Colorado Rockies: A look at some of the relievers on the free agent market this offseason

One of the biggest needs for the Colorado Rockies this offseason will be to address their bullpen as their relievers were one of the worst in baseball in 2020.

The Colorado Rockies tried addressing their bullpen issues three offseasons ago when they signed Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Bryan Shaw to contracts to create a “super bullpen” and the trio ended up becoming one of the biggest disasters in Rockies free agent signing history as the trio created more of a problem in the Rockies bullpen.

In 2020, it was the first season that, with the exception of 4 1/3 innings from Davis, was without the trio … and the Rockies still had the second-worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball at 6.77. In the final seven weeks of the season, the Rockies had the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball by nearly three-quarters of a run at 7.81.

Needless to say, the Rockies need to address the bullpen. Quite frankly, first off, the Rockies need to be able to diagnose which pitchers would be most likely to succeed at Coors Field and (more importantly) the transition from altitude to non-altitude (road games) frequently.

However, by and large, the Rockies haven’t been able to figure that out for much of their franchise history and it’s an issue that we can delve into at a later date.

Nonetheless, the Rockies do need to address the bullpen. It could come from trades or via free agency. Today, we will check out some of the free-agent relievers on the market this offseason.

For this exercise, we won’t be looking at any players that have an option on their contract for the 2021 season, just outright free agents. Also, we won’t look at any pitchers that will definitely be out for the entire 2021 season (e.g. Padres closer Kirby Yates will be a free agent this offseason but he just had Tommy John surgery that means he won’t pitch until 2022).

Jose Alvarez

One of the things the Rockies desperately needed and lacked in the 2020 season was a left-handed reliever. They used James Pazos and Phillip Diehl in that role but by the half way point of the season, the Rockies had nine-man bullpen and neither Pazos or Diehl were on it, meaning it was a bullpen of nine right-handers.

Jose Alvarez, 32 next May, averaged 67 appearances a season from 2015 through 2019 for the Angels and the Phillies. He pitched to a 3.36 ERA in that span (123 ERA+) and a FIP of 3.56. He had a WHIP of 1.308 and he struck out more than 8 batters and walked less than three batters per nine innings.

He pitched well in 8 games for the Phillies in 2020 (1.42 ERA and 2.72 FIP) but his season was cut short due to what was later called a “testicular contusion” after a 105 MPH liner hit him in that area.

Pedro Baez

The Rockies have seen Pedro Baez in his time with the Dodgers and he has been one of their most reliable relievers.

Since 2016, the right-handed Baez, 33 in March, has not posted a season with an ERA+ below 132 and, obviously with the exception of the shortened 2020 season, he has appeared in 52 or more games in each season in that span as well.

Anthony Bass

Anthony Bass was the playoff-bound Blue Jays closer for most of 2020.

Along with his 2019 campaign with the Mariners, Bass, 33 in November, has been a very good reliever. Since 2019, he has had an ERA of 3.54 in 70 regular season games. He has had an ERA+ of 124, a WHIP of 0.991, a FIP of 3.80, and a 2.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Tyler Clippard

Tyler Clippard has been one of the most heavily used in baseball in the last decade as he has spent 14 seasons in the majors and averaged 70 appearances per season in the 2010s.

Clippard, 36 in February, is best known for his time as a Washington National but since 2015, he has pitched with nine other teams. In the last three years (all with different teams), he has a 3.22 ERA in 152 games with an ERA+ of 139. His WHIP has been below 1.00 (0.996 to be exact) and he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio that’s better than 4:1.

Alex Colome

Alex Colome was one of the best relievers in baseball and he was a big key to the success of the Chicago White Sox, who made the postseason for the first time in over a decade.

As the team’s closer, Colome, 32 in December, had an ERA of 0.81 in 21 appearances in 2020 with 12 saves. He had a WHIP of 0.940 and he did not allow a home run all season.

From 2016 to 2019, he averaged 64 appearances a season with an ERA of 2.78 and an average of 32 saves (he led the AL in saves in 2017 with 47). He had an ERA+ of 152, a FIP of 3.46, a WHIP of 1.122, a better than 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Ross Detwiler

Ross Detwiler struggled a bit in the past few seasons but he pitched well for the Chicago White Sox in 2020. The left-hander, who will be 35 in March, pitched to a 3.20 ERA in 16 games with an ERA+ of 141. His FIP was 3.90, a WHIP of 1.22, and a 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Shane Greene

Shane Greene, 32 in November, has been a key reliever for the Atlanta Braves in their postseason teams in the past two seasons.

Between the Tigers and the Braves since the beginning of 2019, he has pitched to a 2.39 ERA (199 ERA+) in 93 games with 23 saves (22 of them coming before the Tigers traded him to Atlanta before the trade deadline in 2019).

He has a FIP of 3.79, a WHIP of 1.041, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio that is better than 3:1.

Liam Hendriks

Liam Hendriks has been one of the best relievers in all of baseball for the Oakland A’s since 2019.

Since 2019, Hendriks, 32 in February, Hendriks has appeared in 99 regular-season games with 39 saves and an ERA of 1.79 (237 ERA+). His FIP is even better at 1.70 and his WHIP has been a spectacular 0.897.

He also has only walked 2 batters per nine innings compared to more than 13 strikeouts. In 2020, that number was even better as he walked only 1.1 batters per nine innings (three walks total) compared to 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings (37 total).

In 2019, he was an All-Star too. This is one of a few guys that would be great to have in the Rockies bullpen but his price tag may be too high for the Rockies liking.

Greg Holland

Greg Holland has had his hits and misses in the last few years but the former Rockie returned to the Royals in 2020 and had a great season.

Holland, 35 in November, made 28 appearances and pitched to a 1.91 ERA, 2.52 FIP, and an ERA+ of 242. He had a WHIP of 0.953 and nearly a 4.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

When he was a Rockie back in 2017, he was one of the best relievers in baseball (except for a bad month of August) so perhaps the Rockies could look to bring him back.

Keone Kela

Keone Kela is the youngest reliever on this list and he’s the only player on this list that didn’t pitch much in 2020. He was injured for most of 2020 with a forearm injury. If it’s severe enough, it could mean Tommy John surgery.

However, when Kela, 28 in mid-April, is healthy, he is one of the best relievers in baseball. From 2017 to 2019, he pitched in 125 games and pitched to a 2.84 ERA (162 ERA+). His WHIP was 1.014, his FIP was 3.20, and he struck out more than 11 batters per nine innings compared to only 3.5 walks.

Trevor May

Trevor May has been a key to the Minnesota Twins bullpen and making the playoffs in the last two seasons. May, 31, has made 113 appearances since the start of the 2018 season and he has pitched to a 3.19 ERA (140 ERA+) and a FIP of 3.56. His WHIP is in that span is 1.08 and he has struck out more than 12 batters compared to only 3 walks per nine innings.

Mark Melancon

Mark Melancon, 36, isn’t as good as he once was since he is a three-time All-Star and an All-Star most recently in 2016, but he still has been an excellent reliever in the past few seasons.

Melancon, the local product who’s a graduate of Golden High School in Golden, Colorado, has pitched in 130 games in the last three seasons and he has an ERA of 3.35. His FIP is even better at 3.17 and an ERA+ of 128. His WHIP is a tad high at 1.395 but his home run rate is only 0.5 per nine innings and he strikes out 7.9 batters compared to only 2.7 walks per nine innings in that span.

He has extensive closing experience as well as he has more than 200 career saves, including 23 in the last two seasons.

Oliver Perez

Oliver Perez, who will turn 40 in August, has been a key cog in the Indians bullpen for the last three seasons. The left-hander has an ERA of 2.67 in the three seasons with 139 games with an ERA+ of 173. His FIP was 2.83, his WHIP was 1.022, and he has had more than ten strikeouts and only 2.5 walks per nine innings.

Yusmeiro Petit

Yusmeiro Petit, 36, has been a key for the Oakland A’s bullpen since 2018 and he has been excellent in all three seasons he has been with them.

In 180 appearances, he has an ERA of 2.73 (154 ERA+) with a FIP of 3.80. His WHIP in that span is 0.936 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5:1.

Trevor Rosenthal

Trevor Rosenthal split the 2020 season between the Royals and Padres and he had an excellent season after signing with the Royals on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training last offseason. He pitched to a 1.90 ERA in 23 appearances between the two clubs with 11 saves, a FIP of 2.22, and an ERA+ of 240. His WHIP was 0.845 and he struck out 14.5 batters per nine innings compared to just three walks.

Joakim Soria

Joakim Soria, 37 in May, has been in the major leagues as a reliever going back to 2007 when he pitched for the Royals. He pitched for them through the 2011 season. His last two seasons there, his bullpen coach was none other than Steve Foster, the Rockies’ current pitching coach.

Recently, he is yet another reliever that has been a key figure in the Oakland A’s bullpen but will be a free agent this offseason. In the last three seasons between the A’s, White Sox, and Brewers, Soria has pitched to a 3.61 ERA (117 ERA+) in 159 games with a FIP of 3.05. His WHIP has been 1.105 and he has struck out 10.5 batters and walked 2.7 per nine innings.

Blake Treinen

Blake Treinen, who will be 33 next June, had a phenomenal season in 2018 for, you guessed it, the Oakland A’s. In fact, it was one of the best seasons ever posted by a reliever. However, after a down season with Oakland in 2019, they let him go and the Dodgers signed him for the 2020 season.

In 2020, he had a bit of a rebound season but nowhere good as his 2018 season. He had an ERA of 3.86 in 27 appearances in 2020 with a FIP of 3.15. His WHIP was 1.208 and he had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.75:1.