’ve mentioned, the Rockies are also high on hard-throwing Jairo Diaz, who’s returning from Tommy John surgery.

You mentioned Butler as a bullpen possibility. I think that would be a good move. I also would consider using some of the youngsters — even Jeff Hoffman or Kyle Freeland — in the bullpen for the 2017 season. It doesn’t have to be for the long term, but it might help bolster the bullpen for the here and now.

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.