Examining the fit between the Colorado Rockies and reliever Mark Melancon

From April through July, the Colorado Rockies had the worst bullpen in baseball as they had an ERA of 5.41. They had a vast improvement in the final two months of the season as they had an ERA of 4.17 from August 1 to the end of the season, which was 16th in baseball.

But the Rockies are still going to be scouring the market for relief pitching this offseason.

Colorado native Mark Melancon, who is from the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge, is one of the best relievers available on the market.

Mark Melancon should be great for the Colorado Rockies, but he won’t be cheap

MLB.com’s Thomas Harding said on Monday that the Colorado Rockies are looking at relievers with experience on a short-term deal. Considering his age (37 in March), Mark Melancon would likely fall into this category but he’s still one of the best relievers in baseball.

Melancon was an All-Star for the San Diego Padres in 2021 and he led the NL in saves with 39. He had an ERA of 2.23 in 64 appearances with a FIP of 3.36, a WHIP of 1.222, and he struck out nearly a batter per inning.

With growing up in Colorado, he has experience at pitching at altitude but also, he is a big groundball pitcher. He has had a groundball rate between 50 and 65 percent in each season since 2016.

He also has a lot of experience in the NL West as he has played with the Giants and Padres. At Dodger Stadium, he has a career ERA of 0.63 in 15 games and he has a career ERA of 2.64 in 70 games at Oracle Park in San Francisco and an ERA of 1.68 in 53 games at Petco Park in San Diego.

MLB Trade Rumors has Melancon as the #44 free agent on the market and they predict he’ll get a two-year deal for $14 million. If Melancon gets around that in free agency, the Rockies should be able to easily get him if they truly want him and get some more bullpen help as well.