Colorado Rockies: The 2021 season just added more roster uncertainty

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DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 02: Pitcher Scott Oberg #45 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on August 02, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

For the Colorado Rockies, there are now even more questions about what the roster might look like when the 2021 season opens.

Two big bombshells of Colorado Rockies news dropped on Wednesday afternoon, and both certainly add intrigue about the conditions of two key pieces of the roster as thoughts begin to turn toward next season.

First, reliever Scott Oberg, who missed the entire 2020 season with a lower back strain and blood clots in his right arm, underwent arterial thoracic outlet syndrome on Wednesday in hopes that he would be ready for spring training in 2021. It is hoped that the surgery will be able to help control the clots that Oberg has battled in three of his seasons (along with 2016 and 2019) with the Rockies.

“The hope is, and we have faith, that he will be ready to go by spring training, if not the first day I think soon thereafter, at 100 percent level again,” manager Bud Black told Rox Pile and other media members on Wednesday afternoon. “Time will tell as we go through October and we go through November, and the healing process and the rehab process, but the indications are that he should be ready to go by spring training.”

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It’s a dicey proposition for the 30-year-old Oberg and it’s a chance the Rockies will take, seeing what a disaster the 2020 bullpen has been overall. Colorado needs not only a healthy Oberg to return to the mound, but also a productive Oberg as well. His success in the past for the Rockies is one of the reasons why the team signed him to a three-year, $13 million deal during winter meetings.

Oberg hasn’t pitched for the Rockies since August 16, 2019, and the Colorado bullpen has desperately needed his steadiness ever since. Daniel Bard has filled in for Oberg as the closer for the majority of this season, and it would be a shock if the Rockies didn’t work to resign Bard for the 2021 campaign. An effective Bard and a healthy Oberg would strengthen the Colorado bullpen significantly … but neither are guarantees for the 2021 season.

Can Oberg recover in the offseason and be ready for spring training? That will honestly be one of the biggest questions hovering over the status of the bullpen heading into next season and could well impact how Colorado decides to address offseason needs.

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 09: David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies waits for a pitch during an at-bat in a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August, 9, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 5-3. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

It was also announced on Wednesday that David Dahl’s season was over after heading to the injured list with what was called a right shoulder strain.

In a meeting with reporters after the announcement, Dahl said that the shoulder has been bothering him since January. It’s very likely it (along with lower back soreness which landed him on the injured list on August 18 and “core soreness” that slowed him down during the second installment of spring training at Coors Field this summer) greatly contributed to a season where he slashed just .183/.222/.247 in 93 at-bats.

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Ultimately, the shoulder ended what was a very disappointing campaign for the 2019 All-Star and added to a list of injuries that have kept him off the field.

“I thought maybe my shoulder was just weak and I needed to strengthen it and I needed to throw more so that’s what I did,” Dahl said on Wednesday. “I didn’t say anything. I figured I had been on the DL a lot and I needed to figure this out on my own and push through this. “I just kept trying to play through it because we were in a playoff push. I was really, really trying but at the end of the day I was really hurting and I felt like I was hurting the team more than helping when I was out there.”

We wondered aloud when Kevin Pillar was acquired at the trade deadline if Dahl was healthy and would even be back this season. Dahl did come back but wasn’t able to make an impact.

“I have to sit down in the offseason and figure out what I need to do as far as figuring my body out and doing whatever I can to stay on the field,” Dahl said.

Now, with the 31-year-old Pillar on the team and his contract running out at the end of the season, you have to wonder if the Rockies will take Dahl’s health and playing situation into consideration when thinking about re-signing Pillar. The Rockies will have Charlie Blackmon back and Raimel Tapia grabbed hold of playing time in Dahl’s absence. Since coming over from Boston, Pillar has been cemented into the lineup in center field.

There’s no sign that Dahl won’t be ready for the 2021 season. However, there’s also that lingering thought of what the Rockies will do to insure they’re prepared in the event that he isn’t or another injury occurs.

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Can Dahl get healthy and once again establish himself as an offensive threat? The answer to that question will likely determine Pillar’s value to the franchise in 2021, or whether the Rockies decide they need to look for other outfield help externally this offseason.

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