Colorado Rockies: 3 players under plenty of pressure in 2020

As we prepare to turn the calendar from 2019 to 2020, there are three members of the Colorado Rockies who are especially ready to put last season behind them.

After two straight years of reaching the postseason, the 2019 Colorado Rockies simply couldn’t put together the pieces in the same way that the previous two teams did. You can talk about juiced baseballs or injuries or regression or whatever you like … but you also at some point have to point out that some players didn’t live up to their billing last year.

But that was last year, right? It’s time to turn the page and start looking ahead to 2020. It’s time to think about how the Rockies will be different. There have been some minor changes in personnel. However, it’s clear that Colorado management believes this team as it is currently constructed has the talent to bring Rocktober back to Denver.

If that’s the belief, then there will be pressure to perform above and beyond last season’s numbers for three members of the team. Here are the three members of the Rockies we believe to be under the most pressure heading into 2020 spring training and beyond.

Wade Davis

The end of the decade was nowhere near as glamorous for Wade Davis as the earlier years in the 2010s were.

When MLB.com named Davis as a part of the most important trade of the decade, it was because he played such a big role in the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series in 2015.

Flash forward to 2018 and Davis is leading the National League in saves as a member of the Rockies and setting a franchise record for successfully closing the door on games.

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Just one year later, however, Davis lost his mojo at Coors Field and lost his role as the team’s closer. With a big contract and an unknown role heading into 2020, there are plenty who are wondering what Davis will bring to the team this season … or if the Rockies will be able to unload his contract and slowing fastball onto another team.

If (and it is still an if) Davis is back with the Rockies in 2020, it isn’t just about if he will be the closer. It’s about if he can still be an effective part of the bullpen. At 34 years old, can Davis still be as effective for Colorado as he was during the Royals run or even in his inaugural season in Denver?

Should Davis be able to conquer his Coors Field demons, he can certainly play an important role for the Rockies in late innings. However, there are a lot of “ifs” surrounding Davis heading into spring training. The veteran has plenty to prove in 2020 and it’s arguably more than he’s ever had to prove in his career. That, my friends, is pressure.

Daniel Murphy

If Murphy hadn’t fractured his finger in the second game of the season, who knows what last year would have looked like for him or the offense? Maybe that’s a question a healthy Murphy can answer in 2020.

Colorado’s biggest free agent signing before the start of last season, Murphy ended the year with decent statistics but struggled for so long with the broken finger and trying to rush back from the injured list. He also became the latest in a failed attempt for the Rockies to find a suitable match at first base, both offensively and defensively.

When Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich said Murphy’s year was “just OK” during the end-of-the-year media briefing, it spoke volumes about the team’s disappointment in their star signing. Can the Murphy signing actually pay dividends this season? Unless the Rockies are ready to move Ryan McMahon to first base on a permanent basis (spoiler alert, they’re not), then Murphy has to come through this season with more success at the plate and with his glove.

Murphy’s play this season will determine whether he was a decent free agent decision or another swing and miss. That’s not only pressure for Murphy but Bridich as well.