Is this the calm before the storm or simply a preview of what’s to come?

When the Kansas City Royals visit Coors Field to open a three-game series Friday night, it will kick off a 72-hour span that will determine whether the Rockies are truly trade deadline sellers or a team primarily staying pat for the rest of the season.

Starting Friday with a 42-67 mark, it’s clear Colorado is in a seller’s position. However, Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes has made clear that, even though there are teams interested in making deals now, Colorado won’t move players just because there is an opportunity to do so.

It must be the right opportunity in their eyes for that to happen.

“We really have pretty low commitments going into next year, so how we improve our team and use that spending power could be in the offseason. It could be in the next 10 days,” Byrnes said on July 21, shortly after the Rockies sent reliever Seth Halvorsen to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a couple of minor leaguers.

Among those low commitments for next season are shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and utility man Willi Castro, who are scheduled to make a combined $15.5 million in 2027. Other players such as outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy and catcher Hunter Goodman will be continuing through the arbitration process.

In theory, if the Rockies trade away Moniak, McCarthy and/or Goodman, the extra team control attached to them should raise the asking price for another team. The key question is exactly what other teams are willing to spend to bring a Colorado position player or pitcher onto their respective rosters.

Colorado’s outfield not only has potential trade options in Moniak and McCarthy but also prospects such as Zac Veen who could be viewed as part of a deal if more players need to be included.

If Colorado chooses to trade from its outfield surplus, it could open up playing time in Denver for Veen and fellow prospect Charlie Condon, as well as outfielders Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle. The latter two have battled injuries and inconsistency this season but are showing progress in Triple-A Albuquerque.

If the Rockies stay pat and keep the roster primarily as is, which is a possibility, what is done in the outfield becomes a murkier question.

Moniak’s 126 OPS+ is second on the team while McCarthy’s 113 ranks fifth, showing how important they have been to Colorado’s lineup this season. But are they a part of Colorado’s future? That’s the biggest question that must be answered before any kind of deal is made.

One player who is a part of Colorado’s future is Cole Carrigg, who has shown his worth in the outfield and has bolted to the top of Colorado’s OPS+ chart with a 131 in his first 159 plate appearances. The 24-year-old has quickly inserted himself into most of manager Warren Schaeffer’s lineups due to his bat and ability to succeed in center field. His plus-2 Outs Above Average this season is outpacing Doyle, who has earned two Gold Gloves in center field but has a minus-1 OAA at the position so far this year.

Carrigg got his chance due to his play at Triple-A and opportunities for promotion at the Major League level. The trade deadline could provide those same opportunities for Condon, Veen or others.

This trade deadline will serve as a compass for what is to come for the rest of the season and the team’s shape heading into a stormy offseason. With a potential lockout coming after the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement on Dec. 1, ESPN’s Jeff Passan has said the uncertainty ahead is impacting how some franchises will handle the trade deadline.

“It’s absolutely affecting some teams’ approaches,” Passan wrote on social media last week. “There are owners that believe there won’t be a single game next season, so they’re telling their GMs to price that into their trade deliberations. Will it have a significant effect? I won’t go that far. But does that possibility exist? Absolutely.”

As a note, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has denied a potential lockout impacts any decisions the franchise makes with its current roster.

Still, the uncertainty of Colorado’s trade deadline direction and what could come after this season is making the next 72 hours an especially interesting one to watch in the Mile High City.