Colorado Rockies: The battles that will loom for 2021 bullpen spots

On the list of 10 players, there are some who can be considered “sure bets” to make the roster. That includes a back end of the bullpen that will revolve around veterans Daniel Bard, Mychal Givens, and Scott Oberg. Of course, we are plugging Oberg in here believing that he will be able to return to the mound in 2021 after losing the entire 2020 season to blood clots, a condition that has forced him from the mound three different times in his career. Still, his throwing routine seems to indicate he is exactly on track for a return.

So there are three spots right there, and you can likely include Yency Almonte in that mix as well after the 26-year-old right-hander posted a 2.93 ERA, 1.120 WHIP, and 181 ERA+ and became one of positive stories for the Rockies of the 2020 season.

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Another “for sure” right-hander in the bullpen in 2021 will be recent Rule 5 pickup Jordan Sheffield, who the Rockies selected from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 36th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Sheffield has never pitched above Double-A, but, with Rule 5 requirements, will be required to be on the Colorado roster for the entire 2021 campaign (if healthy).

If the Rockies choose not to put Sheffield on the 26-man roster, they’ll have to place him on waivers.

Carlos Estevez is also a “for sure” on the list as he has no minor league options left heading into the campaign. Last year, he appeared in a club-high 26 games (tied for the sixth-most appearances in the National League), but ended the year on a down note. He was scored upon twice through his first 15 appearances through Aug. 25 (logging a 2.25 ERA), but went 0-3 with a 18.00 ERA (allowing 16 earned runs in 8.0 innings) over his last 11 appearances from August 29 through the end of the season. He also surrendered five of his six home runs given up in the season over that span.

Jairo Diaz is another pitcher out of options and in need of a rebound season in 2021. He allowed runs in eight of his 24 appearances, including multiple runs seven times and a career-high seven runs on September 1 against San Francisco.

Robert Stephenson, acquired from Cincinnati in the Jeff Hoffman trade, also enters the season without minor league options. He’ll likely fill the bill as Colorado’s long reliever in 2021.

If you’re keeping track, that’s eight right there. On the surface, that’s your bullpen for the 2021 campaign. But there are more to things with this bullpen than what appears on the surface.

Those eight names we listed on the previous page (Almonte, Bard, Diaz, Estevez, Givens, Stephenson, Oberg, and Sheffield) would make up the entire bullpen, but that also leaves out a key contributor from last season: Tyler Kinley.

Picked up off waivers from Miami in December of 2019, Kinley limited left-handed hitters to a .111 batting average in 2020. That was tied for the third-lowest mark in the National League and tied for fifth-lowest in Major League Baseball. Kinley allowed no hits and no runs 17 times in his 24 appearances in 2020 (helping him to a FIP of 3.99), so one would think he would be a part of the 2021 bullpen.

Also missing from the list are any left-handers, an option the Rockies employed out of necessity for the majority of the last month of the 2020 season. It was a necessity because Phillip Diehl and James Pazos struggled mightily. Pazos is no longer with the Rockies, but Diehl will return for 2021. After pitching in just six games last season and being scored upon in four of those six outings, Diehl will have to show in spring training that he can get the job done.

So what could happen with the bullpen? With Diehl still having minor league options, the Rockies could very well go with a right-handed-only bullpen again to start the 2021 campaign. Kinley also has options, so the battle for the last spot could come down to whether Sheffield shows enough in spring training to stay on Colorado’s roster for the entire 2021 season. If he does, Diehl and Kinley could start the season in Triple-A. If not, Kinley likely has the edge to grab the eighth spot.

Remember, only Bard, Diehl, and Kinley have minor league options, so Colorado’s bullpen options if they don’t want to designate a player for assignment are slim. With that in mind, much of the bullpen is already in place. However, there still will be some questions to iron out in spring training.