3 free agents the Rockies should target to fill in the rotation

Sean Manaea

Manaea is a name that Rockies fans should be familiar with, as he spent the last two seasons in the NL West. In 2022, he pitched in San Diego, and he toiled last year with the San Francisco Giants. Where Clevinger might be the best and most expensive, I think Manaea is the most intriguing arm that the Rockies could potentially add via free agency.

Manaea was a former first-round pick and had some really impressive seasons with the Oakland Athletics, averaging just under 2 fWAR per season during his time with the A's. He struggled in 2022 with the Padres, making 28 starts but being worth just one win according to FanGraphs. His ERA was just short of 5.00, and his home run rate skyrocketed. In 2023, he was expecting to get some starts for the Giants but found himself in the bullpen for most of the year. That said, he still made 10 starts and threw 117 innings. He was worth 1.1 wins and was able to cut the home run rate down.

I think Manaea could be a really interesting arm to add to the Rockies rotation, and Manaea might like the fit as well. Manaea has spent his entire career on the west coast and could get a chance to start and be the No. 2 or No. 3 in a rotation really lacking proven arms. He combined to throw over 337 innings between 2021 and 2022, showing that he has the ability to really eat some innings this year. Spotrac estimates he could get a four-year deal worth $48 million, an AAV of $11.9M. This might be what it takes for the Rockies to keep Manaea on the west coast, but the risk could prove to be very valuable.