3 trade targets from the San Diego Padres for the Colorado Rockies

San Diego Padres reliever Nabil Crismatt could help the Colorado Rockies bullpen woes

The Colorado Rockies did not have a great bullpen in 2021 and, frankly, it was far from it. It has been far from it for a long time. San Diego Padres reliever Nabil Crismatt could help turn that around for the Rockies.

Crismatt, 27, made his debut with the Cardinals in 2020 and only appeared in six games (3.24 ERA). But the Cardinals let him go and the Padres signed him to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB spring training.

He made the Padres Opening Day roster and he pitched very well in 45 games as a long reliever. He had a 3.76 ERA in 81 1/3 innings with a 103 ERA+ with a 4.20 FIP, a 1.365 WHIP, and an average of 2.7 walks and 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Crismatt is an odd pitcher in today’s era in that he barely tops 90 MPH with his fastball, as he averaged just 90.1 MPH on his fastball in 2021. He also utilized the changeup more than any other pitcher in baseball, as he used it 52.3 percent of the time.

That changeup also induced a lot of groundballs. As Rockies fans know by now, the Rockies starting pitchers have seen good success at Coors Field with high groundball rates but the bullpen doesn’t have anybody with a high groundball rate. In 2021, Crismatt’s was 50.6 percent, which was 33rd-highest among relievers with at 50 innings pitched. The Rockies didn’t even have a reliever among the top 60.

San Diego Padres reliever Craig Stammen could also be an asset for the Colorado Rockies

Unlike Nabil Crismatt, San Diego Padres reliever Craig Stammen would bring a veteran reliever to the bullpen for the Colorado Rockies.

Stammen, who turns 38 in March, made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals as a starter all the way back in 2009 but he had been a full-time reliever since 2011 until the Padres used him as an opener in four games in 2021.

He was one of the their best relievers in 2021 as he made 67 appearances and had an ERA of 3.06 in 88 1/3 innings. He had an ERA+ of 127, a WHIP of 1.042, a FIP of 3.75, and he averaged 1.3 walks and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

He had some mixed results in 2020 as he had an ERA of 5.63 in 24 games but he had a 3.36 FIP, a 1.292 WHIP, and he averaged 1.5 walks and 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

In each of the three previous seasons (all with San Diego), Stammen had at least 60 appearances per season and his highest ERA was 3.29. In that span (2017-2019), he had an average FIP of 3.57, an average WHIP of 1.131, and he averaged 2.2 walks and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Since 2019, Stammen had a groundball rate of 52.7 percent, which was the 21nd-highest among MLB relievers with at least 100 innings pitched since then.

Stammen is entering the last year of a three year deal in 2022, where he will earn $4 million.

San Diego Padres reliever Tim Hill would be a fit for the Colorado Rockies

San Diego Padres reliever Tim Hill would be a perfect fit for the Colorado Rockies in a few ways.

Hill, who turns 32 next month, would fill the left-handed reliever role well for the Rockies, as they were lacking in that department in 2021. In 2021, the Rockies only used two left-handed relievers (with the exception of four innings from Zac Rosscup): rookies Lucas Gilbreath and Ben Bowden. There were a few weeks during the season that the Rockies even went without a left-handed reliever.

Bowden had his MLB debut delayed due to the pandemic and some injuries in the minors but he did not see much success at the big league level in his first MLB season. Gilbreath, before making his MLB debut in May, had never pitched above Advanced-A ball. He was a starter there in 2019 but after shaky outings in his first half dozen appearances, he was, arguably, the Rockies best reliever in 2021.

In 2021, Hill appeared in 78 games as a left-handed specialist (59 2/3 innings) and he had an ERA of 3.62 (108 ERA+). He had a 1.24 WHIP and he averaged 3.5 walks and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings. In 2019 and 2020, he averaged good results as well (3.90 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 119 ERA+).

Other than being a lefty, Hill would also be a fit because his groundball rate. Since 2019, it is 58.3 percent, which is 9th-highest among relievers with at least 100 innings since then.

Hill is also from the San Diego area and went to college in Oklahoma. Rockies manager Bud Black is from San Diego and still lives there in the offseason.

The Rockies have signed some players from the San Diego area in recent years due to their connection with Black in San Diego (Connor Joe, Wynton Bernard, etc.). They also have been known for their scouting and connections to Oklahoma (Matt Holliday, Jon Gray, etc.).

Our final installment of our trade targets series for the Colorado Rockies concludes with the San Francisco Giants being the final team.