Colorado Rockies: 5 interesting quotes we heard from GM Jeff Bridich

Quote Five

"“Bullpens are rarely exactly as good, bad or consistent as you think they’re going to be. It can be a very volatile piece of your team. I think Adam Ottavino is a perfect example of that over the past two seasons. One of the best relievers in the entire game this year and it was the exact opposite in 2017. That is the perfect example of microcosm of what’s been happening.”"

If there was anything that was more frustrating for Rockies fans last season than the offense being able to string together hits or score runs, it was that Bryan Shaw, Mike Dunn and Jake McGee were primarily duds … and well-paid duds at that.

The Rockies invested a lot in those three arms and they disappointed mightily last year. Shaw was by far the most disappointing of the bunch. He was so bad that he didn’t even make Colorado’s postseason roster after wearing even Bud Black’s confidence in him thin.

Relief pitching, however, is, to some extent, a crapshoot and a bit of a gamble. As Bridich mentioned, Ottavino was fantastic last year, thanks in part to an offseason regimen that changed his delivery. Can Shaw, Dunn and McGee rebound this season? Can Wade Davis lower his number of home runs allowed and be an even more solid closer? Can Chris Rusin return to his 2017 form? What impact will young pitchers like Harrison Musgrave, Yency Almonte and others have?

Bridich and the Rockies seem to be counting on the pieces needed to be there in the bullpen for 2019, including the return of Seunghwan Oh. It’s a gamble … but so was all of the money spent on the bullpen last offseason.