Colorado Rockies: 3 Reasons for Optimism with the Offseason

The Colorado Rockies offseason thus far has been a little confusing for most of us as fans.

The national media has continued to give the front office a hard time not agreeing with the vision that Jeff Bridich has for the Rockies in 2017. There are a lot of question marks, and there is still a possibility for more moves. Regardless, here are three reasons to be optimistic for the 2017 season with what has taken place over the past couple months.

The bullpen will be better

There have not been any big moves in free agency or through trades to greatly improve the bullpen, the weakest part of the team in 2016. While lefty reliever Mike Dunn will be joining the team, this seems to be more of a lateral move to replace Boone Logan.

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However, I believe the bullpen will be a great deal better in 2017 for a couple of reasons. The first is a full season of Adam Ottavino who I think will anchor the bullpen as the closer and be very good at it. He had modest success in 2016 pitching 27 innings while earning 7 saves and an ERA of 2.67. I think he will be even better this year because he will have less concerns with lingering problems from Tommy John surgery. His K/9 of 11.7 and WHIP under 1.00 in 2016 also suggest good things will be coming. Beyond Ottavino, the bullpen will count on Jason Motte or Jake McGee to rebound and find some of their effectiveness that both have enjoyed throughout their respective careers. At least one of these two will likely rebound, and I think it will be McGee who battled injury for most of 2016.

There will also probably be some new faces coming out of the pen for the Rockies. I think that Miguel Castro or Jairo Diaz will be effective in high-leverage situations for the Rockies. Castro came over in the Tulowitzki deal and impressed early last year before suffering a shoulder injury early in the year and not being able to find his effectiveness again. Diaz had Tommy John surgery last spring and will likely be ready early in the year if not for spring training. He has a huge arm and has impressed the Rockies since being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels. He had an ERA of 2.37 for the Rockies in 2015 pitching in 21 games.

With guys like Chris Rusin, Jordan Lyles, Eddie Butler and other “failed” starters in the mix for bullpen opportunities, there will be more options than is typical for a Rockies bullpen in 2017, which is never a bad thing.

Keeping the Farm Intact

The Rockies could have and still may make a trade for a front line starting pitcher or a bullpen piece with their stacked farm system, but they haven’t yet. Maybe that is a good thing. The farm system continues to get love as Keith Law placed the system in the top ten in baseball.

The Rockies have multiple highly touted prospects on the cusp of the major leagues. Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez and even Kyle Freeland can compete for the fifth spot in the rotation as well as providing depth in case of injury or ineffectiveness. There is also a bevy of young arms that could help from the bullpen late in the season in a push for contention.

Raimel Tapia could likely start the season in the majors but will likely get more seasoning in AAA. Ryan McMahon will hopefully bounce back and could be a late season call up. Both will allow the Rockies to make some moves whether they are filling in for a guy who was traded or being a part of a move themselves.

Another positive of having all of these guys is the ability to make a more informed trade later in the season. This is a strategy, as pointed out by Thomas Harding in a recent article, which helped propel the Indians and Royals to recent playoff success. I think this is a good way for the Rockies to go with all the possibilities they have. Maybe they won’t have the need for a fifth starter with one of the young guys stepping up in a big way in 2017, then they can trade some prospects for a bullpen guy, or vice versa.

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If they cannot sign Carlos Gonzalez to a contract extension, then deal him and let Desmond or Tapia slide into the outfield.

The Rockies will definitely have the pieces to make significant upgrades at the trade deadline if they need to, but there is no reason to give up multiple guys for one right now. Either the young guys can fill the need or they can be traded to fill the need when it is more clear what Colorado’s need is later in the season.