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Jake Cave, Peter Lambert, Dakota Hudson Elect Free Agency

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The Rockies announced that outfielder Jake Cave as well as right-handers Dakota Hudson and Peter Lambert passed through outright waivers unclaimed. Each of the three players elected free agency rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque. The moves drop the club’s 40-man roster count to 38, as Hudson was on the 60-day IL and not taking up a spot.

All three players were eligible for arbitration this winter, so these moves effectively act as early non-tenders. Each player has more than three years of service time, meaning each has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Cave, 32 in December, was acquired from the Phillies in a cash deal coming into the 2024 season. He got into 123 games for the Rockies and stepped to the plate 346 times. Unfortunately, he hit just .251/.290/.396 in that time for a 75 wRC+. He now has a career batting line of .236/.292/.400 and an 80 wRC+ in over 1500 trips to the plate. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a salary of $1.8MM next year but the Rockies will move on instead.

Hudson, 30, spent many years as a groundballer with the Cardinals. He had a 3.14 earned run average through 2021 but his ERA jumped to 4.45 in 2022 and 4.98 in 2023, so the Cards decided to non-tender him.

The Rockies brought him aboard via a modest $1.5MM guarantee but Hudson went on to post a 6.17 ERA this year. There may have been some bad luck in there, as he only stranded 63.5% of runners, but he also made things hard on himself. His 12.4% walk rate was not only above league average but also above his 12.1% strikeout rate. Colorado could have brought him back for a projected $2.3MM salary next year but understandably decided not to.

Lambert, 27, was a second-round pick of the Rockies back in 2015. He was a notable prospect for the club on his way up the ladder but hasn’t been able to cement himself in the big leagues. He debuted in 2019, making 19 starts that year but with a 7.25 ERA. He required Tommy John surgery in July of 2020, keeping out of action for all of that year and most of 2021. Right forearm inflammation limited him to just four minor league appearances in 2022.

He’s been largely healthy for the past two seasons, with the Rockies using him a frequently-optioned swingman. He has thrown 148 2/3 major league innings since the start of 2023, but with a 5.51 ERA. His 8.7% walk rate in that time is fine but his 18.5% strikeout rate is subpar.

He was projected for a $1.5MM salary next year, which is almost nothing in MLB terms, but he has exhausted all of his option years. That would make it harder for the Rockies to keep him on the roster going forward, so they have decided to bump him off today.

Rockies Sign Bud Black To One-Year Extension

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The Rockies have agreed to a one-year contract extension with manager Bud Black, the team announced. The deal will keep Black in Colorado for the 2025 season, which will be his ninth with the club. In additional Rockies news, the team also revealed that they have parted ways with bullpen coach Reid Cornelius and assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere.

Black is the winningest manager in Rockies history and the only manager to lead the team to consecutive postseason appearances (2017-18). However, both of those accomplishments come with an asterisk; the Rockies are 537-657 (.450) under Black’s leadership, and they have not reached the playoffs in seven years. The team’s failures certainly cannot be attributed to Black alone, but it is still unusual to see a manager stick around so long with so little success. Only four other managers have been with their current clubs at least as long as Black has been with the Rockies, and all four of them – Kevin Cash (Rays), Dave Roberts (Dodgers), Brian Snitker (Braves), and Torey Lovullo (Diamondbacks) – have had significantly more recent success than Black.

Nonetheless, the Rockies expressed confidence in Black, with general manager Bill Schmidt stating, “We believe this team is heading in the right direction” and praising his manager’s “skills, experience, and knowledge” in a recent press release. Considering those comments, one might think the Rockies would want to give Black a longer-term deal. After all, managers on expiring contracts are typically seen as lame ducks. In Black’s case, however, this is yet another one-year deal; he also signed single-year contracts entering 2022, ’23, and ’24. Reporter Nick Groke once described the skipper as being “on a rolling year-to-year contract.” It’s possible the unique contract situation is just as much for Black’s benefit as Colorado’s, giving him the chance to walk away after every season.

The Rockies finished the 2024 season 61-101, the worst record in the National League and the second-worst record in MLB. Some promising young players took big steps forward – namely Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar – but this team is still far off from being taken seriously as a contender. After so many losing seasons in a row, plenty of fans would surely love to see a shakeup in the dugout, but practically speaking, it’s hard to imagine a new manager would make much of a difference in 2025.

Before joining the Rockies ahead of the 2017 season, Black managed the Padres from 2007-15. He went 649-713 (.477), leading the team to just a pair of winning seasons in nine years. In the second of those winning seasons (2010), he was named NL manager of the year. Prior to his managerial career, Black was the pitching coach for the Angels from 2000-06, winning a World Series with the club in 2002.

Cornelius and Pilittere both joined the Rockies coaching staff ahead of the 2022 season. Following the conclusion of his playing career in 2000, Cornelius worked as a coach in the Marlins minor league system from 2003-09. In 2010, he took over as the bullpen coach for the big league club, a role he held until 2016. After a brief stint coaching in the Braves minor league system, he returned to the Marlins organization as a minor league pitching coach in 2019 and a major league rehab pitching coach in 2021.

Pilittere played in the Yankees minor league system from 2004-11 before taking on a minor league coaching role in 2012. In 2018, he was named the assistant hitting coach for the major league club. After four seasons, the Yankees let him go at the end of the 2021 campaign, and he signed on with the Rockies shortly thereafter.

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

Catchers

Infielders

Pitchers

11 Players Elect Free Agency

By | at

As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

34 Players Elect Free Agency

By | at

As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated Hitter

Pitchers

Offseason Outlook: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies just wrapped up their sixth straight losing season and second straight with over 100 losses. There are some internal reasons for optimism but they have a difficult path out of the National League West basement.

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NL West Notes: Gonsolin, Freeman, Bryant, Snell

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Unless “something really unforeseen” happens, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Tony Gonsolin probably isn’t going to be part of the team’s postseason roster.  Gonsolin underwent Tommy John surgery about 13 months ago and was considered a longshot to pitch any big league innings this season, though Gonsolin did return in time to pitch 7 2/3 innings over three Triple-A rehab appearances.  As Roberts implied to the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters, however, Gonsolin is still viewed by the Dodgers as something of an emergency option, as it would be asking a lot of any pitcher who go from a year of inactivity right into the tension of important postseason relief innings.

While Gonsolin likely won’t factor into the L.A. playoff plans, Roberts was less concerned about Freddie Freeman’s bad ankle, as the manager was very optimistic Freeman would be ready for the start of the NLDS a week from today.  Freeman suffered a sprained ankle in the Dodgers’ 7-2 win over the Padres on Thursday, and was seen on crutches and in a walking boot later that night.  X-rays were negative on the ankle, however, and Freeman benefits from some extra time off before the Dodgers play their first postseason game.

More from the NL West…

  • With $104MM still owed to him over the 2025-28 seasons, it isn’t surprising that Kris Bryant isn’t at all considering retirement, as he told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  Bryant went into detail about the back and arthritis issues that have plagued his tenure with the Rockies, and how he is already pursuing a new workout plan to strengthen his core and get his back in playing shape.  Since signing his seven-year, $182MM free agent deal with the Rox in March 2022, Bryant has been limited to only 159 games, leaving him both “guilty” about his lack of production and determined to turn things around as he enters his age-33 season.  “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s been terrible.  It’s been terrible on me, physically and emotionally,” Bryant said.  “I feel like I’ve let a ton of people down.  There is nobody who feels worse about this than me.  There are a lot of nights when I’m upset, I’m depressed.  I want to be out there with the guys.  It sucks.  I want to be on road trips, I want to play.”
  • After facing a notoriously quiet free market last winter, Blake Snell figures suitors will “be more aggressive earlier” in their pitches this offseason, as Snell told NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic and other media.  Traditionally a slow starter even with a standard offseason, Snell didn’t sign with the Giants until more than halfway through March, thus essentially erasing his Spring Training and leading to a disastrous first three months of the 2024 season.  Since the start of July, however, Snell has been spectacular, thus reigniting the expectation that he’ll opt out of the final year of his contract with the Giants in search of a longer-term deal in free agency.  A return to San Francisco certainly seems possible, as Snell said he plans to speak with ownership and the front office, and again stated how he enjoyed playing with the club in 2024.

Charlie Blackmon To Retire At Season’s End

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Charlie Blackmon is calling it a career. The four-time All-Star announced this evening (on X) that he is retiring at the end of the season.

“As a kid you play the game because you love it, like nothing else matters,” Blackmon wrote. “I still play the game that way, but I don’t feel like a kid anymore. My perspective has changed. I have been blessed to call the city of Denver and The Colorado Rockies my baseball home for the entirety of my career. I am grateful for the support of this organization, my teammates, and most of all Rockies fans. It is with a thankful heart and a career’s worth of memories that I choose a new path.” Blackmon went on to thank his family as part of a longer statement.

Blackmon spent parts of 14 seasons in the majors and played 17 years professionally. That entire run came with the Rockies. Colorado drafted the lefty-hitting outfielder out of Georgia Tech in the second round in 2008. Blackmon reached the big leagues three years later and broke out among the best outfielders in the National League in the middle of the decade.

Colorado traded Dexter Fowler to Houston over the 2013-14 offseason. That paved the way for Blackmon, who’d been a part-time player over the previous couple years, to take over in center field. Then-manager Walt Weiss penciled him into the Opening Day lineup in ’14. That kicked off a stretch of 11 straight years (including this season) in which Blackmon was part of Colorado’s season-opening lineup.

Blackmon ran with the opportunity, hitting .288 with 27 doubles and 19 home runs to earn his first All-Star nod. He had similar numbers the following year before really emerging as an offensive force in 2016. Blackmon hit .324/.381/.552 with 29 longballs to earn his first of consecutive Silver Slugger awards. He returned to the All-Star Game amidst a career year the following season.

During his age-30 campaign, Blackmon raked at a .331/.399/.601 clip while leading the majors with 725 plate appearances. He drilled 37 home runs, 35 doubles and an MLB-best 14 triples. Blackmon won the NL batting title while leading the majors with 213 hits and 137 runs scored. That’s incredible production even at Coors Field and deservedly earned him his second straight Silver Slugger award. Blackmon finished fifth in NL MVP balloting and helped the Rox to their first playoff berth in eight years.

Colorado was bounced by the Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card game. They’d return to the postseason the following year, with Blackmon again playing a central role. He hit .291/.358/.502 with 29 homers and an NL-leading 119 runs. The Rox knocked off the Cubs in the Wild Card contest that time around, though they were swept by the Brewers in the Division Series (in which Blackmon went 1-12).

Early in that 2018 season, Blackmon and the Rockies agreed to a $94MM extension. The deal paid him $21MM annually in 2019-21 and came with player options covering the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. That locked Blackmon up through his 30s and more or less ensured he’d spend his entire career in Denver.

Blackmon had one more excellent season, connecting on 32 homers while hitting .314 to earn another All-Star nod. Yet the team dropped to 71-91 in 2019. They went 26-34 during the shortened schedule while Nolan Arenado’s relationship with the front office deteriorated. Colorado traded Arenado the following winter and have essentially been mired in a rebuild ever since — even though the front office has been reluctant to acknowledge it as such.

That has coincided with Blackmon’s decline as he’s gotten into his mid-30s. He continued to hit for solid averages until this season and remained one of the tougher players in MLB to strike out. Blackmon hasn’t hit for the same kind of power he did during his 2016-19 peak, though, and he had to move off center field at the end of the 2018 season. Blackmon has spent more time at designated hitter than in right field for the past three years.

Despite the drop in production, Blackmon’s status within the organization hasn’t wavered. The Rockies re-signed him last September on a $13MM deal for what’ll be his final season. Blackmon has unlocked another $1.5MM in incentives and could secure $500K more if he logs 25 plate appearances over the last week.

The 38-year-old announced his retirement with a career .292/.352/.479 slash to his name. He has played in more than 1600 games and tallied over 6800 plate appearances. Blackmon is three hits shy of 1800 and has 991 runs scored, 797 driven in, and 226 home runs. Both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs credited him with roughly 20 wins above replacement. It’s fair to wonder if that’s artificially driven down somewhat by his home park, as Blackmon never graded well by public defensive metrics with so much ground to cover in MLB’s largest outfield.

Blackmon has six more games to add to those totals. Whatever the precise numbers, he’ll walk away as one of the best players in franchise history. He’s second behind Hall of Famer Todd Helton in hits, runs scored and plate appearances with the Rockies. Blackmon is sixth in Colorado history in home runs and would tie longtime teammate Carlos González for fifth if he connects on one this week. He’s seventh among position players in franchise history by measure of Baseball Reference WAR.

The Rockies finish the season with a pair of home series. They’ll host the Cardinals for three before wrapping things with a weekend set against the Dodgers. That’ll afford the Colorado fanbase an opportunity for a proper farewell. MLBTR congratulates Blackmon on an excellent run and wishes him the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NL Injury Notes: Glasnow, Hicks, Wicks, Kinley

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The Dodgers moved Tyler Glasnow to the 60-day injured list on Wednesday, all but officially ruling him out for the rest of the season. The lanky right-hander spoke with reporters (including Jack Harris and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) and essentially confirmed he won’t be back in the playoffs. Glasnow called it “extremely frustrating” to be dealing with an elbow sprain, though he indicated he’s confident he will not require any kind of surgical repair.

Glasnow tossed 134 innings across 22 starts in his first season with the Dodgers. He established new career marks in both categories, though the season-ending elbow injury isn’t going to quiet concerns about his durability. Glasnow remained effective as ever before the injury, turning in a 3.49 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate.

A few more Senior Circuit injury notes as noncompetitive teams shut some players down:

  • Shoulder inflammation sent Jordan Hicks to the injured list, ending his season. The Giants recalled Austin Warren to take his spot in the bullpen. Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Hicks will go for an MRI tomorrow. The first season of his four-year, $44MM free agent deal was a mixed bag. Hicks moved to the rotation for the first extended stretch of his career. The sinkerballer pitched well early, carrying a 2.70 ERA in 12 appearances through the end of May. He seemed to wear down quickly thereafter, allowing a 6.37 ERA over his next eight starts. The Giants moved him back to the bullpen at the end of July, but he continued to struggle in relief. Hicks allowed nearly five earned runs per nine with six strikeouts and walks apiece over 11 frames out of the ’pen.
  • The Cubs placed left-hander Jordan Wicks on the injured list with a right oblique strain. Trey Wingenter is up from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move. Wicks had returned from a stint on the 60-day IL at the start of September. That was also on account of a right oblique strain, while the southpaw also missed time with an early-season forearm problem. It’s a frustrating second season for the former first-round pick. Wicks struggled when healthy enough to take the mound, allowing a 5.48 ERA across 46 innings in 11 appearances (10 starts).
  • Rockies closer Tyler Kinley landed on the shelf with elbow inflammation. Colorado recalled Jake Bird to take the open bullpen spot. It’s his second elbow-related IL stint in as many months. Kinley missed the second half of 2022 and most of last season after undergoing elbow surgery. He was healthy for most of this year but hasn’t found anything close to the success he enjoyed before the surgery two years ago. Kinley allowed a 6.19 ERA over 64 innings. He fanned a quarter of batters faced but walked more than 11% of opponents while struggling with the home run ball.

Charlie Culberson Announces Retirement

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Long-time utility player Charlie Culberson announced his retirement in an Instagram post today. He gave his thanks to his fans, coaches, teammates, agent, friends and family members for all the contributions they made to his journey. He also spoke to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his career and what might be next. He has considered coaching and broadcasting but thinks the latter is more likely.

Now 35, Culberson was drafted by the Giants in 2007 out of high school at the age of 18, going 51st overall. He developed into a notable prospect, getting attention for his ability to contribute in multiple facets of the game and at many positions. He made it to the majors with that club in cup-of-coffee fashion. He got into six games during the 2012 season and hit a meager .136/.136/.136 in his 23 plate appearances.

He was sent to the Rockies in the July 2012 trade that sent Marco Scutaro and cash considerations the other way. With Colorado, Culberson was able to get a bit more playing time, serving as a light-hitting utility guy. Over the 2013 and 2014 seasons, he got into 142 games for the Rockies, hitting .227/.273/.327 while playing all four infield positions and the outfield corners.

2015 was mostly a lost season for Culberson. He had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back and didn’t play in the majors. He tells Toscano that he started thinking about his post-playing days at that time, as he didn’t know if any club would want him after the long layoff.

However, his best days as a player were still ahead. He had lost his roster spot with the Rockies and became a free agent, signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers going into 2016. His role with that club was fairly similar to his time in Colorado. He got into 49 games for the Dodgers over the 2016 and 2017 seasons, slashing .263/.289/.350 while bouncing between the outfield corners and the three infield positions to the left of first base. Perhaps the most memorable moment of his time in Los Angeles saw him hit a walk-off, 10th inning home run to clinch the West division for the club that year (YouTube clip from MLB). He also hit an extra-inning home run in Game Two of the 2017 World Series to pull the Dodgers within 7-6, though the Astros would keep the score there and win that game (YouTube clip from MLB).

In December of 2017, Culberson went to Atlanta in five-play swap largely motivated by financial considerations. Matt Kemp was sent to the Dodgers while Culberson, Adrián González, Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy went the other way. This kicked off what was arguably the best part of Culberson’s career. A Georgia native, he became a fan favorite in Atlanta after hitting a couple of pinch-hit walk-off homers, earning the nickname “Charlie Clutch” (YouTube clips of those walk-offs from MLB).

Over the 2018 and 2019 campaigns, Culberson got into 221 contests for Atlanta and produced a league-average batting line of .267/.316/.457. As usual, he bounced all around the diamond, playing all four infield spots, the outfield corners, and even taking the mound for mop-up duty a few times. He was non-tendered after that 2019 season and re-signed with Atlanta for 2020 on a minors deal, eventually getting into 10 games in the shortened season.

He spent 2021 and 2022 with the Rangers, doing his usual utility thing. He hit .246/.292/.373 in 161 games over those two campaigns while playing every position except for center field and catcher. He was back in Atlanta for 2023 but bounced on and off the roster and only got one plate appearance. It was reported in January of this year that he was going to attempt to move to the mound and signed another minors deal with Atlanta, but he was released in March. He tells Toscano that he knew he was done at that time.

Culberson wasn’t a star player but clearly endeared himself to many fans by his still of play and penchant for coming through when it counted most. He got into 590 big league games and stepped to the plate 1,312 times. He collected 300 hits, including 30 home runs. He scored 140 runs, drove in 145 and stole 21 bases. Per Baseball Reference, he earned a bit over $5MM as a big leaguer. MLBTR salutes him on a fine career and wishes him luck for whatever is over the horizon.

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