Rockies Select Matt Koch
The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Matt Koch. They already had an open roster spot on both their 40-man and active rosters, meaning no corresponding move will be necessary.
Koch, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies over the offseason and has been in Triple-A this year. He’s tossed 34 2/3 innings over 29 appearances with a 7.27 ERA but stronger peripherals in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 21.5% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate are each close to typical major league averages, but his .362 batting average on balls in play and 59.3% strand rate are on the unfriendly side of par. That’s led to a 5.90 FIP that’s more than a full run better than his ERA.
Prior to this season, he appeared in 40 big league games with the Diamondbacks and Mariners dating back to 2016. He has an ERA of 5.00 in those, striking out just 13.2% of opponents but limiting walks to a 5.3% clip.
The Rockies’ pitching staff has been stretched in recent days after they were trounced 25-1 by the Angels on Saturday. They then optioned Karl Kauffmann and recalled Nick Mears before bouncing back with a 4-3 victory on Sunday. After that game, they optioned Noah Davis and have now brought up Koch to keep a fresh arm on hand. Koch is out of options but has just over a year of service time.
Angels Acquire Mike Moustakas
The Angels acquired infielder Mike Moustakas tonight, sending minor league righty Connor Van Scoyoc to the Rockies. The deal, which is now official, was first reported by Robert Murray of Fansided. The Halos designated infielder Kevin Padlo for assignment to open a spot for Moustakas, reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger.
Moustakas, 34, was released by the Reds in January, with the club eating $22MM in the process. He hooked on with the Rockies on a minor league deal in March and cracked the Opening Day roster with a strong spring. With the Rockies, Moustakas was used as a backup at the infield corners behind C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon. Cron has been on the IL with a back injury since mid-May, but Elehuris Montero has been drawing a good number of starts at first base in his stead.
After a pair of injury-wracked seasons, the left-handed-hitting Moustakas bounced back to a degree in his 136 plate appearances with Colorado this year by posting a 101 wRC+. Moustakas effectively got to walk over to the visitors’ clubhouse tonight, after the Angels set various franchise records with a 25-1 drubbing of the Rockies at Coors Field.
Moustakas didn’t get to play in that one, but he’ll move from the NL’s worst team to a Halos club that is tied for the third AL wild-card spot with the Blue Jays. The Angels are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. With the Moustakas acquisition tonight, they’ve added a three-time All-Star, 2015 World Champion, and 13-year MLB veteran. Moose hit 35 home runs in 2019, the fifth time he’d hit at least 20 in a season.
Moustakas’ initial two bouts with free agency were disappointments. The first time through in 2017-18, he turned down a $17.4MM qualifying offer from the Royals only to return in March on a one-year, $6.5MM deal. The next time, he lingered on the market until February before re-signing with the Brewers for $10MM. Moustakas was able to use his 2019 All-Star season as a springboard to a surprising four-year, $64MM deal with the Reds. Unfortunately, Moustakas played in only 140 games for the Reds from 2021-22 due heel injuries, a right biceps strain, calf strains, and stints on the COVID-IL.
Moustakas spent some time at second base in 2019-20, but since then he’s been utilized at the infield corners and designated hitter. The Angels have used a cast of players at first this year, with over 100 innings apiece going to Brandon Drury, Jared Walsh, Gio Urshela, and Jake Lamb. Lamb was optioned to Triple-A in May, and Walsh followed him on Saturday. Urshela recently suffered a season-ending fractured pelvis.
Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon went on the IL last Monday with a bruised wrist. Luis Rengifo had been getting the nod at the hot corner, until the Angels picked up switch-hitter Eduardo Escobar as something of an Urshela replacement in a trade with the Mets on Friday. Escobar, the Mets’ starting third baseman last year, could complement Moustakas at first and dabble at second base once Rendon returns. Escobar has hit lefties quite well in recent seasons, with a 131 wRC+ in 398 plate appearances against them since 2021. Moustakas hit righties to the tune of a 115 wRC+ from 2015-20, and may need to do so again to maintain his roster spot.
As for the Rockies, Moustakas could perhaps be the first domino to fall in advance of the August 1st trade deadline. GM Bill Schmidt didn’t give much away in his comments on the topic on the Rockies broadcast about a week ago, but the team’s potential free agents include Charlie Blackmon, Randal Grichuk, Jurickson Profar, C.J. Cron, Pierce Johnson, Brent Suter, and Brad Hand.
In Van Scoyoc, the Rockies picked up a 23-year-old righty who’s served as a starting pitcher for the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils this year. He was an 11th round pick by the Angels out of an Iowa high school back in 2018. Van Scoyoc has posted a 2.76 ERA in 62 innings at that level on the strength of a 51.2% groundball rate. Oddly enough, Van Scoyoc also switched clubhouses to join his new team, notes Doug Taylor on Twitter.
The 26-year-old Padlo had signed a minor league deal with the Angels back in December, earning a Major League look by hitting .273/.396/.555 at Triple-A. The Angels selected his contract on Monday and gave him eight plate appearances, but now he’s lost a 40-man spot once again. Padlo, a corner infielder, has also seen MLB time with the Rays, Mariners, Giants, and Pirates.
NL West Notes: Suter, Wacha, Sheehan
The Rockies placed left-hander Brent Suter on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to a left oblique strain, and recalled righty Noah Davis from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Suter has posted his typically low strikeout rate and his 8.1% walk rate is barely above league average, but the 33-year-old has nonetheless worked to a 2.81 ERA over 41 2/3 innings out of Colorado’s bullpen. Suter has allowed only two home runs over those 41 2/3 frames, and he has some of the best soft-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball, sitting in the 99th percentile of hard-hit ball rate and in the 97th percentile of barrel rate.
Losing Suter to the IL is another blow to the injury-riddled Rockies, but the particular timing of the oblique problem adds some doubt to the southpaw’s value as a trade chip. Suter is a free agent after the season, and thus a logical player for the Rockies to shop in what looks like another non-contending season for the club. While oblique injuries can vary greatly in severity, it appears that Suter’s issue is relatively minor, as he told MLB.com that he was still feeling good and was planning to continue playing catch.
More from around the NL West…
- Knuckleballer Matt Waldron will start today’s game for the Padres, as Michael Wacha (the original scheduled starter) will skip a turn in the rotation due to some shoulder fatigue. Manager Bob Melvin described the move as “proactive,” telling the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jeff Sanders and other reporters that Wacha has “got a little bit of history there with the shoulder. He’s been as good as any pitcher in the National League so this is something we don’t want to push.” Wacha has missed some time with shoulder issues in three of the last four seasons but not any truly significant time, making this seemingly more of a nagging injury than a top-tier concern. Wacha has a 2.90 ERA over 80 2/3 innings for San Diego this season, with a 1.7 fWAR that leads all Padres pitchers. Despite a below-average strikeout rate, Wacha has relied on soft contact and good control to achieve that ERA, and both his changeup and (due to some batted-ball luck) four-seamer have been premium pitches.
- Emmet Sheehan‘s MLB career is off to a tremendous start, as the Dodgers prospect has a 1.50 ERA over his first 12 innings in the Show. Sheehan held the Astros to two runs over six frames in yesterday’s 3-2 Los Angeles victory, earning his first big league win in the process. Unsurprisingly, this success has earned Sheehan a continued look, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that Sheehan will get another start next week. Julio Urias, Noah Syndergaard, and Dustin May are all on the IL, and while Urias might be back within a week or so, L.A. has had to rely on younger arms to join Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin in the rotation. Sheehan and Bobby Miller have done well to pick up the slack, while Michael Grove has been less consistent. Roberts said that Grove will work as a bulk pitcher behind an opener on Wednesday, when the Dodgers play the Rockies.
Rockies Release Dinelson Lamet
The Rockies have released right-hander Dinelson Lamet, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the club last week.
It’s not a shock to see Lamet end up released, given his performance and contract. Claimed off waivers from the Brewers last year, he and the Rockies agreed to an arbitration salary of $5MM for the 2023 season but he hasn’t been able to come anywhere near justifying that expense. He’s made 16 appearances this year, including four starts, with a massive 11.57 ERA in 25 2/3 innings. His 23.1% strikeout rate is solid but his 16.4% walk rate is almost double the league average rate of 8.7%.
In the Rockies’ defense, they put down that $5MM bet on Lamet hoping for a bounceback. He once looked like a budding ace, posting a 2.09 ERA for the Padres in the shortened 2020 season with a 34.8% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. He would have been a bargain if he could have got anywhere near that kind of production. However, he’s been on the decline since then thanks to a combination of injuries and underperformance. He was limited to 47 innings in 2021 with a 4.40 ERA that year. He only logged 32 1/3 frames last year with his ERA jumping to 6.12 before it climbed even higher this year.
The Rockies will remain on the hook for what’s left of Lamet’s salary as he heads to the open market. He’ll be free to sign with any of the 29 other clubs, who would only be responsible for paying the prorated league minimum, which would be subtracted from what the Rockies pay. Lamet’s results have obviously been terrible this year but perhaps there’s some club who sees a way to get the 30-year-old back to the brilliant form he showed just a few years ago.
Rockies’ Prospect Zac Veen Undergoes Season-Ending Hand Surgery
Top Rockies’ prospect Zac Veen posted an image of himself in the hospital (on Twitter) after an apparent left arm surgery this evening. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports the procedure was to address ligament damage in his hand (Twitter link). According to Harding, Veen is expected to be out of action until December.
Obviously, that ends his 2023 campaign. Had Veen been healthy, the 2020 first-round pick had a shot to make his MLB debut this year. He reached Double-A Hartford late last season and returned there to start this year. Regarded as a borderline top 50 prospect by each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, the left-handed hitter was seeking to hit his way to Coors Field by year’s end.
That won’t happen, as it seemed Veen was hampered by the hand issue all season. According to Harding, the young outfielder first felt discomfort midway through last summer. Veen’s numbers plummeted following a late-season bump from High-A to Double-A. While the higher caliber of pitching presumably played a role, the injury offers an additional explanation.
Veen’s 2023 numbers lend support to that possibility. Hand or wrist injuries can diminish a hitter’s power. Veen’s batted ball quality has evaporated this year. He connected on only two home runs over 46 contests and 201 plate appearances. Prospect evaluators have credited the 6’3″ corner outfielder with significant raw power potential. A lofty 47.7% grounder rate hasn’t helped his power output, but it stands to reason he wasn’t hitting the ball with as much authority as he would’ve had he been fully healthy.
The 21-year-old had a .209/.303/.308 batting line overall. He walked at a strong 11.4% clip while striking out at a roughly average 21.4% rate. While Veen’s plate discipline numbers were fine, a meager .260 average on balls in play and the lack of home run pop led to the dismal overall results.
Charlie Blackmon, Jurickson Profar and Randal Grichuk are all slated for free agency after this season. Kris Bryant will be assured one corner outfield spot if healthy, but the rest of the Rox’s future outfield is unsettled. Even if Nolan Jones builds off his strong start to lock himself into right field, Veen could have a path to DH reps next season depending on Colorado’s offseason activity. Colorado doesn’t have to add Veen to their 40-man roster until after the 2024 season, though they’d presumably be happy to get a look at him before then if he mashes in the upper minors to start the year.
George Frazier Passes Away
Former major league player and analyst George Frazier has passed away, according to an announcement from the Rockies. He was 68.
After playing at the University of Oklahoma, Frazier entered pro ball as a ninth-round pick of the Brewers in the 1976 draft. While still in the minor leagues, he was traded to the Cardinals in a swap that sent catcher Buck Martinez to Milwaukee. Frazier made his MLB debut with St. Louis in May 1978, eventually appearing in 14 games as a rookie. He bounced on and off the active roster for the next two seasons.
Midway through the ’81 campaign, the Cards dealt Frazier to the Yankees. He pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to help the Yanks past the A’s in that year’s AL Championship Series. He was charged with a trio of losses in their World Series defeat at the hands of the Dodgers, though, allowing seven runs in 3 2/3 frames over three outings.
Frazier put that rocky World Series showing behind him to establish himself as a key reliever by the following season. He surpassed 100 innings with a sub-3.50 ERA in each of the next two years. Over the 1983-84 offseason, New York dealt him to the Indians alongside outfielder Otis Nixon for All-Star infielder Toby Harrah. Frazier didn’t spend much time in Cleveland. Before the ’84 deadline, the Indians moved him to the Cubs with Rick Sutcliffe (who’d go on to win the NL Cy Young award that year) and Ron Hassey in a blockbuster that netted Cleveland Joe Carter and Mel Hall.
The right-handed Frazier tossed 63 2/3 innings for Chicago down the stretch to help them to the NLCS. He struggled over the next couple seasons but intrigued the Twins enough that they acquired him at the 1986 trade deadline. Frazier spent a season and a half in Minnesota to wrap up his MLB playing career. The ’87 Twins went on to win the World Series; Frazier’s last MLB outing was a two-inning scoreless appearance against the Cardinals in that year’s Fall Classic.
After his playing career came to a close, Frazier embarked on a lengthy run as a broadcaster. He worked as a color analyst for the Twins for a time before joining the Rockies’ booth for the 1998 season. He’d spend nearly two decades in Colorado, calling games there through 2015.
Frazier spent upwards of four decades in the game. As a player, he pitched in 415 big league contests. He posted a career 4.20 ERA through 675 2/3 innings, striking out 449 hitters. He was credited with 35 wins, finished 193 games and picked up 29 saves. He added six playoff games with three different franchises and won a World Series to close his career.
MLBTR joins others around the game in sending condolences to Frazier’s family, friends, former teammates and loved ones.
Rockies Select Connor Kaiser
The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Connor Kaiser. He will take the active roster spot of infielder Ezequiel Tovar, who has been placed on the paternity list. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster.
Kaiser, 26, was a third-round selection of the Pirates in the 2018 draft. He rose through the ranks with that club but topped out at Triple-A and was released in 2022. He then signed a minor league deal with the Padres but qualified for minor league free agency at the end of last season.
The Rockies scooped him up on a minor league deal this winter and he’s been playing for their Triple-A club this year. He’s made 205 trips to the plate in 50 games, walking in 13.2% of those. His .278/.376/.506 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 108, indicating he’s been 8% above league average. He’s also stolen six bases on the year while playing primarily at shortstop but also a bit at third base. He hasn’t played second base this year but has in the past.
He will provide the Rockies with a versatile bench piece, at least as long as Tovar is gone. Stints on the paternity list can be between one and three days, meaning it’s possible this will be a cup of coffee for Kaiser, who has a full slate of options.
Tigers Acquire Blair Calvo
The Rockies and Tigers swung a minor trade this afternoon as Detroit acquired the services of right-hander Blair Calvo in exchange for cash considerations. Calvo had been designated for assignment by the Rockies earlier this week to make room for catcher Jorge Alfaro on the 40-man roster. To make room for Calvo on their own 40-man, the Tigers announced they have designated righty Braden Bristo for assignment. Calvo has be optioned to Triple-A.
Calvo made his MLB debut for the Rockies earlier this season, recording a single scoreless outing during his lone major league appearance. That outing stands in sharp contrast to what has been a brutal 2023 campaign for Calvo at the Triple-A level. In 23 innings of work for Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque, the righty has been shelled to the tune of a 7.43 ERA, though a .413 BABIP and a strand rate of just 55.3% both indicate Calvo has pitched better than his disastrous results would indicate.
Going forward, Calvo figures to act as optionable bullpen depth for the Tigers, whose relievers sport a roughly middle-of-the-pack ERA of 3.85 despite covering the third most innings in the AL with 273 1/3 innings worked. As the Tigers gear up for the second half of the season, relief depth provided by hurlers like Calvo could allow Detroit to keep their relief corps fresh.
As for Bristo, the 28-year-old righty made his major league debut this season as well. To this point, he’s made three appearances in the majors during his time with the Rays and Tigers, each of which lasted multiple innings. In seven career innings of work, Bristo has posted a 2.57 ERA and 3.55 FIP with five strikeouts against four walks. Should he clear waivers, the Tigers will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues, where he would continue to serve as multi-inning bullpen depth without requiring a 40-man roster spot.
Rockies Designate Dinelson Lamet For Assignment
The Rockies designated right-hander Dinelson Lamet for assignment, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (via Twitter). Righty Gavin Hollowell was called up from Triple-A to take Lamet’s spot on Colorado’s roster.
Yesterday’s 8-1 loss to the Braves saw Lamet charged with all eight runs over four innings of work, and it was just the latest in a series of rough outings for the 30-year-old this season. Lamet has an 11.57 ERA over 25 2/3 frames, which breaks down as a 10.80 ERA over 15 innings as a starter and a 12.66 ERA in 10 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He worked as a reliever before spending most of May on the 15-day IL with lower back tightness, and despite the lack of results, Lamet got a look as a starter due to Colorado’s dire need for rotation help.
The experiment didn’t work out, leaving Lamet possibly on his way out of the organization altogether. It’s another rough turn in the career of a player who seemed like one of baseball’s breakout arms when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting as a member of the Padres in 2020. Injuries kept Lamet off the mound entirely for big chunks of both the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, however, to the point that San Diego moved Lamet into a full-time relief role as an attempt to help keep him healthy.
The Padres dealt Lamet to the Brewers as part of the Josh Hader trade last summer, and after Milwaukee quickly DFA’ed Lamet, the Rockies claimed the righty off waivers. Because he has more than five years of MLB service time, Lamet has the right to refuse an outright assignment to the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate if he clears waivers this time around, and Lamet would still get to keep the remainder of the $5MM salary he is owed for the 2023 season. Another team would be on the hook for that money if it claimed Lamet, and given his struggles, it is more likely that he’ll go unclaimed.
Rockies Select Jorge Alfaro, Designate Blair Calvo For Assignment
The Rockies announced today that they have selected the contract of catcher Jorge Alfaro. Fellow backstop Brian Serven was optioned in a corresponding move. In order to open a spot for Alfaro on the 40-man, right-hander Blair Calvo was designated for assignment.
Alfaro, 30, makes it back to the big leagues for the first time this year. He has appeared in each of the past seven major league seasons but had to settle for a minor league deal with the Red Sox this winter. He was crushing for their Triple-A team, hitting .320/.366/.520 through 191 plate appearances, but the Sox never called him up. Alfaro triggered an opt-out in his contract and the club released him rather than giving him a roster spot.
He then signed another minor league deal, landing with the Rockies just five days ago. He played three games for their Triple-A club and hit .357/.357/.571 in that brief sample before getting called up. That kind of production would be welcome on any club, but it’s no guarantee Alfaro can provide it. He has often hit well in the minors, which has led to many big league opportunities over the years, as the Phillies, Marlins, Padres and now Rockies have all had him on their respective rosters at various points. But in 478 career games in the majors, he’s hit just .256/.305/.396 for a wRC+ of 89.
Alfaro has generally been considered a bat-first catcher and has tallied a cumulative -17 Defensive Runs Saved thus far in his career. Teams could surely tolerate a bit of that if Alfaro were producing with the bat, but he’s hasn’t been able to manage that quite yet.
Despite his tepid results in the big leagues thus far, it’s not surprising that the Rockies are willing to give him a shot. He’s been hitting very well in the minors this year and is a former top 100 prospect. They already have a couple of catchers on the roster in Elias Díaz and Austin Wynns but have been going with a three-catcher setup of late. Serven was recalled a couple of days ago as Díaz was dealing with a minor injury. Díaz sat out Sunday’s game but returned to the lineup for the next three contests.
Díaz is having a solid season, hitting .295/.351/.457 for a 105 wRC+ and is unlikely to be usurped as long as he stays healthy. Perhaps Alfaro will factor into the designated hitter mix, where the club doesn’t really have an everyday option now that Charlie Blackmon is on the injured list. Since he’s been gone, Díaz, Randal Grichuk and Jurickson Profar have each been given starts as the DH. If both Díaz and Alfaro were in the lineup, they would still have Wynns on hand as a safety net in the event of an injury.
The club will surely be hoping that Alfaro can give a boost to their lineup but he could also wind up as a summer trade chip if this is the year he finally puts it together in the majors. The Rockies have one of the worst records in the National League at 29-41 and could find themselves in position to sell. Since Alfaro is scheduled for free agency again this winter, he would be a logical candidate for such a move.
In order to take a shot on Alfaro, the Rockies are risking losing Calvo. Now 27 years old, he was drafted by the club in the 23rd round in 2019. Last year, he tossed 35 relief innings in Double-A with a 3.09 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 57.6% ground ball rate. The club added him to the roster in November to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.
Unfortunately, his results haven’t been as strong this year, though he did throw one scoreless inning in his major league debut. The rest of the year has been spent at Triple-A, where he has a 7.43 ERA through 23 innings. There’s probably a bit of bad luck in there, as he has a .413 batting average on balls in play and 55.3% strand rate. His peripherals have gone in the wrong direction compared to last year, though not by too much, as he’s struck out 28.3% of opponents while walking 8.8% and getting grounders on 47.6% of balls in play.
Though his 5.02 FIP is much nicer than this ERA, he’s nonetheless lost his roster spot. The Rockies will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. In the event that he clears, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he has neither a previous career outright nor three years of service time.