How former Rockies are doing on new teams

After a miserable and frustrating season in 2022 where they finished 68-94 and finished in fifth place in the NL West, the Colorado Rockies had to make notable roster changes to compete for the 2023 season.

The Rockies are unfortunately still in fifth place in a competitive NL West division but are just three wins away from quickly moving to third place over the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. 

While the Rockies have faced their fair share of early struggles this year, there have been some bright spots for the team and a big reason for that is due to some of the tough decisions general manager Bill Schmidt made over the offseason by parting ways with some veteran players.

I have compiled a list to check in and see just how well these former players are doing in 2023.

Jose Iglesias

Iglesias found his way to Colorado last year after signing a one-year deal with the Rockies in the 2021 offseason. In the 2021 season, he was originally playing for the Los Angeles Angels until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. While in Colorado, Iglesias was utilized as an everyday shortstop and was actually a pretty good one for the team as he hit .292 with 128 hits, 47 RBIs, 30 doubles and three home runs. Unfortunately for him, was the emergence of Ezequiel Tovar who made a late season debut last year which ultimately resulted in the Rockies moving forward with Tovar as their shortstop of the future.

Iglesias had a lot of upside on the team and could have remained on the Rockies in a veteran/mentorship role while platooning around the infield. His presence in the lineup would have also been another great factor for the team as he showed he had the ability to get on base frequently and could've been valuable for situational hitting.

Currently, Iglesias is in his 11 MLB season and is on a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. He has yet to be called up to the major league roster in 2023.

Alex Colomé

Colomé has been in the major leagues since 2013 and spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays. At one point, he was one of the best relief pitchers in baseball and even found himself in a closing pitcher role with the Chicago White Sox from 2019-2020. 

After coming off a rough year in 2021 with the Minnesota Twins, Colomé signed a one-year deal with the Rockies as they were a team desperately trying to piece together a winning bullpen. While pitching for the Rockies, he owned a 2-7 record as a reliever with a 5.74 ERA, four saves, and only 32 strikeouts. The Rockies did not decide to bring him back for 2023 and he would end up signing with the Washington Nationals.

On April 1. He was released by the Nationals and found himself back with the White Sox on a minor league deal on April 7. On May 2. He was brought up to the White Sox major league roster and only pitched in four games until being optioned back down to AAA.

Carlos Estévez

Estévez pitched for the Rockies for a total of six years and slowly started to improve more and more each year. He is now with the Los Angeles Angels after signing a two-year deal this past offseason. The Rockies losing Estévez is probably the biggest loss they had this past offseason, especially for a team that has relied heavily on relievers like Brent Suten and Justin Lawrence this year.

Last season Estévez pitched tremendously for the Rockies with a 4-4 record, 3.47 ERA, 54 strikeouts, and 57 innings pitched while only giving up four homeruns. This productivity is something that takes away from Colorado having an elite bullpen in baseball. 

In the early parts of the season, Estévez has been arguably the best pitcher in the Angels bullpen and he also has found himself in an unfamiliar role as the team’s closer. Right now he has a 1-1 record with a 1.23 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and has only given up one home run. While working as a closer is new to him, he already has 12 saves on the year which is the same amount he had last season.