Colorado Rockies news: Who will close now that Wade Davis and Scott Oberg are on the IL?

The Colorado Rockies announced that closer Wade Davis was placed on the 10-day IL and reliever Scott Oberg was transferred to the 45-day IL.

The Colorado Rockies closing situation is in even more question on Sunday morning as the team announced that closer Wade Davis was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain and Scott Oberg was transferred to the 45-day injured list with blood clots in his right arm.

In a corresponding move with Davis, the Rockies have called up right-handed pitcher Joe Harvey from their alternate training site.

Davis had struggled to begin the season as the Rockies closer, as he did for much of 2019. As we discussed in this article on Saturday, Davis is 1-7 with an ERA of 9.13 since the start of 2019. He has also allowed 10.7 hits per nine innings, almost two home runs allowed per nine innings, more than six walks per nine innings, a WHIP of 1.897, and a FIP of 6.14.

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Oberg, on the other hand, was originally on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain but during a throwing session on Saturday, he began experiencing discomfort in his throwing arm that cut his session short.

As we discussed in this article last night, Bud Black told the media after the game that Oberg was having a hard time gripping the ball and that Oberg would be observed to see what was happening and this morning, Black and the Rockies confirmed that it was blood clots in his right arm.

Oberg missed the final six weeks of the 2019 season due to blood clots in his arm and he has missed time previously due to blood clots as well.

As for his return in 2020, Bud Black told the media, including Rox Pile, that “it’s going to be a while, if at all this season,” indicating that Oberg’s 2020 season is in serious jeopardy.

As for who is going to close games for the Rockies for the interim, Bud Black indicated that he with a closer-by-committee system. Who will close out the ninth will be determined by matchups and his feeling on the situation. He said that it would likely be a committee of Daniel Bard, Jairo Diaz, and Carlos Estevez. All three of the trio have closing experience in the major leagues.

Stay tuned as more develops on the situation as Rox Pile will be live at Coors Field with coverage of pre-game and Sunday’s game.

The Colorado Rockies announced that closer Wade Davis was placed on the 10-day IL and reliever Scott Oberg was transferred to the 45-day IL.

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