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Colorado Rockies: The franchise’s 10 worst free agent signings

By David Sharp

01 Mar 2001: Pitcher Denny Neagle #15 of the Colorado Rockies warms up from the mound at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT
01 Mar 2001: Pitcher Denny Neagle #15 of the Colorado Rockies warms up from the mound at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT /
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2 Jul 1995: Pitcher Bill Swift of the Colorado Rockies throws a pitch during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The Rockies won the game 10-1. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport
2 Jul 1995: Pitcher Bill Swift of the Colorado Rockies throws a pitch during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The Rockies won the game 10-1. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport /

Bill Swift

The best thing that Bill Swift did for the Rockies was help convey a sense of organizational legitimacy with his signing. Announced on the same day as the signing of Larry Walker (perhaps you’ve heard of him?), the fact that these two respected pros were choosing to come to Colorado helped the fledgling franchise establish itself as a legit major league organization.

While the club did make its first playoff appearance in ’95, Swift was hurt through much of the season. He then spent most of the next two years on the DL and was a shell of himself when he was out there.

Overall, Swift accumulated 1.5 WAR total in his time on the mound for Colorado. Those gains were hardly worth the $13M the Rockies paid Swift, though perhaps they helped establish themselves as a viable landing spot for big-name starters … for better or worse.

Howard Johnson

Signing former Mets outfielder Howard Johnson was one of the early offseason misses in team history. Only two seasons removed from a 38-homer All-Star campaign in 1991, HoJo signed for $1.7M but managed to hit only .211/.323/.405 across 269 plate appearances. This was worth a meager -0.7 WAR, but hey, at least it was just a one-year deal.

Daniel Murphy

It may not be totally fair to put a guy on this list after only one year, but right now the Daniel Murphy deal sure looks like a mistake. Last year Murphy made $10M last year for an 87 OPS+, -0.5 dWAR season that started with a month-long trip to the DL.

Next. A simulated Wade Davis trade to the New York Mets. dark

It’s possible that with a healthy offseason that the 35-year-old Murphy could have a better 2020. Perhaps he and Ian Desmond combine to form an effective platoon at first. Sure. It could happen.

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