Colorado Rockies trade rumors: relief pitcher targets

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MIAMI, FL – JULY 11: Brad Hand of the San Diego Padres and the National League delivers the pitch during the 88th MLB All-Star Game at Marlins Park on July 11, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Brad Hand was the only All-Star for the San Diego Padres this season and he was able to do it in Miami, the place where he previously played.

This season, he has a 2.30 ERA in 42 games and 47 innings pitched. His WHIP is 1.00 and his strikeout to walk ratio is nearly five to one (11.5 to 2.5).

In 2016, he was 4-4 with a 2.92 ERA and he led the National League in appearances with 82 and had 89 1/3 innings pitched in his first year as a full-time relief pitcher.

His career ERA and opponent’s batting is a bit high in his career at Coors Field (.258 and 5.87) but in the past two seasons in (the best two seasons of his career), he’s pitched in four games at Coors and in 3 1/3 innings pitched, he’s allowed one run and only one hit for an opponent’s batting average of .083 and an ERA of 2.70.

He is only owed about $600,000 for the rest of 2017 and he’s arbitration eligible for the following two seasons and he will become a free agent after the 2019 season.

OAKLAND, AZ – JUNE 03: Relief pitcher Ryan Madson #44 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the Washington Nationals during the MLB game at Oakland Coliseum on June 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Ryan Madson of the Oakland A’s is yet another reliever that we have discussed before as a potential reliever for the Rockies to acquire.

He’s appeared in 38 games in 2017 with a 2.17 ERA. His WHIP is 0.804 and his strikeout to walk ratio is nearly six to one (8.4 to 1.4) per nine innings.

He has not had a season since 2007 that he has had an ERA above 3.62 (granted, he did not pitch from 2012-14).

He has pitched very well at Coors Field before in his career as he has a 3-0 record with a 1.47 ERA in 10 appearances. In that span, he’s pitched 18 1/3 innings and he has two saves, an opponent’s batting average of .246, and an on-base percentage of .288.

He’s also had an extensive postseason career and in 42 games pitched, he’s allowed 45 hits but only 14 runs so his ERA is only 2.91.

We are coming to the end of the list and for the final player, we stay in Oakland.

ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 25: Sean Doolittle of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 25, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Sean Doolittle, also of the Oakland Athletics, is another potential target for the Rockies.

In 2017, he has a 3.54 ERA in 22 games and he has an impeccable WHIP of 0.689. This is slow low because he’s only walked two in 20 1/3 innings pitched. Also, his strikeout to walk ratio is 14.5 to 0.9 (29:2).

In his career, he’s never had an ERA higher than the 3.95 he had in 2015 so he has been a very effective pitcher throughout his career spanning back to his rookie season of 2012.

He has very little experience at Coors Field as he has only pitched in one game and in one inning. he allowed one hit and did not allow a runner.

In postseason play, he has an ERA of 4.00 in eight games as in nine innings in the postseason, he’s allowed 10 hits and four earned runs.

He’s owed around $1.25 million for the remainder of 2017. For 2018, he’s owed $4.38 million and for 2019 and 2020, his contract has two team options for $6 million and $6.5 million.

Next: The Debate for and against Nolan Arenado

Final Thoughts

It usually doesn’t cost as much for a team to acquire a reliever so I suspect that the Rockies might get two before the deadline.

If I were to guess who the two would be, I would suspect Madson and Ramos. However, with Ramos, he may not be the only piece of a deal (some other potential pieces from the Marlins are mentioned in this article).