Colorado Rockies: Three roster changes they need to make

The Colorado Rockies are playing in a highly competitive division and still have a chance at contention. With that being said the Rockies should really look over making some roster moves in order to help them to the road to contention. 

Send down a catcher

The Colorado Rockies currently have three catchers on their active 25-man roster, which seems a bit unnecessary due to the fact that neither catcher on the bench is getting adequate playing time. With all of the hot prospects playing down in Triple-A Albuquerque, they deserve to have playing time as well. As we get closer and closer to the postseason, a decision has to be made on who will be the true starting catcher for the team. Of course, you have to have a backup catcher so the real question would be who should be sent down?

Tony Wolters has been on the big league roster since April but he hasn’t really made a splash that shows he’s ready to take over the reigns of being an everyday starter. He currently has played in 49 games this season with over 125 at-bats. His stats batting-wise aren’t that pretty, though. He has a slashline of .159/.282/.262. Obviously, that’s not what you’d like to see from someone who’s looking to become an everyday player. 

On the other hand, you have Tom Murphy. His call to the show was a bit late in some people’s opinions, but nevertheless, he got called up. Murphy went on a hot streak when he was called up and was on a nice roll, but has since cooled off. In the series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Murphy struck out 7 times and had no hits the entire series. His current stats are nicer to look at than Tony Wolters, but they’re not too grand. Murphy has played in 31 games with 88 at-bats this leads him to a slashline of .227/.253/.398. This is a much better compared to Wolters numbers, thus leading me to think perhaps giving Tom Murphy the back-up job and sending Tony Wolters down. 

Note: The Rockies sent Murphy to Triple-A before Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field.

Make Adam Ottavino the closer

Wade Davis hasn’t had the best season as the Colorado Rockies’ closer but Adam Ottavino is having a career year with the Rox. Many continue to wonder during bad stretches that Davis has why isn’t Otto the closer? I go over this more in-depth in an article you can find here. Davis’ stats aren’t what you want to see for a reliever being paid $52 million. He has a 1-4 record and a high ERA of 4.98 with 32 saves (which does lead the NL) in 46 innings.

Looking at Otto’s stats for comparison is one of the reasons that the Rox should make him their closer. He’s got a 4-2 record, an ERA of 1.66 in 54.1 innings, and let’s not forget about those 81 strikeouts he’s racked up so far this season. 

Now, of course, if this were to happen who would take Otto’s place as the 8th inning man that holds the opposing offense from scoring. The perfect man for the job is Scott Oberg. His stats, like Otto’s, are very good. Oberg has a perfect record of 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA and only a 1.21 WHIP.

With all these changes, that leaves another question about who would follow before Oberg and Otto. The answer to that would be literally anyone that’s in the bullpen would work. There’s so many guys that Bud Black could utilize if Ottavino became the closer to still make the innings work in their favor.