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Colorado Rockies: Their bullpen is best in the National League

By Christian Espinoza |
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 19: Wade Davis. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 19: Wade Davis. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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As our very own Noah Yingling highlighted from Colorado Rockies General Manager Jeff Bridich’s radio interview with MLB Network Radio, the Rockies made it clear that they were looking to sign multiple relievers to help in the bullpen this offseason. Little did we know that he was going to go all-out. This aggressive approach by Jeff Bridich and his team may have just propelled the Rockies into having one of the best bullpens in the National League.

Rockies started their hunt during Winter Meetings by agreeing to deals with Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee within 24 hours of each other. Those moves alone put the Rockies in a significantly better position than they ended the season with in terms of bullpen arms, with McGee and Holland testing free agency. However, they needed a big time closer to top this all off…and the Rockies reportedly found that man in Wade Davis.

After spending the last month fielding Greg Holland rumors and reports, the Rockies surprised us all by a agreeing to a deal with Wade Davis. The contract, by the way, is the highest per-year-salary ever for a reliever at a 3-year, $52M deal, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.

As pointed out via tweet by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, factoring in the deals of Wade Davis, Bryan Shawn, Jake McGee this season and Mike Dunn and Adam Ottavino deals already on the books, the Rockies may have put together the most expensive bullpen in baseball history, upwards of $50M this coming season.

So, what does $50M a season get you? The best bullpen in the National League.

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 16: Wade Davis #71 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field on September 16, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 4-1. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 16: Wade Davis #71 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field on September 16, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 4-1. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /

I know our counterparts over at Dodgers Way might have something to say about this declaration.  However, as you can see below, the Rockies were already sporting a combined bullpen WAR of 6.4, which is good for the second spot in the National League.

Top 5 National League Bullpens by WAR in 2017

#TeamGIPWLSVK/9BB/9HR/9BABIPLOB%GB%HR/FBERAFIPxFIPWAR
1Dodgers536559.232195110.242.941.13.28178.2%41.1%13.0%3.383.553.647.6
2Rockies549550.22419478.973.481.05.30770.9%47.2%12.1%4.403.944.146.4
3Brewers550572.22736549.674.261.08.30176.4%47.4%14.1%3.834.144.104.8
4Diamondbacks513499.22718438.903.401.08.28873.4%48.6%13.0%3.783.954.044.5
5Cardinals546531.02229438.983.071.08.29775.1%40.7%11.4%3.813.934.234.4

[Statistics Courtesy of FanGraphs.com]

As a team that had the best bullpen in the National League last season, on top of their visit to the World Series, there seems to be a “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality with the Dodgers. That’s even factoring the vacancy left by Brandon Morrow.

Despite various rumors and reports, the Dodgers have been focusing on efforts in shedding money to avoid that $197MM luxury tax threshold in 2018. The only offseason relief signing so far as been adding starter-turned-reliever, Tom Koehler. As Cesar Becerra of Dodgers Way points out, this signing won’t fill the void left by Morrow, and anticipates that set-up role will go to either Yimi Garcia or Pedro Baez. Wade Davis will also provide the Rockies will a very good closer like the Dodgers have in Kenley Jansen.

As far as Rockies fans are concerned, the signing of Wade Davis is definitely big news. He was widely regarded as the best closer on the market this offseason. However, looking at how his 2017 campaign stacked up against Greg Holland‘s, each have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. However, it’s essentially a wash in terms of overall performance.

Wade Davis/Greg Holland Comparison 2017

PlayerGIPWLSVK/9BB/9HR/9BABIPLOB%GB%HR/FBERAFIPxFIPWAR
Wade Davis5958.2423212.124.300.92.26287.7%40.5%12.0%2.303.383.571.1
Greg Holland6157.1364110.994.081.10.25275.2%41.6%11.3%3.613.724.051.1

[Statistics Courtesy of FanGraphs.com]

New Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
New Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw. Photo courtesy of Getty Images. /

The biggest upgrade lies with the presumable new set-up man, Bryan Shaw. Shaw has quietly became the back-of-the-bullpen work horse that every team needs win ball games and to go deep in the playoffs.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Shaw is sporting a 3.13 ERA, 2.64 K/BB rate and 8.0 K/9 over 446.1 relief innings during his seven seasons between the Diamondbacks and Indians. It’s also worth noting that Shaw is just as reliable health-wise, as he is with his pitching. He has never spent any time on the disabled list and leads all pitchers in appearances since the start of the 2013 season.

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Final Thoughts

While some would argue that the amount of money of Davis’ reported contract doesn’t call for a step up from other back-end relievers on the market, this take often discounts that Davis has post-season pitching experience in the closer role, even up and into the World Series. This can be a vital trait for this caliber of a bullpen.

The Rockies will still add a first basemen at some point. However, it is highly unlikely that it’ll be another mega splash signing, like a Eric Hosmer or Logan Morrison, at this point. There is more a of a chance of this happening with a trade.

With that said, their game plan is clear and simple: live with the same offense in large part, protect their young starters by going to the bullpen early, and locking down one-run leads with elite back-end relievers.

Next: Should the Rockies acquire Christian Yelich from Miami?

With these moves, I think that it will surely be a blast watching the best bullpen in the National League.

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