Colorado Rockies: A look at the roster crunch in the near future

Of pitchers on the MLB roster, there are a few guys who have struggled but I highly doubt that they will be DFA’d. These include Seunghwan Oh (9.33 ERA, 6.64 FIP), Mike Dunn (5.19 ERA, 4.82 FIP), and Chris Rusin (108.00 ERA, 51.15 FIP).

For Rusin, considering that he has only made one appearance, he just came off the injured list, and they waited for him to come off the injured list for two months, there is less of a chance of him being DFA’d than the other two (and their chances are also very low). Dunn is being paid $7 million this year so the Rockies won’t want to just eat that money and for Oh, we will discuss him in a little bit.

If you look at some position players that could be DFA’d, there are a lot more possibilities for that.

Pat Valaika has played poorly for the Rockies at the Major League level in the past three years but he has 16 home runs and a .354/.382/.722 slash line in Albuquerque. He has shown that he is essentially a Quadruple-A player (better than a Triple-A player but not a Major Leaguer) so he could be a possibility.

Outfielders Noel Cuevas, Yonathan Daza, and Sam Hilliard could be some potential options as they are on the 40-man roster but in Albuquerque but considering that each of them have an OPS of .905 or better, none of them are likely to be DFA’d.

On the MLB roster, the player most likely to be DFA’d is Mark Reynolds. He’s hitting .177/.302/.354 and an OPS+ of 62, and he could be on the chopping block. He has struggled mighitly as a pinch hitter and, to be honest, he likely shouldn’t have made the Rockies’ Opening Day roster as he was not one of the best infielders in spring training.

Overall, I would think that Reynolds or James Pazos (because his tenure in the Rockies organization plus his 12.27 ERA in 12 games in Albuquerque) is most likely. If Pazos is the one DFA’d, the Rockies would still have to option somebody off the Major League roster.

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Davis and Blackmon

For Davis and Blackmon, since they are on the 10-day injured list, they are still on the 40-man roster so the Rockies will just need to send players back to Albuquerque.

With Davis (or Lambert if Pazos is DFA’d), I would suspect that Seunghwan Oh will be optioned. He still has 3 options left on his contract and, as mentioned earlier, with his ERA/FIP, it may be time for him to see some time in Albuquerque to regain his footing.

Jairo Diaz, Chad Bettis, and Carlos Estevez are the only other relievers who have options and they have pitched way better than Oh (in the minors and/or majors). However, one of them will likely be optioned due to Davis and Lambert both being pitchers.

With Blackmon, assuming that there are no other injuries, I would suspect Garrett Hampson will be sent back to Albuquerque. Ryan McMahon or Brendan Rodgers could possibly sent back instead but Hampson has struggled the most of the trio. The Rockies could look to send one of McMahon or Rodgers back so that they get everyday playing time but just based on results, Hampson is the logical choice.

Final Results

Barring any other injuries, I would suspect this is how the moves will shake down.

1. Peter Lambert added to 40-man roster, called up from Albuquerque. In corresponding moves, reliever James Pazos is designated for assignment. From the Major League roster, Seunghwan Oh would be sent to Triple-A Albuquerque.
2. Charlie Blackmon activated from the IL. In a corresponding move, infielder Garrett Hampson is sent back to Albuquerque.
3. Wade Davis is activated from the IL. In a corresponding move, reliever Jairo Diaz or reliever Carlos Estevez would be optioned to Albuquerque.