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Colorado Rockies Ought To Be Seeking Bullpen Depth On Waiver Wire

By BobDeMuro |

Jun 16, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher J. Chamberlain (44) makes a throw to first to get Cincinnati Reds shortstop K. Negron (17) out in the ninth inning at Comerica Park. Cincinnati won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

As the season wears on, there are some depth options on the waiver wire that the Colorado Rockies ought to consider signing to finish 2015.

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The Colorado Rockies need to think about some new arms. (Alex, I’ll take statements made by Rockies fans every week of every since 1993 for $500, please.)

And while the team currently has a four-man rotation with nine bullpen guys — that won’t last long, but because of off days in the next week they can get away with it for now — the club still lacks depth and hasn’t exactly been beating the doors down in the rotation with the exception of Jorge De La Rosa, and an occasional nice piece of work by Chris Rusin.

The bullpen, meanwhile, is a slop fest. After Adam Ottavino went down with elbow reconstruction surgery, and with John Axford apparently being shopped around on the trade market, guys like Scott Oberg, Jorge Rondon, Gonzalez Germen, and Yohan Flande have thrown in the big leagues this summer. Bless them all (y’all know I love Flande!), but cheap bullpen depth is something you can’t overdo in a big league club.

And wouldn’t you know it, guys are available! Neftali Feliz is now spoken for after being canned by the Texas Rangers last week (the Detroit Tigers picked him up on a low-cost move). But there are still a few other guys floating around that the Rockies certainly could audition for the next couple months: Brandon League, Joba Chamberlain, and Edwin Jackson. Gulp.

I know, y’all… but nobody is saying acquiring one of those three (or someone comparable) is a hey-now-we-are-playoff-contenders move. It ain’t that, there’s a reason these guys were dumped by their original clubs in the first place, and ain’t none of ’em gonna find themselves pitching in October (well, most likely).

Taking a flyer on a cheap, veteran bullpen commodity like Chamberlain, League, or Jackson isn’t going to cost the Rockies more than the minimum prorated salary over the last 60-ish games. Any one of them could be awful in Denver, but Scott Oberg has thrown important relief innings this year, guys. Maybe one of these free agents does halfway decently for two months, and then re-signs next year on the cheap as a set-up-ish guy! Baseball’s crazy like that.

The point is, for a team that’s going nowhere with nothing to lose — except for more of their current relievers to injury or ineffectiveness — some of the waiver wire options out there aren’t looking so bad. Maybe it’s time Jeff Bridich’s front office builds some veteran bullpen depth (for 2016?) on the cheap while bringing along the organization’s younger, more exciting arms on their planned development schedule.

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