Colorado Rockies: Is Kevin Gausman a fit for the Rockies?

The Colorado Rockies need some pitching this offseason and perhaps, Kevin Gausman could help in that area of need.

The Colorado Rockies saw that their bullpen and their overall pitching depth were two of the biggest downfalls of the team in the last two seasons so this offseason, if they plan on returning to playoff contenders, they will have to address these problems.

Someone that could address the depth issue and the back-end of their rotation, where the Rockies have also had issues in recent years, is Kevin Gausman.

More from Rox Pile

• A Colorado Rockies Thanksgiving
• Colorado Rockies: What if Todd Helton had played football instead?
• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: Has Sean Bouchard earned a second look in 2023?

Gausman, who will turn 30 in January, is a local product who was born in Centennial and graduated from Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado who most recently pitched for the Giants.

In 2020, he was a key factor in the Giants being in the playoff hunt until the final game of the regular season. He appeared in 12 games (10 starts) and he pitched to a 3.62 ERA (118 ERA+) with a FIP of 3.09. He also had his career-best numbers in WHIP (1.106), hits allowed per nine innings (7.5), and strikeouts per nine innings (11.9). He also only walked 2.4 batters per nine innings, which is below his career average.

He was a bit shakier in previous seasons as in 2019, he had an ERA of 5.72 in 102 1/3 innings between starting and appearing out of the bullpen. However, his FIP suggests that he was a victim of bad luck in 2019 as it was 3.98, nearly two runs lower than his ERA.

The Rockies have also expressed interest in Gausman before as they were interested in trading for him back in 2018 when he was with the Orioles.

The problem for the Rockies in signing him is that the Giants extended the qualifying offer (1-year contract for $18.9 million) to him. If he does not accept the offer (which MLB Trade Rumors projects him accepting the offer), the Rockies would have to forfeit a draft pick for him. However, it wouldn’t be their first pick of the draft, which is the 8th overall pick in 2021.