Rockies Rumors

Rockies Designate Miguel Castro For Assignment

By Connor Byrne | April 2, 2017 at 1:14pm CDT

The Rockies have designated right-hander Miguel Castro for assignment, thereby clearing a roster spot for left-hander Kyle Freeland.

Castro joined the Rockies in July 2015 as part of their Troy Tulowitzki trade with the Blue Jays, who also gave up righty Jeff Hoffman and shortstop Jose Reyes in the deal. At the time, Castro ranked as one of the Jays’ best prospects, but his stock has obviously dropped since switching organizations. Now 22, Castro debuted in Toronto prior to the trade and has since posted a 6.12 ERA, 8.35 K/9 and 4.16 BB/9 in 32 1/3 innings between there and Colorado. The hard thrower totaled just 30 1/3 innings last year, 15 2/3 of which came at the Triple-A level. He was even worse there, as he yielded 18 earned runs on 21 hits and seven walks.

Rockies Agree To 30-Year Deal To Stay At Coors Field

By Connor Byrne | April 1, 2017 at 10:41pm CDT

The Rockies and the Metropolitan Baseball Stadium District, which owns Coors Field, agreed to a 30-year, $200MM lease Wednesday to continue housing the team there, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. The two sides had spent four years negotiating the contract, which Major League Baseball approved Wednesday. The Rockies’ lease would have expired Thursday without an agreement, and that could have put their future in question. Instead, they’re now in line to remain at Coors Field through 2047. And, to the team’s credit, none of the pending $200MM in improvements to the stadium will come via taxpayer money. Coors opened in 1995 at a cost of $300MM, more than half of which ($162MM) was public money.

Notable Roster Decisions: Friday

By Steve Adams | March 31, 2017 at 9:45pm CDT

As Spring Training draws to a close, the final determinations about each team’s roster will be continue to come into focus. Here are some of the day’s more notable roster decisions…

Prized righty Tyler Glasnow will take the final spot in the Pirates rotation, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He had been competing with Trevor Williams, who’ll head to the bullpen, Adam Berry of MLB.com adds on Twitter. With southpaw Wade LeBlanc also taking a job, that seems to set the stage for Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to hit the waiver wire.
The Giants have nailed down their bench and rotation, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Aaron Hill and Chris Marrero will round out the bench. The veteran Hill figures to share the infield reserve duties with Conor Gillaspie, while Marrero will surprisingly open the season as a part of a left field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jarrett Parker. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will keep a rotation spot, though Ty Blach will also make the club as a reliever — where he could often spell Cain in lengthier outings.
With injuries and young arms entering the picture, the Rockies’ pitching plans were interesting to watch this spring. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets, the team will roll with lefty Kyle Freeland and righties Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to fill out their starting staff. It seems likely that the former two will open the year in the rotation, with Marquez heading to the pen and staying on hand if a need arises.

Click to read earlier updates …

By optioning Ben Gamel and placing several relievers on the DL, the Mariners signaled their Opening Day Roster, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). Guillermo Heredia will serve as a reserve outfielder, while both Dillon Overton and James Pazos are slated to take up spots in the bullpen.
Righty Oliver Drake has been named as the final member of the Orioles bullpen, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. It had been suggested yesterday that Drake was placed on waivers, but it seems that was premature. Though he had a rough spring, Drake has shown an ability to induce lots of swings and misses with his deceptive pitch mix. The 30-year-old is out of options, so Baltimore had to carry him on the active roster to maintain control rights.
The Rangers made the surprising decision to option righty Keone Kela, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Indications are that the move was related to off-field issues rather than performance questions or a need for roster space. Indeed, Kela was — and, perhaps, still is — expected to fulfill an important role in the Rangers’ pen. Though he dealt with elbow issues and struggled in the earned-run department last year, the 23-year-old was dominant this spring and seemed a good bet to bounce back.
A groin injury will land Matt Garza on the 10-day disabled list to open the season, meaning that the Brewers’ rotation will now consist of right-handers Junior Guerra, Zach Davies, Wily Peralta, Chase Anderson and Jimmy Nelson, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Left-hander Tommy Milone, who inked a one-year deal after being non-tendered by the Twins, had been in the mix for a rotation spot but will instead pitch out of the bullpen, Haudricourt adds. The 30-year-old Milone, who has made only 11 career relief appearances, will be the lone southpaw in Milwaukee’s bullpen (and on its entire pitching staff, for that matter).
Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reports that Trevor Cahill and Luis Perdomo have won spots in the Padres’ rotation, thereby pushing Jarred Cosart to the bullpen. Cahill and Perdomo will be joined by Jhoulys Chacin, Jered Weaver and Clayton Richard in a reconstructed San Diego rotation that was pieced together in cost-effective fashion but still carries myriad question marks. Manager Andy Green didn’t rule out a return to the rotation or an eventual late-inning role for Cosart, but for the time being it sounds as if he’s slotted for long relief. Given the uncertainty that permeates the San Diego starting corps, that role could lead to plenty of innings for the 26-year-old Cosart early in the year.
The Yankees announced last night that right-hander Chad Green has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 25-year-old Green had been in consideration for a rotation spot and turned in a strong 1.50 ERA in 12 spring innings, though that was accompanied by a less-encouraging 8-to-6 K/BB ratio. The Yankees aren’t planning to name a fifth starter before Opening Day and will utilize early off days to avoid needing a fifth starter for the early portion of April. Still, it’d be a surprise if Green didn’t at least enter the team’s rotation conversation at some point this season. For now, the team’s rotation will be comprised of Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia and Luis Severino.
Jandel Gustave has won the Astros’ final bullpen spot, beating out fellow righty James Hoyt, per Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The 24-year-old bounced to three different teams after being taken in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft before ultimately returning to the ’Stros. Gustave averaged 97.1 mph on his fastball in his brief MLB debut last season and turned in a 16-to-4 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings of work.
Right-hander Austin Pruitt has beat out Chase Whitley and Jaime Schultz to make the Rays’ roster, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Injuries to Shawn Tolleson and Brad Boxberger likely helped to pave the way for Pruitt, 27, to break camp with the team. The 2013 ninth-round pick turned in a solid 3.76 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9 in his first taste of Triple-A work last year. Manager Kevin Cash tells Topkin that delivering the news that Pruitt would make the Opening Day roster was “probably the best conversation all spring.” The manager also noted that a decision on the final bench slot may not come until Saturday (or even Sunday morning, Topkin adds via Twitter).

Rockies Sign Ryan Hanigan To Minor League Deal

By Connor Byrne | March 28, 2017 at 6:59pm CDT

The Rockies have signed catcher Ryan Hanigan to a minor league contract, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag (on Twitter). Hanigan, who came available when the Phillies released him Monday, will earn at a $1.25MM rate if he cracks the Rockies’ roster, tweets Thomas Harding of MLB.com.

The 36-year-old Hanigan didn’t last long as a member of the Phillies, with whom he signed a minors pact in January. Hanigan will now try to find his way back to the majors in Colorado, which lost one of its top two catchers, Tom Murphy, to a fractured forearm two weeks ago. Murphy is likely to miss a few more weeks, leaving Tony Wolters, Dustin Garneau, Rule 5 pick Anthony Bemboom and Hanigan among the Rockies’ backstop choices.

Hanigan is easily the most experienced member of the group, and he did enjoy some fine seasons in his Reds tenure from 2007-13. However, Hanigan wasn’t all that effective over the previous three years with the Rays and Red Sox. After Hanigan hit a meager .171/.230/.238 in 113 plate appearances with Boston last season, the team declined his $3.75MM club option for 2017. He also saw his once-pristine pitch-framing marks decline significantly over the prior two years.

Rockies Select Mark Reynolds’ Contract

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2017 at 5:40pm CDT

The Rockies have officially selected the contract of first baseman Mark Reynolds, as per a team announcement. In a corresponding move to create roster space, Chad Bettis has been placed on the 60-day DL as the right-hander continues his battle with testicular cancer.

Reynolds rejoined the Rockies on a minor league deal in February that guaranteed him a $1.5MM for making the MLB roster. The veteran slugger will have another $2MM more available to him through incentives.

With Ian Desmond sidelined for much of April due to a fracture in his left hand, the path was clear for Reynolds to win a spot as Colorado’s regular first baseman. Rookies Stephen Cardullo and Jordan Patterson are locked in an interesting battle over the backup first base job. Cardullo has been one of the Rockies’ best hitters in camp, though the club would have to create a 40-man roster space for him; Patterson is already on the 40-man and is a left-handed hitter, better complementing the righty-swinging Reynolds.

Reynolds hit .282/.356/.450 with 14 homers over 441 plate appearances for the Rockies last season, a good performance on paper that was aided by both a .361 BABIP and hitter-friendly Coors Field. Reynolds had been decidedly less productive over the previous three seasons, hitting .216/.303/.395 over 1369 PA with the Cardinals, Brewers, Yankees, and Indians. Still, if Reynolds has been somewhat revived by playing in the thin air, he provides an inexpensive veteran bat and pretty solid glovework as Desmond’s temporary replacement.

Jon Gray's Toe Injury Not Seen As Serious

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2017 at 2:11pm CDT

An MRI on Jon Gray’s toe didn’t reveal any bad news, and the Rockies right-hander tells media (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post) that the injury that forced him to leave Friday’s game is a minor one. Gray said he expects to make his Opening Day start.

Jon Gray Suffers Toe Injury

By Jeff Todd | March 24, 2017 at 8:20pm CDT

The Rockies have perhaps been the game’s most unfortunate team this spring in the injury department, and today delivered another bit of unwelcome news. Key righty Jon Gray left his start after experiencing discomfort in his left big toe, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports on Twitter. It’s certainly far too soon to know whether there’s any real cause for concern in Gray’s case, though the Colorado organization can scarcely afford even a short-term gap in the rotation.

Rockies Notes: Hoffman, Norris

By Mark Polishuk | March 23, 2017 at 10:50pm CDT

The Rockies optioned Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A today, with manager Bud Black telling reporters (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post) that Hoffman required “a little more refinement” and consistency. “The fastball has velocity, but he has to locate the fastball,” Black said. “The slider and curveball are very good pitches. They are major league quality. But he has to consistently get them into good spots. The overall command of his pitches is something he needs to harness.” Hoffman, one of the game’s top pitching prospects, posted a 4.88 ERA over his first 31 1/3 innings in the majors last season. With Hoffman at Triple-A, rookies German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, and Antonio Senzatela are all competing for the last two spots in Colorado’s injury-thinned rotation.
The Rockies are one of the teams interested in catcher Derek Norris, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Colorado joins the Cardinals and Rays as teams known to have interest in the free agent catcher. With Tom Murphy on the DL with a fractured forearm, the Rockies are a logical candidate to be exploring upgrades behind the plate.

Latest On Chris Rusin, Rockies' Rotation

By Connor Byrne | March 22, 2017 at 10:32pm CDT

Rockies left-hander Chris Rusin had been vying for one of their available rotation spots before suffering an oblique injury March 3. Rusin returned to throwing on Wednesday, in the form of a 25-pitch bullpen session, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The 30-year-old hopes to return by Opening Day, but he no longer has a chance to earn a starting job. The Rockies will choose two of Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez, Harrison Musgrave and Kyle Freeland to fill out their rotation behind Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson and Tyler Chatwood.

Rockies Notes: Dahl, Bullpen

By Mark Polishuk | March 21, 2017 at 8:27pm CDT

David Dahl is still around 10 days away from resuming baseball activities after an MRI revealed that his right rib was still healing, Rockies manager Bud Black told media (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post). Dahl was revealed to have a stress fracture in his ribcage earlier this month, already leaving him questionable for the start of the season and the latest news should all but confirm Dahl for the 10-day DL come Opening Day. The 22-year-old was expected to be Colorado’s starting left fielder this season, though Gerardo Parra is slated to handle the job in Dahl’s absence.
Could the Rockies go from arguably the league’s worst bullpen in 2016 to a potentially dominant pen in 2017? Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan thinks it could happen, though Colorado will clearly need a lot of bounce-backs and good health from Adam Ottavino, Greg Holland, and Jake McGee. All three pitchers have high ceilings, however, and with Carlos Estevez, Mike Dunn and others in the mix, the Rockies could make a big turnaround in their relief corps.

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