The Rockies announced they have outrighted right-handers Chad Bettis and Tim Melville. They join a trio of players- Tyler Anderson, Sam Howard, and Pat Valaika– who were all lost on waivers this afternoon. Bettis has already elected free agency, the team announced, and Melville figures to do the same.
Bettis is the longer-tenured Rockie of the two, having been in the organization since 2010. At times, he was a key member of the starting rotation, particularly in 2016, when he logged 186 innings with a 4.79 ERA that is better than appears at first glance given the hitter-friendly environment which he called home. Unfortunately, Bettis was diagnosed with testicular cancer the following March. He made a heartwarming return to the mound that August and was a cog in the Rockies’ rotation as recently as 2018.
This season, however, was a nightmare in terms of on-field results. While Bettis was mostly healthy, save for a 10-day IL stint for a hip impingement in August, he was ineffective. Working mostly in long relief, Bettis pitched to a 6.08 ERA with a mediocre 14.6% strikeout rate. With a projected arbitration salary of $3.8MM, it is hardly surprising to see the Rockies part ways with the 30-year-old. He’ll surely attract some interest from teams looking for starting and relief depth, although he may have to settle for a minor-league pact and earn his way onto a 40-man roster.
Melville, also 30, started seven games for Colorado this season with underwhelming results. He struggled somewhat with home runs in the PCL launchpad over his 96.1 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque. Like Bettis, he’s capable of working as a swing depth piece.
Damn…Rox cleaning house!
Mets take a flier on Bettis. Can’t be worse than Mazza,Sewald,Flexen,Rhame,Font,Familia and all the other schleps the Mets put out there
No, this player is exactly the type of pitcher the White Sox love. Coop will straighten him out and turn him into Cy Young.
I was thinking the same thing. He’d be good in orange and blue.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, maybe one of the teams hiring pitching coaches straight out of Junior High leagues that know how to use mathematical jargon can turn these recently released pitchers into superstars!! Right, all the teenagers on this site that think you can turn any underperforming player into a HOFer as long as the coach attempting to do so isn’t an old man shouting at the sky? Lolol This site is funnier than any sitcom on Tv, Netflix or Hulu.
Stop yelling at clouds, old man.
How many people have you told to get off your lawn today?
surprised they cut Melville loose with so few sure-fire bets for the 2020 rotation.
Melville’s not exactly a quality option though, career minor leaguer with only 7 starts under his belt since 2017
quality or not, with Howard, Anderson, and Bettis all gone now, Marquez and Freeland are the only locks for the 2020 rotation, and even they struggled their fair share in 2019. They need options, and Melville outpitched each of Chi Chi, Lambert, Hoffman, and Senz last year.
Don’t forget Jon Gray. He is the biggest lock of all. Senzatela has probably got a spot covered as well. Whether he deserves it or not is another story. The 5th starter will probably be a battle between the three guys you mentioned along with Ryan Castellini, if healthy, in ST. Hoffman or Chi Chi will probably get it since they will be out of options. The other will probably make it as a long reliever.
Biggest surprise for me was Tyler Anderson who was a first round pick and never lived up to billing…
Anderson was fine for the Rockies. The main reason he was cut was that he would not be ready for the start of next season and they needed the 40 man roster spot. He’s not great by any means, but he lived up to, and probably exceeded, his billing.
Once again the Rockies hang onto players too long and get nothing out of them. The three guys claimed were picked up by three of the worst teams. To me, that signifies at least some interest in them since they had some of the highest waiver positions. Anderson was hurt, so that can be explained, even excused. But why were Valaika and Howard not marketed at the trade deadline. Even if the return is just a low level minor league lotto ticket that is better than losing players for nothing.
Roster crunches like this are not a surprise. They can be planned for, but they haven’t been. And this is nothing new. The Rockies lost 4 players in the same manner after the 2012 season. Every other year between then and now, except 2016, they have lost at least 1 player in the same manner. It is an inexcusable job of planning by Jeff Bridich and the rest of the front office. Absolutely awful.