Colorado Rockies trade rumors: relief pitcher edition

Right-handed pitcher Addison Reed of the New York Mets is a reliever that we’ve discussed before as we discussed him last week in this article.

In 2017, he’s pitched very well as his ERA is 2.53 of 41 games and he has 15 saves. His strikeout to walk rate is very good as it is nearly nine to one and his ERA+ is 167 (100 is league average) and his WHIP is 1.08 (a 1.1 or under, for relievers, is excellent). His opponent’s average is .247 on the season.

His 2016 was very good as well as, in 80 games, he had an ERA of 1.97. His strikeout rate was seven to one and his ERA+ was 206 and his WHIP was 0.94. His opponent’s batting average was .210, their on-base percentage was .246, and their slugging percentage was .294.

In his career at Coors Field, he’s pitched in six games and he has two saves but his ERA is a tad high at 4.76 but it’s not atrocious. Also, his opponent’s batting average and on-base percentage is very good as they are .227 and .261, respectively.

The Mets are eight games under .500 and are in fourth place in the National League, twelve games behind of the Washington Nationals.

In postseason play, he has struggled in it as he has allowed six runs (five earned) and seven hits in eight innings pitched between 2015 and 2016 for an ERA of 5.63.

Reed is owed around $3.5 million for the rest of 2017 and he’s a free agent at season’s end.

Left-handed pitcher Jerry Blevins, also of the Mets, could be another potential target of the Rockies and has been mentioned as a potential target before.

In 2017, Blevins is 4-0 with a 3.54 ERA and he leads the National League in appearances with 44 but he’s only logged 28 innings of work (because he’s primarily a LOOGY, a Lefty One Out Guy). His strikeout rate is very good as its 12.5 per nine innings but his walk rate is a bit too high as he walks 4.5 per nine innings and his opponent’s batting average of .224.

In 2016, he pitched in 73 games and he had an ERA of 2.79. His strikeout and walk rates were a bit lower as they were 11.1 and 3.2 per nine innings. His opponent’s average was .229.

He’s also pitched very well in Coors Field as his opponent’s average is only .190 and their on-base percentage is only .227 in five games and six innings. In fact, he’s only allowed four hits and hasn’t allowed a run in Coors.

He has pitched masterfully in postseason play as he has appeared in six games (combined between 2012 and 2014) and in seven innings, he’s only allowed one hit and zero runs.

He is owed about $3 million for the rest of the season and he’s a free agent at the end of the season if the team option on his contract, of $7 million, isn’t exercised.

On to the next reliever and he’s one of the best in baseball.

Zach Britton of the Baltimore Orioles is one of the best relievers in all of baseball…if he’s healthy.

He’s only pitched in 11 games and only has five saves but he has a good ERA of 2.25. He’s spent the vast majority of the season in the disabled list as he only made two appearances (on May 2 and May 4) between April 14th and July 5th.

However, when healthy, he is one of the top five best relievers in baseball. He hasn’t blown a save since September 20, 2015. He’s had 54 straight saves since then. Since becoming a full-time reliever in 2014, his ERA of 1.43. His WHIP is 0.955 and ERA+ of 295.

Particularly in 2016, in 69 appearances, he led the American League with 47 saves, and only allowed four earned runs all season, good enough for an ERA of 0.54, or an ERA+ of 795 (100 is league average). He was an All-Star, 4th in the American League Cy Young Award voting, and 11th in the AL MVP voting. His opponent’s batting average was .162, on-base percentage of .221, and their slugging percentage was .209.

In six games of postseason action in 2014, he pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing five hits and two runs for an ERA of 3.86.

He is owed about $5.5 million for the rest of the season and he’s still arbitration eligible for next season. After that, he will become a free agent.