Headlines

  • Ben Joyce Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
  • Dodgers Promote Dalton Rushing, Designate Austin Barnes For Assignment
  • Major League Baseball Rules That Permanent Ineligibility Ends At Death
  • Rangers Place Corey Seager On Injured List
  • Cubs Promote Moises Ballesteros
  • Evan Longoria To Sign One-Day Contract, Retire As Member Of Rays
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rockies Release Tim Melville

By Steve Adams | May 19, 2020 at 12:28pm CDT

TODAY: The reason the Rox were able to release Melville is that minor-league transactions are not presently frozen, MLBTR has learned. We haven’t seen any such deals of late, but they’re evidently permissible by rule.

YESTERDAY: The Rockies have released right-hander Tim Melville. The 30-year-old Melville posted a farewell message on Instagram, and the Denver Post’s Kyle Newman tweets that Melville confirmed he was indeed released today.

Normally, the release of a 30-year-old journeyman who had been in camp as a non-roster invitee wouldn’t be particularly surprising. But Melville’s release is indeed quite curious given the current circumstances throughout the league.

Not long after Spring Training was shut down and baseball was put on an indefinite hiatus, it was reported that rosters would be locked. Teams aren’t even permitted to discuss contract extensions with their players at the moment, so it’s rather peculiar to see a player confirm a recent release. It’s unclear at present just how to explain the circumstances surrounding his release.

Melville was a feel-good story for Rockies fans in a mostly miserable 2019 season. The 2008 fourth-rounder (Royals) had quick cups of coffee with the Reds, Twins and Padres in 2016-17 but didn’t find any success in his limited work. He spent time with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in both 2017 and 2019, which eventually led him to the Rockies organization. After a nondescript run with Triple-A Albuquerque last year, injuries on the big league roster opened the door for Melville in August, and he immediately turned in the two best performances of his professional career.

Over his first two outings with the Rox, Melville held the D-backs and Braves to just one run on seven hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts through 12 frames. He made five more starts down the stretch — a pair of brutal outings (10 combined runs in five innings) and three solid but less-spectacular outings. In all, he wound up with a 4.86 ERA in 33 1/3 frames — not bad for a depth pickup who made four of his seven starts at the daunting Coors Field.

Melville achieved folk hero status among Rox fans, both for his improbable success in his first two outings and his even more improbable return to the Major Leagues. As The Athletic’s Nick Groke wrote in a terrific profile of Melville (subscription required), the right-hander took a minimum wage job at Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix, Ariz., after the 2018 season, hoping to learn about barbecue. He left the club last April to join the Ducks and was back in pro ball after just two Atlantic League starts.

Melville returned to the Rockies on a non-roster deal over the winter but was slowed by a cracked rib in Spring Training. There’s virtually no certainty in baseball at the moment, so it’s hard to know whether he’ll latch on elsewhere or explore what’s next on his barbecue career path, but whatever route he takes, Melville is a pretty easy guy to cheer for.

Share 0 Retweet 11 Send via email0

Colorado Rockies Transactions Tim Melville

Angels Notes: Ballpark, Furloughs
Main
Which 15 Players Should The Twins Protect In An Expansion Draft?
View Comments (13)
Post a Comment

13 Comments

  1. Ully

    5 years ago

    Possible KBO opportunity? He could then learn Korean BBQ as well while he is there.

    3
    Reply
    • agentx

      5 years ago

      Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

      Reply
    • ScottCFA

      5 years ago

      That is the logical conclusion, isn’t it? If he has a better opportunity in Korea, then the generous thing for MLB to do is to allow the Rockies to release him despite the moratorium on roster moves.

      Reply
    • phenomenalajs

      5 years ago

      Not likely. I heard the foreigners currently in KBO are likely locked into their current deals on their current teams due to travel restrictions. In other years, teams would quickly drop foreigners that weren’t faring well so they could pick up another to reach their quota of 3.

      Reply
  2. DarkSide830

    5 years ago

    wonder if he is going to Korea. he did well down the stretch for them last year.

    Reply
  3. Tom84

    5 years ago

    Hope he can get back to the majors, wherever it may be

    Reply
  4. dynamite drop in monty

    5 years ago

    N N oh h

    Reply
  5. Jgwi2az

    5 years ago

    Cracked Rib?? Oh the irony…..

    Reply
  6. richt

    5 years ago

    Who is August Melville and what kind of sentence is “It’s frankly unclear at this point just what explains the circumstances”???

    Reply
  7. Al Hirschen

    5 years ago

    From CTV News Canada:12:00 pm: An agreement has been reached between Canada and the United States to keep the border closed to all non-essential travel for another month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced, calling it the “right thing” to do. He is cautioning that it could be months still before non-essential travel is allowed.

    Reply
    • DarkSide830

      5 years ago

      that doesnt really explain what “non-essential” is. the economic activity relating to sports could very well allow ut to fit the “essential” description.

      Reply
  8. BPax

    5 years ago

    How boring is it right now? I’m reading about Tim Melville.

    1
    Reply
  9. larry48

    5 years ago

    Is this the Rockies just being cheap?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Ben Joyce Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

    Dodgers Promote Dalton Rushing, Designate Austin Barnes For Assignment

    Major League Baseball Rules That Permanent Ineligibility Ends At Death

    Rangers Place Corey Seager On Injured List

    Cubs Promote Moises Ballesteros

    Evan Longoria To Sign One-Day Contract, Retire As Member Of Rays

    Diamondbacks To Promote Jordan Lawlar

    Rockies Fire Bud Black

    Cubs Promote Cade Horton

    Rafael Devers Unwilling To Play First Base

    Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton

    Mariners Claim Leody Taveras

    Rangers Hire Bret Boone As Hitting Coach

    A.J. Minter To Undergo Season-Ending Lat Surgery

    Blue Jays Sign Spencer Turnbull

    Blue Jays Sign José Ureña

    Ross Stripling Retires

    Rangers Place Leody Taveras On Outright Waivers

    Triston Casas Likely To Miss Entire 2025 Season Due To Knee Surgery

    Orioles Recall Coby Mayo

    Recent

    Orioles Notes: Kittredge, Cowser, Reilly

    White Sox Acquire Miguel Castro From Astros

    Huascar Ynoa Signs With Mexican League’s Leones De Yucatán

    The Orioles’ Pair Of Rental Bats

    White Sox Claim Vinny Capra

    Poll: American League Playoff Outlook

    Twins Option Simeon Woods Richardson, Likely To Promote Zebby Matthews

    Tony Kemp Announces Retirement

    Dodgers Notes: Rushing, Sasaki, Snell, Glasnow

    The Opener: Astros, Rangers, Bochy, Twins, Dodgers

    ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Nolan Arenado Rumors
    • Dylan Cease Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Marcus Stroman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
    • 2025 Arbitration Projections
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version