Colorado Rockies Rundown: Lyles, Murphy, Flande, Arenado, Chacin

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Sep 15, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher G. Germen (62) is met by catcher T. Murphy (30) after he earned a save in the sixteenth inning. Rockies won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Your morning rundown — news, notes, analysis, and more — on the biggest stories surrounding the Colorado Rockies for this Sunday, September 20, 2015.

Jordan Lyles’ first test for 2016

(via MLB.com)

Jordan Lyles faced live hitters for the very first time this weekend since his season-ending surgery back in June. According to Rockies’ manager Walt Weiss, things went very well:

“He did a great job. No issues. He commanded the ball really well. Usually that first time out against hitters you’re spraying the ball all over the place, but Jordan threw strikes and looked real good.”

Weiss also revealed that the Rockies would like Lyles to pitch this winter:

“We’re going to try and get him probably around 40 innings somewhere this winter. Whether it’s the Fall [instructional league or Domincian instructional league] is still to be determined. … We want to add to his workload a little bit. You want him coming to Spring Training and having a normal spring. He’ll be able to do that if he’s able to get some innings this winter.”

Obviously, there is a lot of time between now and Spring Training — and considering Lyles had a toe injury and not, say, an elbow or shoulder surgery, this isn’t quite the same intensity and concern — but even with that, this is a big deal.

Of course, it’s now two years in a row that Jordan Lyles’ season has been ended prematurely with a freak injury (last year he broke his non-throwing hand on a play at the plate). For the Rockies to be not abysmal next year, they’ll have to count on guys like Lyles to be consistent, and most importantly healthy, for the entire season. Depth matters.

Next: Tom Murphy's big night

Mar 1, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher T. Murphy poses for a portrait during photo day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Murphy’s big night!

(via MLB.com)

Tom Murphy had a big night on Saturday evening, getting his first career hit and collecting his first Major League homer (in separate at-bats) in the Colorado Rockies’ win.

Murphy, on the homer, and the night:

“That’s something I’ll never forget for sure. He threw me three sliders in a row. The third one I sat on it and he just left it up with 0-2. I thought off the bat it was [going out]. I knew I hit it pretty well.”

First off, congrats to Tom Murphy. The first big league hit, and the first big league home run, both removed from the to-do list and now a thing that nobody will ever take away from the young catcher.

Beyond that, he’s obviously jockeying here for position with Dustin Garneau, as well as injured Michael McKenry, as the Rockies try to handicap who best to fit in that backup catcher role next season.

I’d love to see Murphy there, considering he’s tabbed as the catcher of the future and could learn quite a bit under Nick Hundley in 2016 before taking the reins in 2017. This is just one step closer to that idea.

Next: Yohan Flande injury updates

Aug 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Y. Flande (58) gets a visit to the mound by pitching coach

Steve Foster

(56) and catcher M. McKenry (8) during the 2nd inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports

Yohan Flande injury updates

(via MLB.com)

Obvously, we saw it all last night, but here’s the deal with Yohan Flande only throwing 2.2 innings on Saturday agains the Padres:

“He sustained a contusion of the left patellar tendon. X-rays were negative.

With two outs and a man on first, Gyorko lined a shot back at Flande and bounced it off his left knee and into foul territory for a double. Flande ran to third to cover the base as Nolan Arenado pursued the ball, and after a visit from the training staff, he walked off the field on his own.”

The Rockies don’t need to rush back anyone who hits the injury skids at this point in the season, but it might be interesting to see how this affects somebody like Jon Gray. If the Rox set down Flande, or he experiences after-effects in between now and his next start, would the Rox keep Gray in the rotation? Place Bergman in Flande’s place? Use David Hale as a starter? Gonzalez Germen?

There are obviously no shortage of options down there in the bullpen. I suppose all we can do is wait to see how Flande feels about all of this over the next few days before his next start on what should be Friday.

Next: More Nolan Arenado MVP talk

Sep 18, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman N. Arenado (28) during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

More talk about Nolan and the MVP

(via Denver Post)

San Diego Padres’ manager Pat Murphy had this to say about Nolan Arenado’ MVP candidacy:

“I love him. I’d probably vote for him. This guy is amazing.”

Later, Walt Weiss added on how winning doesn’t necessarily matter as much in the MVP race this year as it has in the past:

“Playing for a playoff team is definitely a factor. This year is different. You can make the case for a few guys not on playoff teams. That’s why I think Nolan has as good a chance as anybody, because we don’t have one of those years where a guy on one of the best teams is having a huge year.”

I know, I’m kind of getting sick of the Nolan Arenado MVP talk, too. But coming from guys like Murphy and Weiss… it matters. It really matters.

Those guys see Arenado day in and day out in a way that broadcasters and writers and fans don’t… and for an opposing manager to say he’d vote for Arenado for MVP… that ain’t a joke.

Next: Jhoulys Chacin solidifies his future

Aug 29, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher J. Chacin (47) throws during the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The future is bright for Jhoulys Chacin

(via MLB Trade Rumors, AZ Central)

AZCentral has a big write-up on potential starting pitching options for the Arizona Diamondbacks next season. Here’s the full portion on Jhoulys Chacin:

Chacin is a unique case because it’s difficult to know what he would cost to keep around for next year. The right-hander signed for $5.5 million last winter to avoid arbitration with the Colorado Rockies, but was released in spring and paid just a quarter of that sum. He signed a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians but opted out down the road, latching on with the Diamondbacks at the Triple-A level. In two big-league stints later in the season he had success. A tough question to answer with Chacin is what to expect from a season in the future. He had a 3.61 ERA in five seasons with the Rockies before an injury-affected campaign in 2014, but he is not throwing as hard as he used to. It’s hard to say if three big-league starts in 2015 are enough off which to judge him. Not for La Russa. “I’ve seen enough from Chacin,” La Russa said. “He’s got a track record. I’ve seen enough here that he knows how to pitch and how to change speeds, enough to say that he’s in the competition.” La Russa added that Chacin won’t “be so expensive that we couldn’t afford him,” but the financial picture with the 27-year-old is far from clear. He’s arbitration-eligible again this year, and while raises aren’t guaranteed in arbitration, they’re more the rule than the exception. If Chacin ends up costing more than the $5.5 million he signed for a year ago, the Diamondbacks might have to ask if that money can be better spent on a pitcher with fewer question marks surrounding him.

This is small in terms of Colorado Rockies news, of course, but it’s great news! Jhoulys Chacin has worked very hard to come back after injuries set him back in the Rockies’ organization. It’s great to see that he’s back on track, because you’d think he obviously still has quite a few innings left in him when healthy.

I get the feeling he’d be a guy who goes out and burns the Colorado Rockies every time he faces them with the Diamondbacks… and I can’t say I’d be too upset about that!

More from Rox Pile

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Jordan Lyles’ first test for 2016

Tom Murphy’s big night!

Yohan Flande injury updates

More talk about Nolan and the MVP

The future is bright for Jhoulys Chacin

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