The Rockies claimed right-hander Nick Mears off waivers from the Rangers, the teams announced Friday. Texas designated Mears for assignment earlier in the week in order to open a roster spot for newly signed Nathan Eovaldi. Colorado had a pair of open spots on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary. Their 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
Mears, 26, has spent his entire pro career until this offseason in the Pirates organization. He’s begun to bounce around the DFA circuit a bit now, going from Pittsburgh, to Texas, to Colorado by way of waiver claim. The 6’2″ righty averages 96 mph with his heater but has struggled to a 4.75 ERA in 30 1/3 innings at the MLB level, dating back to 2020.
Mears’ career 9.5 K/9 in the Majors looks appealing but is a good example of why strikeout percentage tells a better story than K/9; because Mears has walked so many hitters (14.9%), his overall strikeout percentage is actually below the league average for relievers, at 22.7%. Mears throws hard, though, has strong numbers up through the Double-A level and has a minor league option remaining, so he’ll give the Rockies some optionable depth in the bullpen for the coming season if he makes it to Opening Day on their 40-man roster.
The Rockies have at least four bullpen spots locked down, with closer Daniel Bard signed through 2024 and Pierce Johnson (signed earlier this offseason), Brent Suter (claimed from the Brewers) and Dinelson Lamet all ineligible to optioned to the minors. Righty Justin Lawrence is also out of minor league options, though given his struggles over the past couple seasons, he can’t be viewed as a lock to break camp with the club in 2023.
Mears ? Or Ditka in a schoolbus?
Seems like the Pirates seem to be the go to organization to get your foot in the door at MLB these days.I remember the early 90’s when the Pirates were quite good. They gave the Braves some real competition back then.
very true.
I think Justin Lawrence is closer to a lock than not. Rockies management is very high on him and see him as the eventual successor to Bard.
JLaw is really nasty IMO I’m the little bit I’ve seen
He definitely has a lot of upside. Sometimes he is still a bit inconsistent though. Could be youth, could be something else. 2023 could answer that though.
There are about two-dozen Nick Mears-type pitchers out there. Has good velocity and a good breaking ball, but can’t locate either to save his life. I also said that about Clay Holmes, but for every Holmes, there’s a handful of other guys you never heard of because the command issues made them flameout.
Another player caught in the revolving door of MLB. Maybe once you claim a guy he is yours for a set period of time. Never seen so many ex Pirates be claimed then DFAed again then claimed elsewhere. Seems unfair to the players involved. These are human beings we are talking about.
News item: “Today the Rockies claimed a guy with ridiculous bulky sunglasses and a bio that includes the term ‘struggled.”
Oh, I thought those were solar panels. Do they come with windshield wipers?