Rays Release Grant Balfour; Should The Rockies Inquire?

Apr 18, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Grant Balfour (50) throws a pitch during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

After the Tampa Bay Rays released Grant Balfour today, should the Colorado Rockies look at the 37-year old right hander as they search for bullpen help?

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The Colorado Rockies have a pretty deep and improved bullpen, but at the rate the starters are being knocked out of games early, the club will burn through the ‘pen before we hit July. So it seems it’d be prudent for general manager Jeff Bridich to inquire about both rotation and bullpen depth options that might be able to help the team at some point this year.

Enter Grant Balfour.

The Tampa Bay Rays released Balfour, a 37-year old right hander who previously had lots of experience as a closer, on Wednesday afternoon after he had been designated for assignment ten days ago and no other team made a move to trade for him with Tampa Bay.

The Ryas are also eating his $7 million contract, so the Rockies (or any team that signs him) would only be on the hook for the prorated big league minimum salary since his former employer has to pay out his salary after the transaction.

The super cheap acquisition, coupled with Balfour’s long track record (well, before this year) of fairly good relief work as a late-inning option, might make him worth it for the Rockies to see if he’s got anything left to help a big league bullpen.

Make no mistake; Balfour is not going to be closing for the Rockies, as his ninth inning days are probably forever behind him now.

But could he be a better option that Scott Oberg or Jorge Rondon if the club keeps needing to use middle relievers to stem things like Adam Ottavino’s injury and whatever else might happen to the ‘pen this season?

I know, Balfour is not a sexy name, but welcome to the reality of the Colorado Rockies.

A minor league deal similar to what Jose Valverde signed with the Nationals this week might be a smart move: it’s cheap, it’s low-pressure, and, hey, maybe Balfour figures it out enough to help a big league club at some point this year.

Start him at AAA Albuquerque, see how he does, and evaluate in a few weeks whether or not you need to spell an already over-worked bullpen with a fresh arm.

Balfour won’t resurrect his career as a 37-year old with the Rox, and he won’t be saving any games this summer (I hope not…), but in about two months when the entire bullpen is hanging by a thread from over use, well, the Rockies will sure be able to use a fresh(ish) arm.