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Jeff Bridich: Rockies Playing “Really Bad Baseball”

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This has been an up-and-down season for the Rockies, who began 3-12, climbed all the way to 40-34 and have since nosedived to 46-50. The multiple rotten stretches the Rockies have stumbled through this year may prevent them from earning a third straight playoff berth, but for now, they’re a still-manageable 3 1/2 games out of wild-card position in the jam-packed National League. However, that doesn’t seem to be of much solace to general manager Jeff Bridich, who admitted to Thomas Harding of MLB.com that the Rockies are playing “really bad baseball.” Bridich added that the Rockies’ horrid performance over the past several weeks could complicate matters leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

“It all needs addressing,” Bridich said of his roster, though he doesn’t see “any quick fixes” and suggested he’s not gearing up to purchase outside help right now. While Harding notes Bridich bought at the previous two deadlines, which helped the team get to the postseason in each case, the GM was frank in saying this year “feels different” compared to those seasons.

“Just watch us play,” Bridich said. “We get a good outing from our starter and we’ll find a way to lose that game through offense or the bullpen or defense. We’ll get a lot of offense one game and our bullpen will come blow it or defense will blow it, or combine. There’s a different way each night, it seems. When that’s your reality in all parts of your team, it’s a tough go to fix all that in one small time period of the year.”

Problems are indeed prevalent for the Rockies. Despite having to pitch half its season at Coors Field, Colorado’s staff was legitimately effective last year. Among their starters, Kyle Freeland finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting, German Marquez was a strikeout machine, and Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray and Antonio Senzatela offered fine complementary performances. This year, with the exception of Gray, everyone from that group has taken noticeable steps back. Meanwhile, the Rockies’ bullpen has felt the absence of Adam Ottavino, who signed with the Yankees in the offseason, and fellow veterans Wade Davis and Seunghwan Oh (whose season is now over because of an elbow injury) have been dreadful. The bullpen’s lone bright spot over a large sample of work has been Scott Oberg, who has posted a 1.35 ERA/3.06 FIP in 46 2/3 frames.

As Bridich suggested, the Rockies’ position player group has also fallen flat. Despite the presences of Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl, the unit’s the fifth worst in the league by fWAR (5.2). Colorado has scored the majors’ fourth-most runs (527), but according to park-adjusted metric wRC+ (85), only five offenses have been worse. In the field, the club has been run-of-the-mill at best in errors (15th), Defensive Runs Saved (20th) and Ultimate Zone Rating (22nd).

Thanks to the Rockies’ team-wide issues, they may be more inclined to sell or stand pat than buy in the next two weeks. The trouble is, if the team wants to ship players out, it doesn’t seem to have a lot of realistic trade chips. Oh, catcher Chris Iannetta and infielder Mark Reynolds are the Rockies’ only impending free agents, but there’s little to no trade value in any of those cases. While the Rockies would likely jump at the chance to get any of the big contracts of Davis, Ian Desmond, Jake McGee and Bryan Shaw off their books, that’s not happening. Daniel Murphy has been hot of late, though he’s a soon-to-be 35-year-old with almost $18MM in guaranteed money left on his contract through 2020.

On the other hand, Story – who has two years of arbitration eligibility left after this one – would bring back a haul in a trade. But it’s almost impossible to imagine the Rockies dealing the 26-year-old this summer, especially considering they’d like to extend him. Gray and Oberg, who also come with arbitration control through 2021, would be easier to give up than Story. However, it would take a “truly special” return for the team to trade either of those right-handers, according to Harding.

Rockies Move Brendan Rodgers To 60-Day IL, Reinstate Harrison Musgrave

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  • The Rockies made a pair of 40-man roster transactions Wednesday, moving infielder Brendan Rodgers to the 60-day injured list after he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and reinstating lefty Harrison Musgrave from the 60-day IL. The club optioned Musgrave, who hasn’t pitched since May 3 because of a flexor strain, to Triple-A Albuquerque after activating him. The 27-year-old Musgrave allowed four earned runs on nine hits and seven walks (with 12 strikeouts) in 10 innings before his IL placement. As a rookie last season, Musgrave threw 44 2/3 frames to rank seventh among Rockies relievers in that category, but he only mustered a 4.63 ERA/5.31 FIP with 6.45 K/9 against 4.43 BB/9.

Seunghwan Oh To Undergo Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

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Rockies right-handed reliever Seunghwan Oh is set to undergo season-ending surgery on his elbow to remove loose particles, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports. It’s the second bit of unwelcome health news of the night for the Rockies, who previously lost infielder Brendan Rodgers to season-ending shoulder surgery.

This news wraps up a miserable campaign for Oh, who last pitched May 30. The 37-year-old took the mound 21 times for the Rockies this season and pitched to a hideous 9.33 ERA/6.70 FIP with 7.85 K/9, 2.95 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent groundball rate over 18 1/3 frames. It was a far cry from the Oh who dominated at times over the previous three seasons with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies. Even factoring in this year’s disastrous production, the Korean-born Oh has still recorded a 3.31 ERA/3.46 FIP with 10.05 K/9 against 2.23 BB/9 across 225 2/3 innings since emigrating from the Japan Central League in 2016.

Oh turned in excellent numbers last year between Toronto and Colorado and amassed enough appearances (73; he needed 70) for his $2.5MM club option to vest for this season. The Rockies were happy to welcome Oh back at such a reasonable salary, though he indicated last October that he wanted to return to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he pitched from 2005-13.

While Oh decided to honor the remainder of his contract with the Rockies, it’s now fair to wonder what the future holds for the hurler known as the “Final Boss.” As a soon-to-be free agent, Oh could return to his homeland to finish his career or simply retire. If Oh returns to the majors, it seems likely he’ll have to settle for a minor league deal on the heels of a nightmarish contract year.

Brendan Rodgers Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Top Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers underwent surgery to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder today, Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets. The procedure will end the 22-year-old’s season.

Rodgers, the No. 3 overall pick by the Rockies in 2015, made his MLB debut this season and hit .224/.272/.250 in a small sample of 81 plate appearances. He’s been on the injured list since late June with what was initially termed a shoulder impingement, but it seems the extent of the injury was considerably greater than first believed.

Rodgers has been a fixture on prospect rankings since the moment he was drafted, entering the 2019 campaign as a consensus top-25 prospect in all of MLB. He did little to dispel that notion in Triple-A Albuquerque this season, hitting .350/.413/.622 with nine homers, 10 doubles and a triple in 160 plate appearances prior to his call up to the big leagues. It’s a hitter-friendly environment, to be sure, but Rodgers’ offensive output still checked in at 48 percent better than the league average, per wRC+.

Drafted as a shortstop, Rodgers now seems likely to move over to second base on a long-term basis. The Rockies have arguably the best left side of the infield in all of baseball with newly extended third baseman Nolan Arenado and shortstop Trevor Story locked in as long-term fixtures at their respective positions. Second base is less certain, though Ryan McMahon and Garrett Hampson present a pair of high-upside young options there as well. Given the Rockies’ wealth of infield talent, it’s possible that they’ll eventually make a move involving a young infielder. However, Rodgers’ injury serves as a reminder that perceived “surpluses” of this nature all too often sort themselves out in an unfortunate manner.

Rockies Sign Yonder Alonso

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The Rockies have signed first baseman Yonder Alonso to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.  Alonso unofficially announced the move himself earlier today on his Instagram page, and debuted tonight for the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate.

Alonso was released by the White Sox last week, bringing to end a short and disappointing tenure for the 32-year-old in the Windy City.  Alonso was acquired in a trade from the Indians last December, with Chicago somewhat surprisingly agreeing to take on all of the $8MM owed to the first baseman in 2019, plus the $9MM club option ($1MM buyout) on his services for 2020.  At the time, much of the speculation focused on Alonso as a possible harbinger of a Manny Machado (Alonso’s brother-in-law) signing for the Sox, though Machado’s eventual decision to join the Padres got Alonso’s time with the Pale Hose off to something of an awkward start.

After a big 2017 season, Alonso was a slightly below-average offensive producer in 2018 (97 wRC+, 97 OPS+) and his bat went ice-cold in a White Sox uniform.  The veteran hit just .178/.275/.301 with seven homers over 251 plate appearances, putting him on pace for what would be easily the worst full-season performance of his ten years in the majors.  While his expected outcomes (xBA, xSLG, xwOBA) significantly outpaced his real-world numbers, his expected slash line of .235/.376/.311 was also far from impressive.

That 2017 performance was generated largely by Alonso retooling his swing to become an extreme fly-ball hitter, and though his ability to keep the ball in the air has diminished over the last two years, the Rockies are undoubtedly intrigued by what a revived Alonso could potentially do in the thin air at Coors Field.  Since the White Sox are covering Alonso’s salary (minus the prorated MLB minimum if Alonso makes the big league roster), there’s no risk for Colorado in seeing if a change of scenery will get Alonso on track.

The Rockies already have another left-handed hitter in Daniel Murphy holding down the first base, so without a DH spot in the National League, Alonso would likely be limited to bench duty if he did crack the 25-man roster.  It’s worth noting that the Rox had some mild interest in Edwin Encarnacion prior to the slugger’s trade to the Yankees last month, so Colorado gave at least some vague thought to shifting Murphy back to second base.  Such move might have only been seriously considered to accommodate a player in the midst of a strong season like Encarnacion, however, rather than a struggling veteran like Alonso.

Latest On Kyle Freeland

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Rockies starter Kyle Freeland could soon be ready for a return to the majors, if he isn’t already, Nick Groke of The Athletic explains (subscription link) in the course of an excellent examination of the demoted southpaw.

There’s still no formal indication whether and when the Colorado organization will elect to call back Freeland. But the club is badly in need of a boost after dropping six-straight contests heading into the All-Star break. And Freeland says he’s ready to roll.

“I feel back to myself,” says Freeland, who was optioned at the end of May after a brutal start to the season. That came on the heels of a stirring 2018 performance in which he landed fourth in the National League’s Cy Young voting. While there was cause to anticipate some regression, it seemed at the time that the Denver native was destined to be a rotation stalwart for years to come.

After allowing more than seven earned runs per nine innings in a dozen MLB starts, Freeland has coughed up almost a run per frame in his half-dozen outings at Triple-A. With 28 strikeouts against 16 walks, he’s not exactly posting dominant K/BB numbers against second-level competition.

But those numbers only tell part of the tale, Groke writes. When Freeland was demoted, the prevailing sense was that he was in good shape physically and mechanically. The issue, rather, was that he had become predictable to big-league hitters. The Rox initially told Freeland to rely exclusively on his fastball and change. He wasn’t working on big fixes; as he puts it, “it was just getting back to being myself.”

That’s approximately the same characterization that skipper Bud Black puts on the situation. He expressed confidence, saying he anticipates Freeland will “exhibit confidence in his pitch mix” and “be more dimensional.” It’s all but impossible to really say what that will look like on the mound. As Groke explains, though, that’s due to Freeland’s nature as a pitcher who succeeds by mixing, matching, and adapting constantly with his expansive repertoire.

While Freeland may feel himself, it remains to be seen whether he can again pitch anything like the version of himself that was capable of a full season of sub-3.00 ERA ball at Coors Field. He was bombed in his last Triple-A outing of the month of June, coughing up nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, but then bounced back with a sterling outing just before the break (9 strikeouts, 2 walks, four hits, 1 earned run in 7 innings).

There’s loads of uncertainty, but the Rockies have little choice but to give Freeland another shot — likely in the relatively near future. Groke says the club is inclined to call up Chi Chi Gonzalez for an upcoming doubleheader spot start, but anticipates a need for a fifth starter later this month. That’s only part of the picture, though, as the club’s current four-man rotation mix is not without broader issues. German Marquez and Jon Gray have been sturdy; otherwise, the Colorado club has received shaky output. Antonio Senzatela (who has been destroyed by lefty hitters) and newcomer Peter Lambert (nine home runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings) haven’t thrived any more than did Freeland, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Anderson, and Chad Bettis. If the Rox are to hand in the Wild Card race, they’ll need to get more consistency from their starting staff.

Poll: Disappointing National League Teams

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It wouldn’t have been far-fetched at the beginning of the season to expect any of the Brewers, Cubs, Rockies, Cardinals, Phillies or Mets to end up as part of this year’s National League playoff field. Three of those clubs – Milwaukee, Chicago and Colorado – earned postseason trips a year ago and continued to boast capable rosters coming into 2019. St. Louis won 88 games in 2018 and then made a couple aggressive offseason moves in an effort to get over the hump. Philadelphia and New York were sub-.500 teams last season, though the NL East rivals were among the majors’ busiest franchises over the winter.

With the regular season having reached its brief summer recess, it’s fair to say all of the above clubs have disappointed to varying degrees so far. The Cubs (47-43) and Brewers (47-44) do hold playoff spots at the moment, while the Redbirds (44-44) are just two back of those teams in the NL Central. However, they’ve each contributed to the general mediocrity of their division.

Cubs president Theo Epstein just voiced disgust over his team’s weeks-long slump. Their closest competitors, the Brewers,  have gotten another otherworldly season from reigning NL MVP outfielder Christian Yelich. A thumb injury has helped lead to sizable steps back for 2018 outfield complement Lorenzo Cain, though, while first baseman Jesus Aguilar has a mere eight home runs after slugging 35 a season ago. Meanwhile, the Brew Crew’s pitching staff – like the Cubs’ and the Cardinals’ – has underwhelmed throughout the season. The Cards’ offense has also sputtered, in part because headlining offseason pickup and longtime superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hasn’t resembled the player he was as a Diamondback.

The Rockies (44-45) reached the playoffs last year thanks largely to their starting pitching – something which has seldom been true about the team in its history. This season, though, reigning NL Cy Young candidate Kyle Freeland’s output has been so dreadful that he has spent the past month-plus trying to regain form in the minors. Aside from German Marquez and Jon Gray, nobody else in the Rockies’ starting staff has stepped up to grab a stranglehold of a spot.

Shifting to the NL East, the Phillies are in wild-card position at 47-43, but a .522 winning percentage and a plus-2 run differential may not have been what they had in mind after an action-packed offseason. A record-setting contract for Bryce Harper was the Phillies’ largest strike, but they also grabbed J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura and David Robertson in other noteworthy transactions. However, at least offensively, Harper, Realmuto and Segura haven’t matched their 2018 production. McCutchen was enjoying another quality season before suffering a season-ending torn ACL a month ago, meanwhile, and Robertson got off to a terrible start in the year’s first couple weeks. The long-effective reliever has been on the injured list since mid-April with a flexor strain. Even with a healthy McCutchen and Robertson, the Phillies would still be riddled with problems in their pitching staff – including the rapidly declining Jake Arrieta, whose season may be in jeopardy because of a bone spur in his elbow.

The Mets are rife with concerns on and off the field, with recent behind-the-scenes drama involving GM Brodie Van Wagenen and manager Mickey Callaway the source of the franchise’s latest unwanted attention. Van Wagenen’s audacious offseason signings and trades were supposed to help the Mets snap a two-year playoff drought this season. Instead, the team’s an abysmal 40-50 through 90 games and on track to sell at the July 31 trade deadline. Trading for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz hasn’t worked out at all, while splashy free-agent additions Jeurys Familia, Jed Lowrie (injured all season and possibly out for the year), Wilson Ramos (a potential trade candidate just a few months into a two-year contract) and Justin Wilson have also failed to meet expectations.

In a league where only the Dodgers and Braves have truly stood out so far, all of these clubs still have at least some chance to earn playoff spots this season. They’re each no worse than seven back of postseason position at the All-Star break. Considering your preseason expectations, though, who’s the biggest disappointment to date?

(Poll link for app users)

Rockies Sign Second-Rounder Karl Kauffmann

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  • The Rockies have agreed to sign sign second-round right-hander Karl Kauffmann, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. Kauffmann’s pick (No. 77) came with an assigned slot value of $805,600, and that’s just what he’ll receive, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo ranked the 21-year-old Kauffmann as the 110th-best player available entering the draft, crediting the ex-Michigan standout with “one of the livelier fastballs in the college ranks.” His fastball sits between 91 and 94 mph, though it’s capable of hitting 96, and he showed an ability to maintain his velocity deep in games with the Wolverines. Kauffmann complements his heater with a good changeup and an inconsistent slider, per Callis and Mayo, who write he possesses “a relatively high floor.”

Trevor Story To Begin Rehab Assignment

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Rockies shortstop Trevor Story will start a Triple-A rehab assignment Saturday, Nick Groke of The Athletic relays. It’ll be a two-game rehab stint for Story, whom the Rockies placed on the injured list June 20 with a right thumb issue. It seems Colorado dodged a bullet in this instance with the all-important Story, who missed a large portion of the 2016 campaign with a torn UCL in his left thumb.

Rockies Could Pull Wade Davis From Closer’s Role

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Rockies closer Wade Davis has struggled immensely of late, which has led the team to discuss whether to make changes at the back of its bullpen, manager Bud Black told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and other reporters Friday.

The three-year, $52MM contract the Rockies gave Davis entering 2018 hasn’t gone as hoped for the club thus far. The former Ray, Royal and Cub earned that deal with lights-out seasons over the prior few campaigns, but Davis has been shaky as a Rockie. He logged a 4.13 ERA – his highest since 2013 – with 10.74 K/9 and 3.58 BB/9 in 65 1/3 innings last season and has come back with even worse numbers in 2019.

The 33-year-old right-hander blew up Thursday against the Dodgers, allowing four earned runs on three hits and a walk in an inning of work. Davis now owns a horrid 6.00 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 over 24 frames this season. Black admitted Davis’ sky-high walk rate is “concerning.”

To this point, the Davis signing looks like the latest big-money acquisition that has gone haywire for the Rockies’ bullpen. Before the team signed Davis, it inked Jake McGee, Bryan Shaw and Mike Dunn for a combined $73MM in the preceding two offseasons. No one from that group has performed to expectations in Colorado, though McGee is enjoying a bounce-back season in 2019. McGee, Scott Oberg, Chad Bettis or Carlos Estevez could take over for Davis if the playoff contenders do make an end-of-game change.

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