Colorado Rockies trade targets: Bullpen targets from NL Central, NL West

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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 17: Chris Rusin #52 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during a regular season MLB game between the Colorado Rockies and the visiting San Diego Padres at Coors Field on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Getty Images) /

Night after night, the Colorado Rockies look worse and worse and after Sunday’s loss, they dipped under .500. One of the main reasons of their struggles lately, and quite frankly, all season is the bullpen’s woes.

The Colorado Rockies bullpen, especially of late, cannot seem to keep their head above water.

There was the whole debacle with Bryan Shaw on Saturday which really put on display his entire season in a Rockies uniform in a nutshell. Mike Dunn, Adam Ottavino (who has been, realistically, their only consistent reliever), and Scott Oberg are on the disabled list. Harrison Musgrave is on the bereavement list. Chris Rusin allows runs a lot (11 out of his last 13 appearances). Even bullpen arm, who was in Albuquerque, Jairo Diaz was designated for assignment.

Entering Monday, the Rockies bullpen, as a result, does not look good. It is comprised of Wade Davis, Jake McGee, Bryan Shaw, Chris Rusin, Jerry Vasto, Jeff Hoffman, Sam Howard, and Brooks Pounders. That is far from a first place worthy bullpen, let alone a pennant winning bullpen.

Also, this is part of the reason why the Rockies have plummeted from first place on Wednesday to fourth place less than a week later. In addition, the previous Wednesday, May 30, the Rockies even had a 1.5 game lead on the Diamondbacks, who just swept the Rockies this past weekend.

With the shortcomings of the bullpen, we conclude our series of bullpen targets that the Rockies should look at (originally, we said that they may look at them but you may need a new pair of eyes if you can’t see that they need help in the bullpen). For our final edition, we will look at some targets from the NL Central and NL West.

Let’s get started.

CINCINNATI, OH – MAY 09: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Cincinnati Reds throws a pitch against the New York Mets at Great American Ball Park on May 9, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Raisel Iglesias is the closer for the Cincinnati Reds and he, of all the relievers we discuss today, perhaps, could help the Rockies out the most.

He is in his third full season in the majors and in his two previous seasons, he had an ERA of 2.51 (173 ERA+) with 3.1 walks and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a WHIP of 1.121 and a FIP of 3.04.

In 2018, Iglesias has an ERA of 2.33, a FIP of 3.80, a WHIP of 1.037 with nine saves while walking 3.3 and striking out 11 per nine innings.

It should be noted that Iglesias plays half of his games in Great American Ballpark, which is known, like Coors Field, for being a band box.

He isn’t eligible for free agency until the 2022 season so he would provide the Rockies will a long term bullpen option. Plus, Iglesias is only making about $5.7 million for the next two seasons so he his affordable on the money end. However, he will take a lot to acquire.

Iglesias’ teammate, Amir Garrett, struggled in his freshman campaign of 2017 as a starter but in 2018, he has been a reliever and he has excelled.

In 2018, in 28 games, he has an ERA of 2.27 and a FIP of 3.42. He is walking less than three batters per nine innings and striking out north of 10 per nine innings. Before last night, his last appearance was against the Rockies and he gave up two runs in two innings. Prior to that, his ERA was an excellent 1.93

Garrett isn’t even arbitration eligible until the 2021 and won’t be a free agent until the 2024 season so he would be an even longer term option. As a result, the Reds would probably be less inclined to trade him.

CINCINNATI, OH – MAY 24: Jared Hughes #48 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on May 24, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds won 5-4. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

If you’ve been a long time reader of ours here at Rox Pile, you may remember us making the case for the Rockies getting Jared Hughes as far back as December (in this article). We have discussed him in other articles too.

In the past four seasons, he has an ERA of 2.55 (157 ERA+). In 2018, he has an ERA of 1.03 with a WHIP of 0.960.

He is also making a modest amount of money as he is only making $2.125 million this year and next. For 2020, there is a team option for $3 million for him.

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For Brad Hand, since he is with the San Diego Padres (meaning he is in the same division as the Rockies), there is a smaller chance of a trade happening because they don’t want to be burned by him 19 games a year for many seasons to come.

He is, quietly, one of the best relievers in all of baseball. The past two seasons, he has an ERA of 2.56 (160 ERA+) and a 3.05 FIP.

He was an All-Star last season and this year, he is doing even better. He has an ERA of 1.89 with 19 saves (he had 21 in all of 2017). He is also striking out nearly 14 batters per nine innings.

He is making a little over $4 million this year, a little over $7 million next year, and a little over $7.5 million in 2020. There’s also a team option for $10 million for 2021. For a reliever of his quality, though, that’s pretty good.

With being in the division and Hand being very good to begin with, the Rockies would probably not want to meet the Padres asking price, that would be very high.

Final Thoughts

Throughout our series, you have seen some options that the Rockies should look at to help out their bullpen. They could eventually figure it out but something will have to change before the trade deadline passes.

At least for the Rockies, they have plenty of time to try to gain a lead. However, the Rockies and their bullpen did not run away and hide with the division while they could and as the old adage goes, “you can’t win a pennant in April, but you can lose it.”

Next: Rockies trade targets: Bullpen targets from AL West, NL East

Obviously, for the Rockies case, it isn’t April but it could potentially reign true and if something does not give with the bullpen, believe me, it will reign true…because the Colorado Rockies will miss the postseason.

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Night after night, the Colorado Rockies look worse and worse and after Sunday’s loss, they dipped under .500. One of the main reasons of their struggles lately, and quite frankly, all season is the bullpen’s woes.

More from Rox Pile

Final Thoughts

Schedule