Colorado Rockies: What will their bullpen look like now?

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Sep 21, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (43) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the tenth inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

On Saturday evening, it was reported that the Colorado Rockies had agreed to terms with reliever Alex Colomé on a one-year deal. The Rockies need some more consistency in the bullpen and Colomé, who they have been looking at for the their bullpen since at least 2017, should help bring that consistency for a reasons, all of which we detailed shortly after the news broke.

Assuming that the Colorado Rockies don’t make any more moves for their bullpen, what will the Rockies bullpen look like?

The Colorado Rockies bullpen has a bit more depth than before

On Opening Day, the Colorado Rockies are almost definitely going to have a larger bullpen than you may expect. Entering the 2022 season, MLB planned on enacting a rule that teams could only carry a maximum of 13 pitchers on their roster. However, it is unknown if they will do this. If not, then with the DH coming to the NL, the Rockies could decide to carry a three-man bench (14 pitchers, 12 position players).

They could also carry more pitchers because rosters may be larger. Rosters could have as many as 29 players on them to start the season since the MLB lockout truncated Spring Training. With that, the Rockies could look to carry 15 or 16 pitchers, or a 10 to 11-man bullpen.

What we do know are some of the players that will be in the Rockies bullpen.

The long-reliever: Jhoulys Chacín

Jhoulys Chacín was one of many relievers that improved as the season progressed but he moved into a setup role because the bullpen was so thin. The Colorado Rockies need to (and almost certainly will) have Chacín as their long reliever.

In the final three months of the season, he had a 3.25 ERA with an opponent batting average of .173.

New free agent signing Chad Kuhl could also be a long reliever but, as of now, he looks like he will be the Rockies #5 starter.

DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Pitcher Jordan Sheffield #34 of the Colorado Rockies throws against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning at Coors Field on April 24, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The right-handed middle relievers: Jordan Sheffield, Daniel Bard, and Tyler Kinley

Of the trio, the rookie Rule V pick, Jordan Sheffield, was the most consistent reliever for the Colorado Rockies in 2021. He had a 3.38 ERA and a 4.23 FIP in 30 appearances. The problem for him is that he missed more than three months due to a lat strain.

But overall, the Rockies liked what they saw from him and he should be part of their bullpen for the entire season.

Daniel Bard was excellent for the team as closer in 2020 but he was far from that in 2021. He had a 5.21 ERA in 67 games with 20 saves. He was a victim of some bad luck, as he had a 4.28 FIP and a .355 BABIP (.300 is league average) but still, that’s a bit too much for a setup man or closer.

Kinley had a 4.73 ERA and a 4.65 FIP in 70 games in 2021. He allowed too many long balls (1.5 HR/9). He, like most of the Rockies relievers, did better in the latter part of the season. He had an ERA of 2.22 in his last 24 appearances of the season (24 1/3 IP) and he walked just five. In his first 46 appearances, Kinley had an ERA of 6.07 and he walked 21.

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 23: Pitcher Lucas Gilbreath #58 of the Colorado Rockies throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh inning at Coors Field on May 23, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The left-handed relievers: Lucas Gilbreath and Ben Bowden

Lucas Gilbreath, as we’ve discussed before, was a great, under-the-radar story for the Colorado Rockies in 2021. He was, arguably, their best reliever for the final three months of the season.

He had the highest groundball rate of any of the Rockies relievers with at least 40 innings pitched in 2021 and had a great ERA at Coors Field. His problem in 2022 will be trying to avoid the “sophomore slump,” when opponents will be able to adapt to his pitching. Can he combat that?

Ben Bowden was a rookie like Gilbreath in the 2021 season but he didn’t see as much success. He had a 6.56 ERA on the season in 39 appearances. While he did struggle with his control (5.3 BB/9) and his hit rate (11.1 H/9), he did suffer from some bad luck. He had a FIP of 4.85 and opponents had a high BABIP (.362).

In other words, there are plenty of things he needs to improve on but the results suggest that he was worse than he was. But if the Rockies have to have an eight-man bullpen (in other words, a 13-man pitching staff), Bowden or Jordan Sheffield would likely be the odd man out because they have minor league options, less MLB service time, and (for Bowden) less MLB success.

Apr 21, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Robert Stephenson (29) pitches in the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Two setup men: Carlos Estévez and Robert Stephenson

As setup men, the two most logical choices for setup men in the Colorado Rockies bullpen are Carlos Estévez and Robert Stephenson.

Estévez was their closer for most of the last month of the season. He recorded 11 saves in total. As we talked about in this article a few weeks ago, Estévez had some good luck and bad luck in 2021.

For example, in the final two months of the season, Estévez had a great ERA (3.20) and a great FIP (3.33) … but batters teed off on him, hitting .324/.373/.431 in that span. Batters also had a BABIP of .403, in that span, suggesting that Estévez had some massively bad luck.

Robert Stephenson will likely be the other setup man. The veteran was a welcome addition to the Rockies bullpen in 2021 and he did well, particularly in the second half of the season. He suffered an upper back injury that sidelined him for about six weeks. When he returned on August 6, it started a great stretch for him.

In 22 appearances in the rest of the season, Stephenson had an ERA of 1.61, a FIP of 2.32, and batters hit .225/.273/.363. That’s what they need in a setup man.

DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 16: Pitcher Justin Lawrence #61 of the Colorado Rockies throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning at Coors Field on July 16, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Those on the outside looking in

The Colorado Rockies have a few pitchers on the outside looking in that could see some time in the majors in 2022 but likely won’t be on the Opening Day roster barring injuries.

They include Ashton Goudeau, Julian Fernández, Ty Blach, and Justin Lawrence.

For Goudeau, he doesn’t have the swing and miss part of his game that modern pitchers do so batters make too much contact. If he can keep his groundball rate low, though, he could be a long reliever for the team.

Before 2021, Fernández hadn’t pitched professionally since 2017 so the Rockies will probably want him to get some more experience at Triple-A.

Blach hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019 but he could look to be a swing man in the bullpen.

Lawrence has the stuff to be a great MLB reliever but he struggled mightily with his control at the MLB level in 2021.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 21: Alex Colome #48 of the Minnesota Twins pitches the 9th inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 21, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Twins defeated the Cubs 9-5. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The closer: Alex Colomé

We don’t definitively know that Alex Colomé will be the Rockies closer … but he’ll almost certainly be the Rockies closer. Why? He has the most closing experience of anyone in the bullpen.

Colomé was the Twins’ primary closer in 2021 as he led the team with 17 saves (they had 42 total but two others had nine or more saves as well). He spent the 2020 season with the White Sox and he notched 12 of their 13 saves. He had 30 of their 33 saves in 2019, 12 saves between Tampa Bay and Seattle in 2018, and he led the majors in saves in 2017 with 47.

On top of that, he has been the most consistent reliever in his MLB career over anyone else in the Rockies bullpen. So it would be an absolute stunner (or an injury) for him not to be their closer.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the bullpen is in much better shape than it was this time last year. The signing of Alex Colomé helped but the Rockies have to have more consistency back there.

Next. Spring notebook: Carlos Estévez and the growth of a bullpen. dark

The bullpen was pretty good in the final few months of the season and it’s part of the reason why the Rockies went 55-53 in their final 108 games of the season. From August 1 through the end of the season , the Rockies bullpen ERA was 4.17, or 16th in baseball. Their 3.98 FIP was 13th and their 2.4 fWAR was 8th.

Now, can they actually get it for a full season or not?

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