Pitching injuries defined the Rockies’ 103-loss 2023 season, as the team had a seemingly endless string of hurlers missing time with both minor and major ailments. The top of the rotation was hit particularly hard, with German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela both undergoing Tommy John surgeries that will stretch their time on the injured list into 2024.
Rockies GM Bill Schmidt provided some updates (to Patrick Lyons and other reporters) on the two right-handers at the team’s Fan Fest event this weekend. The club is hopeful Marquez can return sometime after the All-Star break, which fits the normal TJ recovery timeline given that Marquez underwent his procedure last May.
Unfortunately, that same timeline puts Senzatela’s entire 2024 season in doubt. Senzatela had his surgery in July, and thus Schmidt doesn’t “anticipate [him] up here” on Colorado’s active roster. If all goes well, Senzatela will be able to pitch for the Rockies’ Triple-A team near the end of the minor league season, with an eye towards the righty banking some innings and gaining some peace of mind ahead of a more normal offseason.
Colorado has invested heavily in both pitchers as part of its eternal search for rotation stability. Marquez signed a five-year, $43MM extension that covered the 2019-23 seasons, and also included a $16MM club option for 2024. Rather than buy out that option for $2.5MM in the wake of Marquez’s TJ surgery, the Rox instead worked out a new two-year extension that will pay Marquez $20MM over the next two seasons, with another $10MM available in bonuses based on roster time and innings pitched.
Senzatela inked a five-year, $50.5MM extension in October 2021 that also included a club option ($14MM in 2027). Senzatela was already under arbitration control through 2023, so had that deal not been signed, the righty might’ve been in free agency right now and facing an uncertain near future as he recovered from his surgery. The Rockies haven’t gotten much return on their investment since Senzatela has thrown only 100 innings over the last two seasons — his 2022 campaign was also cut short by a torn ACL.
Since it remains to be seen how much Marquez or Senzatela will factor into the 2024 season, the Rockies face an even greater pressure to fill innings. The Rox signed Dakota Hudson and acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Guardians, but they’ll also be relying on in-house options to contribute, none moreso than de facto staff ace Kyle Freeland. However, it has been some time since Freeland has looked like a true frontline pitcher — after finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018, the southpaw has battled injuries while posting a 4.96 ERA over 626 innings from 2019-23.
That includes a 5.03 ERA in 155 2/3 frames last season, as Freeland missed time with a separated shoulder and then an oblique strain that ultimately ended his season. The good news is that Freeland is now feeling recovered from more than just his 2023 injury woes.
“I told [manager Bud Black] and a couple of our other coaches how my arm and my body really hasn’t felt this good since 2021,” Freeland told reporters at Fan Fest, including Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. “It’s very exciting for me. We discussed my velocity last year, and one thing I really tried to work on this offseason is trying to get that back — doing stuff for my shoulder and stuff like that to make sure that I’m as healthy as possible going into camp.”
Kris Bryant is looking to avoid the injured list and tally his first full season in a Colorado uniform. Since signing his seven-year, $182MM contract during the 2021-22 offseason, Bryant has played in just 122 of 324 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a bruised left heel, and a fractured finger.
“I feel fortunate that I’m healthy right now and the offseason has been great,” Bryant told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders. In terms of his frustration over the last two seasons, Bryant said that “when I’m not performing to my standard it eats at me….When you play this game this long, certain things are going to happen, but I know that there are much better days ahead in my future.”
It remains to be seen if Bryant can ever regain his old MVP form, and while Bryant’s numbers haven’t been good over the last two years, the injuries provide a natural context for his struggles. Bryant hit .306/.376/.475 over 181 plate appearances in 2022, but then only .233/.313/.367 in 335 PA last season. Looking ahead to 2024, the Rockies intend to use Bryant primarily as a first baseman in order to help keep him healthy, but he’ll also get some work as a DH and right fielder. Bryant might possibly also see the odd game in left field when a left-hander is on the mound, but Nolan Jones is slated to take the bulk of work as Colorado’s regular left fielder.
Boy am I glad he never signed on the same squad with his “good friend Bryce Harper”
Bryce Harper has a level of pride, toughness and accountability in his performance. Bryant?…I’m not so sure, because you just don’t see it.
mlb fan, when Bryant was doing the FA thing, it was a hot topic in Philly. We all knew that 3b would not be his final position, but maybe get 2-3 yrs out of him there before a move to the OF. At that point Hoskins was a Phillie for life….
I wasn’t totally against the idea, but not on board with it either…. THEN in swooped the Rockies and everybody was like wait WHAT? IMHO Bryant knew how his body felt and was like ‘eff it and took the money and not wait for anything else. After all he had ROY, MVP, WS ring and now was $ time. Can’t / won’t blame him…. Will still root for him a little, just glad it’s not in a Phillies uni.
Senzatela should be ready to go for the playoffs.
I kid I kid
What year?
Bryant hasn’t been in his MVP form in a long time, it’s been downhill since his second season.
Bryant was only playing for a BIG contract and now that he’s got it, he is shutting it down effort wise.
Upon reading the many articles leading up to spring training I find one thing all teams have in abundance. That being good health optimizizm. But we all know that the IL list will grow fast and furious after the bell rings.
Will the Rockies resign the talented and dynamic Colton Welker?
Bryant is never healthy. Hoping he won’t hit the injured list is a fools wish. Rockies were dumb af for giving him that contract
“MLB the Show” makes Bryant out to be one of the worst defenders in MLB. When the ball is hit hard, he just stands there for like a full 1.5 seconds before he reacts. Based on this, I’m glad I don’t see many Colorado games each year.
Yup. That contract didn’t make sense to anyone but the Rockies.
I agree. It was major hear scratcher. I would have them kept story with an extension and let their prospects tough it out in OF. That Bryant signing looks like the albatross contract of Rendon royalty. Just an abysmal pen to paper.
The main reason they signed him was because the Cubs shocked them by picking Bryant over Jon Gray in the draft. Almost everyone thought the Cubs would take Appel or Gray, whichever the Astros passed on and the Rockies would get Bryant at 3. The Rockies owner was expecting him and spent a lot of time and money scouting him . The Rockies owner is stubborn, so when Bryant was a free agent, he wasn’t going to lose him again. Bad business decision, somewhat understandable human decision.
I suspect the Rockies felt the need to award someone with a huge contact to replace Arenado as the star of the team. The Rockies thought Bryant could fill that role, and so far, it has not worked.
That probably had a bit to do with it as well.
Outside of his MVP season, which we can formally classify as an outlier, there’s always been some kind of injury used as an excuse for performance. “Well, it isn’t his fault he has injury problems.” Nobody cares whose fault it is. Bryant’s not the kind of guy who performs unless he’s close to 100% which isn’t often.
The day he signed the contract I said that they should trade him to the RS + $52M. It’s hard to believe that, even considering the $52M, that would’ve been a bad trade for the RS.
Even more worrisome to me than Bryant hitting the IL, is Bryant not hitting the IL. Even when he played, he was not good. I started calling him Warning Track because about 50% of everything he hit was a fly out to the warning track. In addition, Nolan Jones, Sean Bouchard, and Elehuris Montero all outplayed him to one degree or another at LF, RF, and 1B respectively. And if we are going to have a grizzled vet at DH, I’d much rather it be Chuck Nazty than Bryant.
Hopefully Bud Black will teach the Roger Beshens football slider to ALL his pitchers, on center grip, throw like a football, stiff wrist. Freeland, Marquez, Bard know it but ALL of them have to throw it for them to contend.
Roger was seen talking to Bud Black at the Gm meeting at the OMNI in Scottsdale under a Mike. Roger told Bud about how he learned the football slider in 1978 from a hall of famer and the discussion got into how Roger also taught Jon Gray in May 2018.
Sounds about right, Bud still Manages like it’s 1978, he is not the right manager for a youth movement. It’s infuriating for rockies fans that he is still around to play veterans with no upside over promising rookies and tell every pitcher “fast ball at the knees” instead of to their strengths.
On the pitching side there’s a huge disconnect. Bud Black can easily teach every pitcher the same type of slider Freeland, Marquez, Bard, Jon Gray, Pierce Johnson learned which is the Roger Beshens Football Slider. I don’t think he understands that is the same type of non traditional slider just thrown from different arm angles. You look at the Yankees, Cole, Rodon, Schmidt, King who got traded, Holmes…and others throw the Roger Beshens football slider, None of them threw it before 2018. Tanaka, Sevy learned it in 2018 also. Why do you think Matt Blake was hired? To teach the Roger Beshens football slider. Why Bud Black doesn’t know this or teach it is frustrating. Think of it this way. Every pitcher since the beginning of baseball wishes they learned the Roger Beshens football slider. Imagine if Babe Ruth learned it, he would have avg more than 5 k’s a game! Ohtani benefitted the most by learning this type of slider. The Sweeper is the Roger Beshens football slider thrown from a lower arm angle. Same grip, tilt and wrist action.
Colorado shows no plan, no direction. Step One: pick a year to return to playoffs. Step Two: Do things toward that target.
FanDuel is laying 3-1 odds Bryant misses 50+ games with a pulled ear lobe this year. You can include Byron Buxton if you want some parleigh action.
Freeland isn’t nearly as bad as his ERA suggests. He’s had four straight seasons with an ERA+ of 100 or better, with 6 of his seven total MLB seasons having an above average ERA+. He has major home/away splits.
I refuse to attend a game until Rockies are legit contenders. I figure Jesus will return before that happens.
Putting a player at 1B makes absolutely no difference in durability. It’s a stupid move unsupported by any good evidence I’ve ever seen. The player still has to stand. They still have to reach. They still have to dive.
They don’t have to run, though
100% all strikeouts is what you’re saying?
First baseman have to run. They run almost as much as a third baseman does. Foul pop-ups and shallow fly balls. Run to 1B for force outs after dives. There’s not a huge difference between 1B and 3B, honestly.
But this is not a comparison of 1B and 3B. This is a comparison of 1B and RF. Bryant is not playing 3B for the Rockies because the Rockies have one the best fielding 3B in the game in Ryan McMahon.
Yes, it is a comparison between 3B and 1B. It’s also a comparison between SS or 2B or RF and 1B. We’re talking about the usage of 1B as some sort of non-sensical magical health tool. If Bryant is being moved solely for his health, why not move him to SS? He won’t have to run as far, right? Health assured!
RF and 1B both have to run when they hit the ball. First baseman are involved in 4x as many defensive plays as right fielders. First baseman still have to set in position. They still have to dive at grounders and line drives, stretch into awkward position to scoop balls, and they still have to run after pop ups and short fly balls.
There’s an argument for moving catchers to any position other than catcher for health. Catchers are unique. Apart from that or a active specific health issue, moving a player to 1B will not help.
In general, you are correct. But this is not a general situation. This is a situation specific to the Rockies team. On another roster, the situation might be different. But not here.
Then it’s not for “health.” Which is fine. A team can move players around as they see fit, but making the move for precautionary health reasons (other than for catchers) isn’t a valid reason IMHO.