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3 free agents the Colorado Rockies should sign right now

By Noah Yingling |
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 02: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets in action against the Miami Marlins during a game at Citi Field on September 2, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 02: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets in action against the Miami Marlins during a game at Citi Field on September 2, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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DENVER, CO – JUNE 19: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets celebrates a run scored against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 19, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – JUNE 19: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets celebrates a run scored against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 19, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies are two games into their season but there are a slew of free agents still left on the market. The Rockies still have a few areas where they could use some depth and/or upgrades.

Here are three upgrades/depth pieces that the Rockies should sign on the free agent market right now. We will also look at who these signings could impact on the current roster.

The Colorado Rockies should sign Michael Conforto

Michael Conforto is still on the free agent market and he is, by far, the best free agent left. We’ve examined the case for signing Conforto as far back as this past December.

Since then, the Rockies have signed Kris Bryant and traded for outfielder Randal Grichuk and they should provide an upgrade for the Rockies offense … but will it be enough?

Conforto would, arguably, be their best offensive player in the outfield. Conforto had a down year in 2021 but since 2017, he has hit .259/.364/.473. Bryant has hit .275/.376/.494 in the same span. Conforto has a wRC+ of 128 and an OPS+ of 127. Bryant’s has a 130 wRC+ and a 128 OPS+ in that same span so they are very close. Conforto is a year younger than Bryant too.

There are two issues with signing him, though. First off, he still has the qualifying offer attached to him. Bryant did not have the QO attached to him, which undoubtedly made it an easier signing for the Rockies. Secondly with signing him, the Rockies already have a lot of outfielders.

Signing him might mean that they would have to go with a more permanent DH. Charlie Blackmon would likely be that DH and Connor Joe would likely get a lot less playing time.

Last year, Joe had the second-highest OPS+ of anyone on the team last year (minimum of 200 plate appearances). He could be a super-utility guy and still play four days a week or so but that’s something to consider, particularly if they would be able to get Conforto on a relatively cheap, incentive-laden deal.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 03: Brett Anderson #25 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 03, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 03: Brett Anderson #25 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 03, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies should sign free agent starting pitcher Brett Anderson

If Brett Anderson’s name sounds familiar to you, it should. Anderson used to play for the Colorado Rockies in 2014. That is one reason that would help matters: mutual familiarity. But there are a few more reasons why the Rockies should sign him too.

In 2021, Anderson made 24 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers and he had a 4.22 ERA (101 ERA+). That right there would probably make him their fifth-best starter, pushing Chad Kuhl to the bullpen in a long relief role and, therefore, adding some more depth.

For Anderson, another bonus would be his pitching profile. Since 2019, he has had a groundball rate of 55.8 percent, which is third-highest in the sport among starters with at least 300 innings pitched in that span. The Rockies starters who have had the most success at Coors in that span (Antonio Senzatela, Germán Márquez, and Jon Gray) are also among the top 17 in that category.

Anderson also has an extremely low spin rate on his four-seam fastball, which is something that Senzatela, Márquez, Gray, and Austin Gomber all had in common in 2021. It has been a big key to their success at Coors Field.

In 2021, Anderson’s four-seam fastball spin rate was only 1898 RPM. That was the ninth-lowest among the 567 pitchers that faced at least 250 batters. Senzatela, Márquez, and Gomber were all among the top 87.

If/when Peter Lambert or Ryan Rolison are healthy and prove themselves in the majors this season, Anderson could move to the bullpen too as a long man and as a veteran left-handed reliever. Speaking of which …

DENVER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 8: Tony Watson #56 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 8, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 8: Tony Watson #56 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 8, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies should sign free agent left-handed reliever Tony Watson

Tony Watson is the best veteran left-handed reliever left on the market and in recent years, the Rockies’ bullpen has been remarkably non-left-handed.

They had Lucas Gilbreath and Ben Bowden in 2021. Both were rookies but only Gilbreath proved himself. Now, they have Ty Blach as well in a long relief role but Watson would be more of a middle reliever or setup man.

Watson, 36, has had an ERA+ of 101 or better in each full season in his career (since 2012) and he has been reliable too (at least 60 games per season in that period with the obvious exception of 2020). In 2021, he split the season between the Angels and the Giants (for his second stint with the team) and he had an ERA of 3.92 in 62 games (111 ERA+). He had a 3.48 FIP and a 1.012 WHIP as well.

Watson is not a huge groundball pitcher (50th-highest groundball rate among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched from 2019 through 2021) nor does he have a low spin rate (2310 RPM on his four-seamer in 2021, which was 369th lowest among the 567 pitchers to face at least 250 batters in 2021 but he has something that is more important: proven success at Coors Field.

Watson has been with the Dodgers (for a short time) and the Giants (for parts of four seasons) in recent years so he has pitched a lot at Coors Field (22 games and 23 2/3 innings, to be exact). He has a 2.28 ERA at Coors in his career so he has success in a fairly large sample size for someone who has never been with the team.

Next. The Rockies' pitching philosophy and how their recent additions fit. dark

Depth and some additions of some (relatively) cheap free agents (especially in the case of the pitchers) is something that the Rockies should really contemplate, especially since the team will have some injuries throughout the season. The best teams in baseball win because they have the depth to weather those injuries. As things stand, the Colorado Rockies, by and large, do not have that.

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