Presumably Outman will come out of the bullpen in 2013. Image: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Some felt the Rockies should have gotten more value for Smith. Others, myself included, thought Smith was overrated. No matter what your opinion in that regard, it did not make sense to add two pitchers who relied more on fly balls than ground balls.

At the time of the deal, both pitchers acknowledged the challenge that was ahead of them. Moscoso, for his part, was confident in his ability to adapt and find success at altitude. He cited his development of a cutter as support for his argument. Moscoso has since been claimed off of waivers by the Kansas City Royals. He was, unequivocally, a failure in Colorado.

Outman, on the other hand, knew that he was not a good fit for the Rockies from the start. He openly acknowledged the fact that he relied on fly balls to get outs and that he would have to adjust in order to find any measure of success in Colorado. Let’s just say that he is still trying to adjust, although fly balls were not the problem as much as walks in 2012. His BB/9 held at a discouraging 4.43 mark, a far cry from his 3.55 number for the A’s in 2011.

Outman pitched tremendously well as a starter for the Tulsa Drillers last season. That included a no-hit bid in which he was one out away from inking his name in the Rockies’ depressingly thin history books. There’s just one problem: the Rockies never used him as a true starter at the big league level. He pitched out of the bullpen and as one of the starting pitchers who was forced to give way to a “piggybacker” after 75 pitches. It is hard to get a read on what the Rockies want from Outman; they sent him to the minor leagues as a true starting pitcher, yet it seems more and more like they view him as a reliever moving forward.

One can envision why Outman’s skills translate well to bullpen use. His success against left-handed hitters (held them to a .194 BA in 2012) makes him a good option as a match-up guy. His previous stints as a starter provide a versatility that means he can also make extended appearances as needed.

If the Rockies commit to Outman as a relief pitcher and develop him as such, he makes sense as part of the plans in 2013. But if they continue with the indecision that loomed over his 2012 campaign, as he was switched from the bullpen to starting and back again, they will continue to hinder any hopes that remain that they will able to reap value from their decision to trade Smith last year.

I also like the personality Outman brings out of the bullpen. His finely tuned red chinstrap beard combined with his super-awesome socks equals the type of eccentricity one wants from a solid relief pitcher.

Where should Outman be in 2013? In the Rockies’ bullpen, serving multiple roles.

Where will Outman be in 2013? In the Rockies’ bullpen, where they will use him as a both a match-up and long relief guy.

Outman was one strike away from a no-hitter with the Tulsa Drillers. Image: Andrew B. Fielding-US PRESSWIRE

He was the guy who snuck into the bullpen to start the season, then got so sick from a meal at Denny’s that he pulled his oblique, and then came up from the Sky Sox to make appearances as a starter that were accompanied by a certain measure of hopefulness.

For all of the unique events that have marked Outman’s tenure with the Colorado Rockies thus far, any hopefulness for him came crashing to a temporary halt as he struggled with the big league team. He was eventually sent all the way down to AA Tulsa to work as a member of their starting rotation. While the difference between Tulsa and Colorado Springs is not necessarily a punishment because of the problems with developing pitching at altitude, it was still a sure sign that Outman had taken a step backwards with the organization.

Since that demotion Outman has been out of sight, out of mind. He re-emerged the other night with the news that he was one strike away from a no-hitter in his victory over the Springfield Cardinals. He struck out 9 and walked 5 in the effort. The walks explain how Outman managed to surrender an RBI single on the same swing that broke up his no-hit bid.

As the Rockies make a permanent commitment to the paired pitching system, Outman’s glowing performance ultimately is more a problem than anything else. Whether the Rockies decide to limit starters to a pitch count or to seeing the opponents’ lineup twice, it means that nobody is pitching deep into the game. Outman will never have the chance to do what he did Thursday night if he makes it back to the Rockies in the near future.

Doesn’t it make sense to utilize the paired pitching system throughout the organization? Doesn’t it make sense for pitchers to learn how to work within that system from the early stages of their development? Otherwise this is like training for a marathon, only to end up running a one mile race.

The Rockies have a lot to decide with this “radical” change on the big league club. Outman’s near-moment-of-glory represents one of those pending decisions: how the minor league pitchers should be developed, and if it actually makes any sense to let starters stretch out, pitch deep into games, and pursue complete games when they will never do so with the big club.