Colorado Rockies’ Reliever Rex Brothers Has Returned

Jul 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher R. Brothers (49) after being taken out of the game during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field. The Rockies won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies recalled the struggling reliever on Saturday afternoon before their game against the Atlanta Braves, and he was the same guy we’ve seen in the past.

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Well… he’s back. The Colorado Rockies recalled Rex Brothers on Saturday morning, marking his first appearance in the big leagues this season after he was surprisingly sent down to AAA Albuquerque at the end of Spring Training to combat bouts of wildness.

Brothers … sort of … did that in Albuquerque, striking out 40 hitters and allowing just 22 hits in 28.2 innings, but, oh yeah, he also walked 26 batters and hit two more in that same stretch. While his stats wouldn’t suggest he was any better than he’s been before, though, those who covered him on a daily basis did say otherwise:

Obviously, Chris would know that better than I would; all I can say is what I see at the big league level. Albuquerque aside, though, what I (what we all) saw at the big league level Saturday afternoon was… not good. It’s the same ol’ Rex. Let’s be honest about that.

Granted, there’s this to consider:

And that is a legitimate thing; he was traveling all day, rushed back to Coors Field with an hour to go before game time, had to suit up and go through all the stuff to get ready for the game — both baseball-related and otherwise — and come in to a tie game in the seventh inning with the pressure on full. Welcome back to the big leagues, right?

That said, though, you can’t ignore the results. The man threw four strikes out of fifteen pitches. He went 3-0 on the first batter he faced, before coming all the way back to 3-2 and then inducing a groundout, and then he walked the next two hitters before being removed. It’s the same Rex.

I’m generally really, really optimistic about the Rockies — probably much more so than I should be, because this team isn’t very good. But for some reason, I find myself distinctly pessimistic about Rex. I think the Rockies are in for a surprise of the worst kind if they think he’s going to throw quality innings for them at any point in the near future. (If I’m wrong about that, hey, that’s cool — save this post.)

Don’t get me wrong — I want him to succeed. The Rockies need him. Two and three years ago, he was one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball. You think the Rockies couldn’t use that guy in their bullpen?

Besides, Rex playing poorly doesn’t do anything for Colorado; it hurts the club when he’s on the team, and it renders him completely un-tradeable if the Rockies decide to cut him loose. They’re getting nothing from him now, and as it’s going, if they decide to let him walk they’d get nothing for him in a trade.

More coming on Rex Brothers later this evening, but until then, I open it up to you: will we ever again see the Rex Brothers of old? Granted, fifteen pitches in 2015 is a very small sample size, though, so am I being too pessimistic about him?