Colorado Rockies: Three trade targets for the Rockies bullpen

2 of 5

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 16: Relief pitcher Carlos Estevez #54 of the Colorado Rockies walks off the field with the medical staff after getting hit in the hand on a ground ball that ended the game in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Coors Field on August 16, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Rangers 10-6. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies bullpen has been a weakness of the team for a while, despite trying to build a “super bullpen” via free agency.

The bullpen has a bit of question mark for the Colorado Rockies for much of the last few years, since they tried to build a bullpen for the long term via free agency. They signed Mike Dunn, Jake McGee (he was resigned), Bryan Shaw, and Wade Davis and none of them worked out.

The only signing that did work out was the one-year deal for Greg Holland.

This season, their best reliever Scott Oberg has spent the entire season on the injured list due to blood clots in his throwing arm (as he did for the last six weeks of the 2019 season). Davis is also on the injured list, Carlos Estevez has been day-to-day since having a liner go off of his hand, and Joe Harvey just joined the injured list as well. Most of the rest of the bullpen has not been up to par.

As a result of the bullpen (and some other things), the Rockies have returned to .500 after starting the season going 11-3.

If they plan on getting into the playoffs and getting deep into the playoffs, in particular, they will likely need some bullpen help via the trade market.

Here are three possible bullpen trade targets for the Rockies to look at in the next week or so before the trade deadline.

Trevor Rosenthal

Last year, Trevor Rosenthal’s name definitely wouldn’t have been on this list as he was pitching so poorly. Between the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers, he had an ERA of 13.50 in 22 games. He had 26 walks and allowed 23 earned runs in just 15 1/3 innings.

But he has completely turned it around for the Kansas City Royals in 2020. He has been their closer in 2020 and in 11 appearances, he has an ERA of 0.87. That’s just one earned run in 10 1/3 innings with six saves. He’s got a WHIP of 0.871 and he has walked 3.5 batters per nine innings while striking out more than 12 in the same span.

The Royals signed him to a minor-league deal before Spring Training and since the contract only goes for the remainder of the season, the Rockies should be able to get him for a lower-level prospect that would likely be a player to be named later (since only players on a team’s 60-man pool are technically allowed to be traded as of now).

The Rockies could even look to acquire more than one reliever from the Royals since they are not going to be in contention. In fact, they could look to acquire someone that they know well.

Greg Holland

Greg Holland was an All-Star for the Rockies in 2017 when the Rockies, in reality, last had an above-average bullpen. He led the NL in games finished and in saves for the Rockies, who made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

He was, arguably, the best reliever in baseball if not for the month of August that skewed his season stats big time.

In 2020, Holland is with the Royals for his second tenure for the team and he has pitched fairly well. He has an ERA of 3.65 in 12 1/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.378, 4.4 walks per nine innings, and 8.0 strikeouts.

The Rockies do have a history of acquiring Royals relievers (e.g. Holland for the first time and Wade Davis) and that’s partially due to their familiarity with Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster, who was the bullpen coach (and, later, a special assistant) with the Royals before he joined the Rockies.

Would Holland be the pitcher that the Rockies had in 2017? Probably not. But he (and Rosenthal) would provide the Rockies with some more bullpen depth for cheap (both salary- and trade-wise).

Tony Watson

The Rockies really need a left-handed reliever in the bullpen that they can rely on as on their 28-man roster, they do not have one that they can trust.

James Pazos has struggled and the Rockies have had him back and forth between their alternate training site in the last week with some of their bullpen changes and Phillip Diehl, even after his scoreless 1 2/3 innings of work on Friday, still has an ERA of 8.31.

What they need is a guy like Tony Watson.

In 2020, Watson, 35, has pitched to an ERA of 1.04 in 8 2/3 innings and to a WHIP of 0.692. He has only allowed five hits, one walk, and struck out eight in that span.

The problem with Watson is that he pitches for the Giants so they may be unwilling to trade with the Rockies since the two teams are in the same division (and the Rockies may not want to either and have a prospect burn them for years to come in a small trade).

He is a free agent after the season so the Rockies would likely not have Watson on the team for long. Even if they did resign him, he’s already 35 so he would not command a long-term contract.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – AUGUST 13: Keone Kela #35 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 13, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

An honorable mention

One person that would have likely made our list had it not been for injury is Pirates reliever Keone Kela.

The Pirates are the worst team in baseball in 2020 and Kela is a free agent at the end of the season, making him a prime trade candidate. However, he was pulled from his outing on Friday after just five pitches. The team later said that he was removed due to “forearm tightness.” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said that he was “erring way on the side of safety” by taking Kela out of the game.

However, “forearm tightness” often leads to Tommy John surgery. Just look at Peter Lambert for the Rockies. It was “forearm tightness” that he was recovering from and the Rockies thought that he might be ready by the time games returned (since it was around the time of the shutdown).

Since then, Lambert had Tommy John surgery. Perhaps the Pirates were “erring way on the side of safety” with it and it will be no problem but it very well might be a problem.

Final Thoughts

The Rockies have now found themselves in a difficult spot: should they buy, sell, or not do anything. If you would have asked a week and a half ago, the Rockies looked like obvious buyers but now, they are a .500 team. Should they go all-in for a best-of-three Wild Card series?

What needs to be addressed the most? Who will heat up? Will they win nine in a row heading into deadline day or will they fade into oblivion?

That’s what makes this current series with the Dodgers and their next series with the Diamondbacks even more important.

Next. Three ways Tony Wolters can improve to provide the Rockies with value. dark

If they start playing better, the Rockies may look to bring in some reinforcements (bullpen or otherwise) but if they don’t pick up quickly, the Rockies may look to stand pat or, perhaps, even sell.

Home / Colorado Rockies News