Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rockies Rumors

Looking Ahead To Upcoming Club Options: NL West

By | at

We’re roughly a third of the way through the 2023 season. Players have had a couple months to build something of a performance track record that’ll play a role in their future contracts. With that in mind, MLBTR will take a look over the coming days at players whose contracts contain team or mutual options to gauge the early trajectory for those upcoming decisions.

We’ll go division by division and open things in the National League West:

Arizona Diamondbacks

Chafin lingered in free agency over the winter after opting out of his deal with the Tigers. The seeming lack of market interest was perplexing given the lefty reliever’s consistent effectiveness over the past few seasons. He’s carried that over into his second stint in the desert. Through 20 1/3 innings, Chafin owns a 3.10 ERA. He’s punched out 36% of opposing hitters on a huge 16.2% swinging strike percentage, both of which would be career-high marks. He’s not a prototypical fireballing reliever but he’s demonstrated he’s capable of missing bats and thriving in high-leverage situations for the past few years. The $6.5MM net decision on next year’s option looks more than reasonable if he keeps this up.

  • Zach Davies: $5.5MM mutual option ($300K buyout, rises to $500K with 16+ starts)

Davies has been limited to three starts by a left oblique strain. He has allowed eight runs with a modest 10:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 12 2/3 innings. There’s not much to go on yet in terms of 2023 performance but Davies looked like a borderline fifth starter the previous two years. The Diamondbacks have enough young pitching they seem likelier to buy him out unless the soft-tossing righty rediscovers his 2019-20 form for the stretch run.

  • Miguel Castro: $5MM option vests with 60+ appearances; would become $6MM player option with 40+ games finished (no buyout)

Castro has already pitched 26 times since signing with Arizona over the winter. He’s on pace to easily surpass the 60-appearance threshold needed to vest next year’s $5MM option if he can avoid the injured list. It could be a closer call as to whether he can turn that guaranteed $5MM salary into a $6MM player option; Castro has finished 12 games thus far, putting him just off the 40-game pace he’d need to do so. (He’s on pace for 36 games finished). Castro has been effective — a 2.22 ERA with roughly average strikeout, walk and swinging strike numbers through 24 1/3 innings — so vesting the player option and retesting the market isn’t out of the question.

Melancon struggled to a 4.66 ERA in 56 innings during his first season in Arizona. He hasn’t pitched this year on account of a Spring Training shoulder strain. Melancon might return in the second half but this is trending towards the team buying him out.

Colorado Rockies

Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month. He’ll miss the majority of next season as he rehabs. A healthy Márquez would’ve made this an easy call for the Rockies to exercise but the procedure means they’ll buy him out. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rox try to bring him back on a lesser salary or a multi-year deal with an eye towards 2025.

Hand’s peripherals had fallen back between 2021-22 from his All-Star peak. He’s continued to keep runs off the board and seen a notable bounceback in his strikeout rate since a Spring Training deal with Colorado. Hand owns a 3.20 ERA through 19 2/3 frames while striking out 33.7% of batters faced on a decent 11.6% swinging strike percentage. The veteran southpaw has dominated left-handed hitters and is yet to allow a home run this season. If he maintains this form, he’ll be one of the top reliever trade candidates this summer. If Colorado hangs onto him, they could be faced with an interesting decision as to whether to keep him around for an extra $6.5MM next winter.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers signed Muncy to a $13.5MM deal last summer even as he was amidst his worst season since landing in L.A. They’ve been rewarded with a massive bounceback showing. Muncy is tied for second in the majors with 17 home runs. He’s only hitting .208 but carrying a strong .340 on-base percentage thanks to an elite 15.8% walk rate. The $10MM price point would be an easy decision for the Dodgers if Muncy keeps up anything approaching this pace.

Los Angeles brought Hudson back last summer on the heels of a season-ending ACL tear. The veteran reliever hasn’t recovered as quickly from that procedure as he’d hoped. Hudson hasn’t pitched yet this season. He told reporters last night he’ll throw a bullpen session this week but is without a timeline for a return to game action (via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). It remains to be seen how he’ll look when he takes the mound.

  • Alex Reyes: $3MM team option with escalators ($100K buyout)

The Dodgers took a $1.1MM flier on Reyes after he lost the 2022 season to shoulder surgery. He’s on the 60-day injured list and not expected to be a factor until around the All-Star Break. This one remains to be determined based on his post-rehab form.

  • Blake Treinen (option value between $1-7MM dependent on time spent on IL)

Treinen underwent surgery to repair the rotator cuff and labrum in his throwing shoulder last November. He won’t pitch much, if at all, this season. Treinen’s contract contains an option with a floating value between $1MM and $7MM depending on how much time he spends on the injured list and the issue that puts him on the shelf. Its precise value is yet to be determined, but MLBTR has confirmed it’ll land towards the lower end of that range given Treinen’s surgery.

San Diego Padres

  • Nick Martinez: team has two-year, $32MM option; if declined, Martinez has two-year, $16MM player option

Martinez has taken on a similar swing role as he served during his first year in San Diego. The right-hander started his first four outings and pitched reasonably well. He was nevertheless bumped back into relief thereafter. For the second consecutive season, Martinez has proven a key multi-inning arm out of the bullpen. He’s posted a 1.35 ERA with a quality 20:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 20 relief innings, holding opponents to a pitiful .240/.278/.267 batting line.

There’s little question of Martinez’s effectiveness in a relief role, though a $16MM average annual value could be pricy if the organization isn’t planning on giving him another look out of the rotation. Perhaps Martinez’s production over the final four months makes this a clearer decision for San Diego by season’s end. As of now, it looks like a borderline call — not too dissimilar from Martinez’s question of whether to opt out of three years and $18MM last winter. The Padres liked him enough to subsequently re-sign him to a $26MM guarantee with the complex option structure.

  • Michael Wacha: team has two-year, $32MM option; if declined, Wacha has $6.5MM player option (with successive player options for 2025-26)

Wacha lingered in free agency last winter. Clubs seemed reluctant to buy into his solid results for the Red Sox, a reflection of middling strikeout and ground-ball numbers. Since landing in San Diego, he’s basically repeating last year’s script. The run prevention is excellent; he’s allowed a 3.45 ERA through 57 1/3 innings over ten starts. Wacha is again throwing strikes and keeping runs off the board despite roughly average strikeout and swinging strike rates.

Maintaining a mid-3.00s ERA for a second straight season might build confidence in his ability to outperform ERA estimators that suggest he’s more of a solid #4 starter than a mid-rotation arm. That said, Wacha doesn’t look all that different now than he did three months ago, when he signed a four-year guarantee with a $6.5MM average annual value. A jump to the $16MM per-year range could be a tougher sell for San Diego, although there’s little doubt Wacha would opt out of the final three years and $18.5MM on his contract if he keeps pitching like this and the Padres decline their end.

San Francisco Giants

Cobb has pitched well since signing a two-year deal with San Francisco over the 2021-22 offseason. He carries a 3.05 ERA through his first 11 starts this year. Cobb’s 60.6% ground-ball rate is stellar and he’s posted average strikeout and walk numbers (21.3% and 6.7%, respectively). An $8MM net decision would be an easy call for the Giants to exercise if Cobb maintains this pace. He’s dealt with injuries in the past but managed 149 2/3 innings over 28 starts last year and has avoided the IL in 2023.

All stats through play Monday.

Rockies Recall Blair Calvo

By | at

The Rockies announced they’ve recalled reliever Blair Calvo from Triple-A Albuquerque. He’ll be in Bud Black’s bullpen tonight against the Diamondbacks following his first major league call. Karl Kauffmann was optioned out in a corresponding move.

Calvo, 27, has played four-plus seasons professionally. Signed for just $3,000 as a 23rd round draftee out of Florida’s Flagler Junior College in 2019, he’s worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen in the minors. He’s never appeared on an organizational prospects ranking at Baseball America, though Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs praised his plus slider and called him a potential middle reliever this spring.

In 153 2/3 career minor league frames, Calvo has a 4.86 ERA. He’s had the misfortune of working in some hitter-friendly environments on his way up the ladder. That includes this year’s run in Albuquerque, where the righty has allowed 18 runs in as many innings. A huge .426 batting average on balls in play hasn’t done him any favors. Calvo’s 29.2% strikeout rate and 49% ground-ball percentage are both solid, though he’s also walked batters at a 10.1% clip.

The Rockies added Calvo to their 40-man roster last offseason. He’d have otherwise been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. As a result, Colorado doesn’t need to make any 40-man transactions to accommodate his promotion. He’s in his first of three minor league option years and can bounce between Coors Field and the upper minors for the foreseeable future without landing on waivers.

Rockies To Activate Dinelson Lamet For Wednesday Start

By | at

The Rockies plan to activate Dinelson Lamet from the 15-day injured list to start their Wednesday game with the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link).  Reports surfaced last week that Limet was being considered for a return to starting pitching, and with the Rockies increasingly desperate for rotation help, Limet will get a look as a starter for the first time since the 2021 season when he was still a member of the Padres.  Karl Kauffmann has already been optioned to Triple-A, creating space for Lamet on the active roster.  Lower back tightness has kept Lamet out of action for almost all of May, and he struggled to a 12.66 ERA over 10 2/3 relief innings this season prior to his injury.

Rockies Reinstate Ryan Rolison, Transfer Ryan Feltner To 60-Day IL

By | at

The Rockies reinstated left-hander Ryan Rolison from the 60-day injured list this afternoon. Colorado optioned the former first round pick to Triple-A Albuquerque, so he won’t make his major league debut quite yet. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Rox transferred righty Ryan Feltner from the 15-day to the 60-day IL. Colorado also placed Charlie Blackmon on the bereavement list and recalled Elehuris Montero before today’s game against the Diamondbacks.

Rolison has been out for almost a year. The Ole Miss product underwent shoulder surgery last June. Had he been healthy, he might’ve reached the majors last season. Rolison was already on the 40-man roster and had reached Triple-A in the second half of the 2021 campaign. Instead, the shoulder problem cost him all of 2022 and the first couple months of this season.

Colorado sent Rolison on a minor league rehab stint a couple weeks ago. He logged six innings over two starts in Low-A before tossing four innings of five-run ball for Albuquerque on Saturday. He’ll remain with the Isotopes and continue building up but could find himself in the mix for a big league look before long. The 25-year-old only has a 6.34 ERA in 49 2/3 innings in Triple-A but he’s punched out roughly a quarter of batters faced in his minor league career.

The Rockies have battled rotation uncertainty all season. Germán Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery and Antonio Senzatela suffered an elbow sprain. Feltner, meanwhile, was struck in the head by a Nick Castellanos line drive on May 14. He was eventually diagnosed with a skull fracture. Feltner told reporters over the weekend he hoped to make it back to the majors this season but understandably indicated his present focus is on getting back to normal after battling concussion symptoms. Today’s IL transfer officially rules him out of action through the All-Star Break.

Latest On Ryan Feltner

By | at

  • Ryan Feltner suffered a small skull fracture and a concussion after being hit with a Nick Castellanos line drive on May 14, but the Rockies right-hander hasn’t given up hope of returning to the field this season.  For now, Feltner is focused only on his recovery, and he gave a positive update to Patrick Saunders and other reporters.  Feltner said he has “a headache from the concussion, dizziness, but today there’s no pain.  I’m sleeping well, and the day-to-day stuff has become a lot easier.  So the feeling is that I’m in a really good spot compared to where I could be.”

Rockies Interested In Dayton Moore

By | at

  • In the same article, Heyman also notes that the Rockies have interest in former Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore for a high-ranking front office role, though the club appears to be content with Bill Schmidt as GM. Heyman notes that Moore expressed he hadn’t heard about Colorado’s interest in his services. Nonetheless, it’s notable that the Rockies, a club that has typically been known for hiring within the organization for their front office, would seek the services of an external candidate. Moore was fired by the Royals last season after sixteen years at the helm of the organization, during which he oversaw the club’s 2015 World Series championship. Moore was hired by the Rangers as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department in November.

Brenton Doyle Carted Off Field After Wall Collision

By | at

  • Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle left today’s game on a cart after colliding with the outfield wall in pursuit of a Jorge Soler home run.  Doyle told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that his right knee “probably took the most impact, and it was pretty excruciating pain at the time,” but “I feel like I could have walked off.”  Doyle will undergo tests to determine the nature and extent of his injury, but Harding reports that the Rockies are already likely to call Nolan Jones up from Triple-A as at least a precautionary replacement.  Making his MLB debut this season, Doyle has hit .240/.288/.467 over 80 PA, but has also gone 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts and displayed some impressive glovework in center field.
  • In another injury concern for the Rockies, Harding tweets that Luis Cessa was removed for precautionary reasons from his Triple-A start after taking a line drive off his right leg.  Cessa was able to face two more batters before leaving the game and he left the field under his own power.  Colorado has already had to deal with several pitching injuries this season, which is part of the reason why Cessa was just signed to a minor league contract earlier this week to provide some additional depth.

Rockies Release Fernando Abad

By | at

The Rockies have released lefty Fernando Abad, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Colorado had designated the 37-year-old veteran for assignment over the weekend.

Abad appeared in three games with the Rox, tossing a combined 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball between his first two outings before being tagged for three runs in one inning during his final appearance. He’d signed with the club on a minor league deal over the winter, and he opened the year pitching brilliantly in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting; through 16 frames with the Rockies’ Albuquerque affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, Abad allowed just three runs (1.69 ERA) on nine hits and two walks with 20 strikeouts. He whiffed 34.5% of his opponents against just a 3.4% walk rate.

The Rockies were the eighth big league team for the well-traveled Abad, who’s now pitched in parts of 11 Major League seasons. His big league work has been infrequent over the past four years — just 33 1/3 total innings — but Abad was a quality and heavily used bullpen arm from 2013-17 with the Nats, A’s, Twins and Red Sox. During that time, he pitched to a 3.13 ERA in 233 frames, and on the whole he carries a career 3.82 ERA with 48 holds, two saves, a 19.4% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate in 351 big league innings.

The Rockies could’ve tried to pass Abad through outright waivers, though he’d either have been claimed or had the ability to reject his assignment based on Major League service time. (He reached seven total years of service during his brief stint with Colorado.) He’ll now carry that excellent start to his season in Triple-A back to the market as he looks for other opportunities.

Rockies Considering Dinelson Lamet For Rotation

By | at

Rockies right-hander Dinelson Lamet has been working as a reliever for the past couple of years but the Rockies are considering a move back to the rotation for him. Manager Bud Black tells Thomas Harding of MLB.com that the club is “contemplating the possibility” of moving him back to a starting gig. Lamet seems keen on the idea, telling Harding that “I don’t like starting — I love it. But it all depends what the team wants.”

Lamet, 30, once seemed like one of the better starting pitchers in the entire league. It started with some decent results as a rookie with the Padres in 2017, as he posted a 4.57 ERA in 2017. Tommy John surgery then wiped out his 2018, but he followed that up by returning to post a 4.07 ERA the year after. He then took things to another level in the shortened 2020 season, with a tiny 2.09 ERA over 12 starts, striking out 34.8% of batters faced and walking 7.5% with a 36.9% ground ball rate. He finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting that season.

The road has gotten bumpy since then, however. He dealt with elbow issues late in 2020 that prevented him from pitching in the playoffs, and those carried into 2021. He began that year on the injured list and struggled once he returned to the Friars. He went on the injured list again in June with forearm inflammation and worked out of the bullpen when he returned late in the season. He finished that year with a 4.40 ERA in just 47 innings.

The Padres kept Lamet in relief in 2022, eventually flipping him to the Brewers in the Josh Hader trade. He was quickly designated for assignment by Milwaukee and claimed by Colorado, eventually finishing the year with a 6.12 ERA. Here in 2023, he posted a ghastly 12.66 ERA through 12 appearances before landing on the injured list due to lower back tightness.

The fact that the Rockies are now thinking about revisiting the possibility of Lamet as a starter is a bit surprising given his run of poor results and health issues in recent years, though there are also reasons why it makes sense for them to be open to it. The club came into the season with a poor on-paper rotation and things have generally gotten worse. Germán Márquez is out for the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery. Antonio Senzatela returned from last year’s torn ACL but landed back on the injured list after just two starts due to an elbow sprain. Meanwhile, Noah Davis, Ryan Feltner and Ryan Rolison are also on the IL.

Amid all those injuries, the club’s rotation now consists of Kyle Freeland, Connor Seabold, Chase Anderson, Austin Gomber and Karl Kauffmann. Freeland is doing well overall and Anderson made one good start after getting claimed off waivers, but the other three each have an ERA of 5.97 or higher. Overall, the club’s starters have a 5.74 ERA, ahead of just the Reds and A’s among teams across the majors.

Considering those general struggles and Lamet’s past results, it’s understandable that the Rockies would take a gamble on him rediscovering his previous form. As Harding’s report notes, the club suggested he experiment with shortening his stride while on the injured list, which seems to be showing some positive signs. Lamet recently joined the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes on a rehab assignment and has found some good results. His first outing resulted in two innings of one-run ball, but he followed that up by throwing 38 pitches in four perfect innings his next time out, striking out four.

A nice outing in the minors doesn’t necessarily mean that Lamet will just slide back into his 2020 form but getting anywhere close would be a nice storyline for a Colorado club that has had few. Not only would it be good for them in the short term, helping to stabilize the shaky rotation, but it could also turn Lamet to into an intriguing trade candidate. He’s in his final year of arbitration control, having agreed to a $5MM salary this season. As an impending free agent on a club that is unlikely to be in the playoff race, he would naturally turn up in trade rumors if he seemed to be getting back into form. With so many clubs throughout the league dealing with pitching injuries, he would undoubtedly garner interest by getting even partway to his 2020 form.

Big Hype Prospects: Holliday, Caminero, Carter, Williams, Davis

By | at

Due to travel, it’s been a little over a month since the last Big Hype Prospects. Let’s check in on who is making waves.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Jackson Holliday, 19, SS, BAL (A+)
(A/A+)158 PA, 6 HR, 11 SB, .394/.513/.701

Holliday’s introduction to professional baseball could not be more encouraging. He leads all qualified minor league hitters with a 222 wRC+. After wrecking Low-A pitching, he’s eviscerating High-A competition in the same manner. He evinces excellent plate discipline and a feel for stinging contact. His nearly .500 BABIP isn’t the product of luck – he’s simply outclassing the competition with an all-fields approach. If there’s a quibble, it’s that he rarely lofts the ball. Even so, that’s not affecting his power output – he has an excellent .300 ISO on the season.

To outside observers, Holliday is seemingly ready for a challenge at Double-A. It’s worth remembering he has just 93 plate appearances in High-A and a total of only 248 professional plate appearances. As long as the Orioles don’t believe he’s stagnating, a longer stint in High-A could prove appropriate. A stable environment helps with certain types of learning. On the other hand, we’re all eager to see what he does when finally challenged.

Junior Caminero, 19, 3B, TBR (A+)
146 PA, 11 HR, 2 SB, .351/.404/.709

I’ve put out a few calls for updated notes on Caminero since those I’ve gathered disagree about his future feel for contact. Presently, few hitters have shown comparable capacity for power. The folks at FanGraphs emphasized “his lack of ball/strike recognition” in a recent report, a concern shared by other evaluators. However, as others point out, such issues are hardly unprecedented among successful Major Leaguers. In this day and age, it’s not as if a 19-year-old slugger is incapable of making adjustments. It hasn’t been a problem in High-A because practically everything he hits is hammered. His .362 ISO ranks sixth in the minors. Double-A will mark an important challenge for Caminero.

Evan Carter, 20, OF, TEX (AA)
158 PA, 4 HR, 8 SB, .302/.430/.426

Carter can be a divisive prospect. It’s so easy to fall in love with the discipline and feel for contact. A Major League future feels inevitable. The floor for Carter is seemingly so high. Brandon Nimmo comps abound. All the same traits – even body type and line-drive-based power are there. It’s rare for prospect analysis to gush about a player’s floor, and perhaps that’s the problem with Carter. We’re usually focused on ceiling and, barring a change, Carter’s feels limited; like he’s on his way to becoming one of the best core contributors in the league. Will we find him on many All-Star teams? Probably not at his current power output.

The same point I made with Caminero applies to Carter. Never has it been easier for players to make positive adjustments to their game. Just because a prospect looks and feels like Brandon Nimmo doesn’t mean they’re destined to stay in their lane. Carter could follow the path of Lars Nootbaar to higher exit velocities. Or, like a different Cardinals outfielder, he could stall out against some aspect of Major League pitching.

Gavin Williams, 23, SP, CLE (AAA)
(AA/AAA) 40 IP, 12.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.58 ERA

A number of my favorite pitching prospects are in the Guardians system, and Williams is probably the best of the bunch. After three laser-sharp outings in Double-A, he was promoted to Triple-A where he’s remained effective. He worked 115 innings last season, so there is some scope for him to contribute in the Majors this season while managing his workload. However, the Guardians will soon welcome back Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie. A near-term opportunity might not present itself. Williams features a four-pitch repertoire of upper-90s fastball, well-commanded slider, curve, and changeup. To my eyes, it looks as if he has sinking and riding fastballs – or perhaps the pitch behaved differently based on vertical location (I haven’t seen this mentioned in reports). Like most power pitchers, the changeup lags behind the other offerings, though it is viewed as a viable pitch with promise. The word “intensity” appears on multiple public reports.

Henry Davis, 23, C, PIT (AA)
141 PA, 10 HR, 5 SB, .297/.447/.631

Davis’ second tour in Double-A is going swimmingly. After a mere 97 wRC+ over a similar span last season, his current 189 wRC+ ranks sixth in the minors. He’s also showing the walk, strikeout, and contact rates of a future star. Davis was drafted as a slugging catcher who might eventually wind up at first base. As yet, the Pirates have mostly used him as a catcher this season with a few odd starts at designated hitter and right field. Davis has an extreme, pulled, fly ball approach which isn’t exactly suited to PNC Park. However, he has the raw power to make it work even if a few would-be dingers die on the warning track. It’s feeling increasingly probable we see both Davis and Endy Rodriguez in Pittsburgh later this summer – especially if the club can remain competitive in the standings.

Three More

Matt McLain, CIN (23): McLain was selected about a week ago after hitting .348/.474/.710 in Triple-A. In 22 plate appearances, he has 10 strikeouts and four hits. He’s struggled to make impactful contact after averaging 90.9-mph EV in Triple-A. McLain has a narrow window to impress Cincinnati decision-makers before the likes of Elly De La Cruz and others arrive on the scene.

Nolan Jones, COL (25): A post-hype prospect, Jones is a disciplined power hitter who has a bit of a Quad-A reputation at the moment. He’s producing a .362/.486/.723 line in a heady offensive environment with 90.5-mph average EV (113.7-mph Max EV). He’s splitting time between first base, third base, and right field – all positions the Rockies could stand to upgrade (at least indirectly).

Ethan Salas, SDP (16): As my favorite contact put it, “Salas is bound to be the first 16-year-old position player in a full-season league in a loooooong time.” The young catcher is already entering Top 100 lists.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to discuss corrections.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top