Daniel Bard’s latest comeback attempt is officially underway. The former Red Sox reliever has agreed to a minor league deal with the Rockies and will had to Major League camp, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reported last week that Bard was working toward a comeback.
Now 34 years old, Bard once looked like a potential closer in waiting for the Red Sox. The No. 28 overall pick in the 2006 draft debuted in 2009 and made an immediate impact with a 2.88 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9 in his first 197 innings. Control issues arose soon after, though, and spiraled into a full-blown case of the Yips. Bard averaged 6.5 walks per nine innings pitched and posted a 6.22 ERA in 2012, and his career went completely off the rails following that effort.
Bard missed time with an abdominal injury in 2013 and pitched only a combined 16 1/3 innings between the Majors and Triple-A — walking a staggering 27 batters in that span. Winter ball in the 2013-14 offseason and a brief stint with the Rangers in 2014 only confirmed that Bard’s control had vanished; Bard walked 18 of the 31 hitters he faced between the Puerto Rican Winter League and his quick run with the Rangers’ Class-A club. He embarked on comeback attempts with the Cardinals and Mets in 2016-17 but encountered similar results.
With the Rockies, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the righty can tap into the talent that once made him such a well-regarded young pitcher. Colorado’s bullpen has more than its share of highly compensated, underperforming veterans — Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee — but the Rox coaxed varying levels of success out of Scott Oberg, Carlos Estevez and Jairo Diaz. There should still be a spot or two up for grabs, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rockies brought Bard along slowly and eased him back into pro ball with some minor league work before considering him for the big league bullpen.
Wish him well in his long journey
not likely, trying to pick for his career in Denver. Pitchers hell
Good luck, Daniel.
No place better to resurrect your pitching career than Colorado.
That’s exactly what I thought. I think I’d only go there to pitch if A) they offered me the most money and I was towards the end of my career or B) they were the only team to offer me a chance. No knock on the Rockies, just that ballpark is a pitchers worst nightmare.
It might have been that B was true. He may not have had many opportunities out there, at least not with a chance to reach the big league level
Thing is, Albuquerque, like Coors, is similarly 5.1+ thousand feet above sea level and just as much a pitchers nightmare.
So even if he feels it unlikely he sees the majors for long this first season back, his AAA games should be no better.
And Albequerque is, at least from an elevation standpoint, an improvement over their previous AAA ballpark in Colorado Springs. By about a thousand feet.
except for him – the most important thing is really probably just proving he can throw strikes. In terms of getting a shot at the MLB again. Like even if he winds up with a bloated ERA because of the field conditions — if he’s still throwing gas and displays acceptable control — he will probably get a shot somewhere. Colorado or not. But yeah I agree it’s not the best place to try and resurrect your career as a P that’s for sure!
It’s not the park, it’s the altitude. Coors Field is actually a pretty large park by dimensions. If they had built it like Philly, Cincy, or Baltimore there’d by 40 runs scored every game in Colorado LOL!
Denver worst place a pitcher could go!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes but also leads to lots of doubles and triples.
If he walks them, the ballpark factor may not matter!
Such a fresh take! Save your Coors Field hater comments.
Shew!! Doesn’t seem like Colorado is an ideal situation for a pitcher attempting a comeback, but it’s quite likely Bard couldn’t be overly picky…
Nice to see him get another chance. Between the Rockies signing Ubaldo and Bard in the span of about a week I wonder if they’ll be signing Kazmir, too.
94 wins here come the Rox.
You sound like a meat packer from Greeley
Or the Rockies president
Man, this dudes arm was pure electric before control issues. Great guy too, really hope this works out.
Good luck
The BoSox attempts to convert him into a starter in 2012 totally derailed his career. He spiraled downward and has never bounced back. They should have left him alone as a dominant reliever.
It was his request to be made a starter, not the Sox. Granted they could have said no, but he pushed for it.
Don’t overlook Bard’s control issues in Sep/Oct 2011, the season *before* the Bard-as-starter experiment:
0-4, 10.64 ERA, with 9 walks and 11 strikeouts in 11 games, registering a 7.36 BB/9 and only 1.22 K/BB the final two months of 2011.
Bard had allowed only 15 walks from the beginning of that season through August 2011, with 2.18 BB/9 and 4.2 K/BB ratios much more in line with his pre-2011 career numbers.
The data suggests that the Red Sox FO may have been justified taking Bard out of late-inning situations after that eleven-game, late-2011 meltdown.
It’s not like all his appearances will be in Colorado.
A horse, a horse. My kingdom for a horse.
Well, being that CO is desperate…it’s not shocking
Finally. That signing that solidifies the Rockies 94 win season.
It is difficult to believe he hasn’t thrown a pitch at the major league level since 2013.. It doesn’t seem like that long ago.
That whole bullpen is one big comeback attempt at this point. It would be great to see them perform well, including Bard..
Steve —
“Daniel Bard’s latest comeback attempt is officially underway. The former Red Sox reliever has agreed to a minor league deal with the Rockies and will had to Major League camp…”
I am guessing your edit didn’t make it in. “…will have an invitation to Major League camp…”
I thought it was likely “…and will head to major league camp.”
This is the best deal in the history of the Rockies and guarantees a successful season. The intelligence, patience, creativity and keen judgement of the Rockies front office has made this franchise the best in the history of professional sports not only in the United States but, Europe, Asia, South America and Antarctica. Next please bring Colton Welker to the bigs .
Your attempt at humor struck out on a pitch down the middle of the plate.
This will keep Nolan happy
Here’s hoping he shares a tale.
Mixing speeds still works in thin air. Bard was a guy with a huge fastball If he can control anything off speed…
That’s all I got.
Bard dominated until 2012 when Boston tried him out as a starter. Probably messed up his arm. Same with the Yanks when they asked Joba to start or when the Rangers tried to stretch out Neftalí Feliz.. some guys should just be left in the bullpen.
Except there is a problem with that logic. Pitchers don’t come with instruction manuals and management doesn’t know WHICH pitchers should be left to the bullpen until they try. Unfortunately for some, that means trial by fire. Oh well, survival of the fittest.
Oh yeah. I forgot about Felix and Joba. Good call. They too paid the price for some dumb-ass coach who had delusions of grandeur.
Yes they want to be a starter, is where the money goes for. It could be as a starter his control issue was exposed. I wish him well, n just too bad he never worked out.
Arenado tells the family to pack, WE’RE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD
One really good guys of the game, who could have been a dominant closer I think. Regardless, if only they hadn’t try to make him something he wasn’t ( a starter) I don’t think he would have gotten injured. It screwed up his mechanics too. And couldn’t seem to throw a strike afterwards. That’s my recollection anyways.
As I noted below, there were signs that Bard had begun losing his control over the last two months of 2011.
Could be that his injury was a result of getting stretched out as a starter, but Bard’s handle on the ball had already begun slipping pretty seriously the prior September.
If he’s good and the Rox ain’t, flip him at the deadline…
Forget 69-93, this is the worst thing Bobby Valentine did.
Well that ought to shut Arenado up…
Not sure Coors field is a place to make a comeback. Anyway Good luck!!!
Better than the Sugarland Skeeters or the Nippon Ham Fighters.
At one time Bard looked like the heir apparent to Paplebon as Boston’s closer. He got shelled as a starter and was just ruined from there. I dont know if Colorado is the best place to make a comeback but I hope he gets the chance.
I really wish him well. But I can’t get over my favorite line for a ball player – Daniel Bard, in 2014, A-Level for Texas – Appeared in 4 games, faced 18 batters – credited with a total of 2/3 inning pitched, One strikeout, NO HITS allowed; 9 walks, 7 hit batters, 13 runs allowed, all earned. No info on how the other “out” occurred. Incredible.
In certain circles, it has been stated that the 18th batter, upon being announced, fled in fear into the dugout, thru the clubhouse, and was last seen running over the parking lot gravel on his way out of town. It has been rumored the poor guy is still gasping and sweating six years later.
Haven’t heard that name in years.