Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rockies Rumors

Rockies’ Colton Welker Receives 80-Game Suspension

By | at

The Rockies announced Thursday that infielder Colton Welker has received an 80-game suspension without pay for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Welker tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a banned substance, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets.

Welker issued a statement in response to his suspension (via the MLBPA), saying in part: “I want to make it very clear that I have never willingly nor intentionally ingested any substance to enhance my athletic performance. Given the information provided to me by the Players Association and laboratory, the amount detected was so minimal that it would have no effect on enhancing my performance. I understand that a number of other players, like me, have tested positive for this metabolite at microscopic levels, and I intend to join them in seeking answers as to how this is happening in order to clear my name.”

A fourth-round pick of the Rockies in 2016, Welker has slashed .313/.364/.469 with 34 home runs in 1,409 plate appearances during his minor league career. The 23-year-old hasn’t played above Double-A ball, but he was set to open 2021 in Triple-A prior to receiving this suspension. Baseball America and FanGraphs are among the outlets that consider Welker one of the Rockies’ top 10 prospects, with the latter’s Eric Longenhagen writing that he could evolve into a “role-playing corner bat but the power/defensive spectrum shortcomings leave him short of a more regular role.”

Rockies Name Bill Schmidt As Interim GM

By | at

1:41PM: The Rockies have officially announced Schmidt as the new interim GM.  As per the team’s press release, “Schmidt will oversee all aspects of the club’s baseball operations,” which would perhaps imply that Feasel will either return his focus to business operations, or simply that Schmidt is the top voice in all baseball-related matters.

1:05PM: Rockies vice-president of scouting Bill Schmidt is expected to be named the club’s interim general manager, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link).  After former GM Jeff Bridich resigned last week, there had been speculation that an internal name would take on the interim position, with Schmidt and assistant general managers Zack Rosenthal, Jon Weil, and Zach Wilson all floated as potential candidates to assume the role.

Schmidt has almost four decades of experience in pro baseball, beginning as a minor league coach in the Reds, Brewers, and Yankees organizations while also working as a scout with the Reds and Yankees.  After working as a crosschecker with the Indians for four seasons, Schmidt joined the Rockies in 1999 and has become a fixture of the organization, assuming his current VP-scouting job in 2007.

Harding notes that Schmidt has been in charge of the Rockies’ drafts since 2000, which is a positive sign given how much notable homegrown talent the club has been able to find over the years.  The larger issue, of course, has been how that talent has been been developed and utilized by a Rockies franchise that has struggled to put a consistent winner on the field — the Rox have topped the .500 mark just six times in Schmidt’s 21+ seasons in Denver.  Building around that in-house talent was Bridich’s largest pitfall as GM, not to mention his falling-out with Nolan Arenado (speaking of prominent homegrown Rockies stars) that led to Arenado’s trade to the Cardinals.

The Rockies announced last week that the interim general manager would run the team for the remainder of the 2021 season, with team president Greg Feasel overseeing the baseball operations department on top of his previous responsibilities running the business operations.  A search for a permanent GM (and possibly a head of baseball operations) will take place after the season.

Schmidt faces some immediate decisions, as the 10-18 Rockies are in last place and are the only NL West team with a losing record.  If the team decides to rebuild, Schmidt might oversee some of the initial heavy lifting, such as potentially moving impending free agents Trevor Story and Jon Gray before the July 30th trade deadline.

With that in mind, the 2021 campaign could serve as something of an audition for Schmidt.  Since owner Dick Monfort is known to value continuity and familiarity, it isn’t out of the question that Schmidt could be a candidate to become the full-time GM.  Given that the Rockies have long been accused of an insular approach, the Colorado fanbase likely wouldn’t be pleased at another internal promotion, as it has been widely speculated that the Rockies would benefit from some fresh perspectives and a new approach in the baseball ops department (and less interference from Monfort).

Rockies Release Ivan Nova

By | at

The Rockies released right-hander Ivan Nova from his minor league deal last week, The Athletic’s Nick Groke reports (via Twitter).  It was a brief stint for Nova in the organization, as he only just signed with Colorado back on April 12.

Nova also signed a minors contract with the Phillies in January, but he was granted his release near the end of Spring Training since he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster.  Nova’s deal with Philadelphia contained an out clause, and it isn’t known if a similar opt-out was also included in his Rockies contract — given the timing of the release, it’s possible that Nova had the ability to opt out of the deal if he wasn’t on Colorado’s big league roster by May 1, for instance.

A veteran of 11 MLB seasons, Nova posted an 8.53 ERA over 19 innings for the Tigers in 2020, missing much of the season due to right triceps tendinitis.  The right-hander has been a reliable innings-eater for much of his career (tossing 187 frames for the White Sox as recently as 2019) and also delivered some solid results despite a big fastball and a below-average strikeout rate, as Nova has relied on soft contact and 48.9% grounder rate.  With a 5.07 ERA/5.23 SIERA over his last 206 big league innings, however, it remains to be seen if Nova can offer anything more than just innings as he enters his age-34 season.

Rockies Make Contact With Ruben Amaro Jr.

By | at

The Rockies aren’t expected to hire a new general manager until next winter, but they have begun to sniff around potential candidates. Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is the first name on the public list, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). Said Amaro, “I would have some interest under the right circumstance. I think they’re figuring out who would be a real candidate and who wouldn’t.”Amaro Jr. is currently a color analyst on the Phillies’ broadcast team.

Amaro Jr. took over from Pat Gillick as the Phillies GM in November of 2008 just after the Phillies won the World Series. Amaro Jr. would lead the Phils to another pennan in 2009, but ultimately, a very talented Philadelphia team with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard would fail to win another title. They would, however, make the playoffs in each of Amaro’s first three seasons.

Amaro Jr. was particularly criticized for handing Howard a five-year, $125MM extension in 2010 that wouldn’t kick in for another two years at the time of the signing. By the time the extension started, Howard was 32 years old and coming off a devastating Achilles injury. Howard would hit .226/.292/.427 over the length of the deal. Amaro Jr., however, wouldn’t be around to see the end of it: he was let go in September of 2015.

As for his fit with the Rockies, Amaro’s perceived shortcomings somewhat mirror those of the previous Colorado regime. Amaro Jr. drew ire in Philadelphia for holding on too long to the World-Series-winning core and failing to get enough back for those players he did deal away, such as Lee. He also wasn’t afraid to spend big money on free agent relievers, though the $50MM Amaro Jr. used to sign Jonathan Papelbon was considerably more productive than any of the Rockies’ recent splurges.

Amaro Jr. didn’t exactly leave the Phillies empty-handed, however, as he was responsible for acquiring Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin, as well as players like Ken Giles, J.P. Crawford, Sixto Sanchez, and Jorge Alfaro. The latter group no longer plays in Philly, but they were the talent pool from which Amaro’s successors were able to replenish the team via trades for J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, for example.

Of course, as the first name made public, there’s no indication that Amaro Jr. is anything more than one possible candidate in the first wave of potential applicants to become Jeff Bridich’s long-term replacement.

Trevor Story Leaves Game Due To Finger Injury

By | at

Rockies star shortstop Trevor Story left today’s game after being hit by a pitch on his right index finger.  During an eighth-inning plate appearances against the Diamondbacks’ Chris Devenski, Story was hit in the hand and appeared to be in notable discomfort.  Story took his base and actually ended up stealing second as part of a double-steal with lead runner Garrett Hampson, but Story was replaced at shortstop in the bottom half of the inning.

X-rays were negative on Story’s finger, manager Bud Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters after the game.  While this might not prevent a brief injured-list stint given the vagaries of finger and hand injuries, it’s at least very good news that Story appears to have avoided a more serious problem.

Story went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run homer in today’s 8-4 Rockies loss to Arizona, giving the shortstop a .284/.348/.520 slash line and four homers over 115 plate appearances.  It’s the type of strong offensive performance that has become common for the two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, and between both his bat and his defense, Story will be a heavily-pursued commodity on the free agent market this winter.  (MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes placed Story fourth in the most recent edition of the Free Agent Power Rankings.)

Any kind of injury or potential IL placement is certainly noteworthy given Story’s influence on both the offseason market, and as a potential trade chip this July.  The Rockies dropped to 10-18 after today’s loss, and the recent resignation of Jeff Bridich as the team’s GM is perhaps a sign that Colorado is preparing for a change of direction and perhaps a selloff at the trade deadline.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Reds, Phillies

By | at

The Cubs and Reds put on a real barn-burner today in Cincinnati. Cubs’ centerfielder Ian Happ tied the game 12-12 with a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning – the tenth deep shot of the game. Unfortunately, in the bottom half of the inning, Happ collided with second baseman Nico Hoerner on a short pop fly. Hoerner made the catch, but Happ struggled to get to his feet and was ultimately carted off the field. He appeared cognizant, but a concussion could be in play for Happ, who had three hits in his best offensive performance of the year. With Happ out, the Cubs turned to Willson Contreras, who himself was only available in case of an emergency. Contreras, however, was the last position player on the bench, so he came in to catch while Tony Wolters moved to second, Hoerner moved to left, and Kris Bryant replaced Happ in center. While we await an update on Happ, let’s get some roster updates from around the game…

  • The Reds claimed Ashton Goudeau off waivers from the Rockies and designated Phillip Diehl for assignment, the team announced. The 6’6″ righty made his Major League debut for the Rockies in 2020, tossing 8 1/3 innings across four appearances. The 28-year-old has yet to make an appearance this season. Diehl also pitched for the Rockies last season. The Reds claimed him off waivers on April 14th, but he did not appear in a game for the Reds.
  • The Phillies have reinstated Roman Quinn from the COVID-related injured list, returning Mickey Moniak to the alternate site, per the team. Moniak, still just 22 years old, has just a .120/.214/240 batting line in 28 plate appearances this season. The speedy Quinn has also struggled at the plate, slashing .083/.250/.111 in 44 plate appearances this season.

Rockies Place Antonio Senzatela On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Rockies announced that righty Antonio Senzatela has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right groin strain.  Left-hander Lucas Gilbreath has been called up from the alternate training site in the corresponding move.

The injury compounds a tough beginning to the season for Senzatela, who has a 5.76 ERA through six starts.  The ERA is perhaps a bit deceptive, as he allowed seven runs over 3 1/3 innings in his first outing of the season and a 4.10 ERA in in his five outings, though Senzatela’s Statcast metrics aren’t terribly impressive.  The grounder specialist has his typically strong ground-ball rate (52.4%) but his 13.1% strikeout rate is among the league’s lowest.  Senzatela’s arsenal has made him a decent back-of-the-rotation option for Colorado over the last three seasons, and he had a 3.44 ERA over 73 1/3 frames in 2020.

It isn’t known if Senzatela will miss much time beyond the minimum 10 days, and with Kyle Freeland already on the IL, Colorado is facing an early test of its pitching depth.  In filling Senzatela’s rotation spot, the Rockies could turn to Jhoulys Chacin on the big league roster, or perhaps Jose Mujica, Ryan Castellani, or Antonio Santos from the minor leagues.  Veteran Ivan Nova was also recently signed to a minors deal.

Gilbreath isn’t likely an option, since MLB Pipeline’s scouting report notes that the Rockies moved Gilbreath to a relief role in 2020.  A seventh-round pick for Colorado in the 2017 draft, Gilbreath has a 5.35 ERA and 21.6% strikeout rate over 303 minor league innings, none above the high-A level.  Gilbreath has started 59 of his 66 career games down on the farm, but his two-pitch combo of a plus fastball and slider could make him better suited to bullpen work going forward.  Pipeline ranks Gilbreath as the 26th-best prospect in the Rockies’ farm system.

Rockies Select Matt Adams, Designate Ashton Goudeau

By | at

The Rockies announced that they have selected first baseman Matt Adams, designated right-hander Ashton Goudeau for assignment and optioned outfielder Sam Hilliard.

The 32-year-old Adams joined the Rockies on a minor league last month, which came after he posted career-worst production with the Braves in 2020. Adams hit .184/.216/.347 over 51 plate appearances with Atlanta, causing the team to release him in early September. It was the second straight down year for Adams, who struggled with the Nationals in 2019.

While his most recent output has been poor, the well-traveled Adams has enjoyed a few solid seasons in the majors. The left-hander has logged four seasons with a wRC+ north of 100, including a personal-high 135 (.284/.335/.503) in 2017 with the Cardinals, and has hit 20 or more home runs on three occasions. Overall, Adams has batted .259/.367/.467 (106 wRC+) in 2,574 trips to the plate in the majors.

Now that he’s returning to the bigs, Adams will serve as a bench bat for Colorado, whose offense ranks dead last in the majors in wRC+ (77). He’ll give the team some depth at first base behind C.J. Cron, the Rockies’ most productive hitter this year.

The past several months have been quite an adventure for Goudeau, whom the Rockies previously designated for assignment last November. The Pirates then claimed Goudeau before losing him on waivers to the Orioles. The O’s later lost Goudeau to the Giants, who lost him to the Dodgers, who lost him to the Rockies less than two weeks ago. If that trend continues, someone will claim Goudeau in the next week.

The soon-to-be 29-year-old Goudeau made his MLB debut with Colorado last season, but opposing offenses crushed him for 15 hits and seven earned runs in 8 1/3 innings, and he issued as many walks as strikeouts (two). Goudeau was, however, highly effective at the Double-A level in 2019, when he notched a 2.07 ERA with fantastic strikeout and walk percentages of 30.1 and 4.0, respectively, across 78 1/3 frames.

Injury Notes: Jays, Fried, Astros, Freeland

By | at

A few health updates from around the game…

  • Center fielder George Springer’s Blue Jays debut is on hold yet again. As of Sunday, manager Charlie Montoyo was optimistic Springer would debut tonight, but that wasn’t the case. Springer is “not ready yet,” Montoyo said (Twitter links via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet), though he did take batting practice and run the bases on Tuesday. Montoyo added that “[Springer] feels great except the running.” The former Astro has been trying to work back since suffering a right quad strain three weeks ago. In better news for the Blue Jays, ace Hyun Jin Ryu is recovering well from the right glute strain he incurred Sunday and shouldn’t miss a start, Nicholson-Smith relays.
  • The Braves are “likely” to activate left-hander Max Fried from the 10-day injured list next Tuesday or Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. If true, it’ll go down as roughly a three-week stay on the IL for Fried, who suffered a right hamstring strain during his most recent start on April 13. Once he returns, the 2020 NL Cy Young contender will try to rebound from a ghastly three-start, 11-inning stretch in which hitters victimized him for 15 runs (14 earned) on 23 hits and five walks.
  • Tuesday brought some positive and negative health-related developments for the Astros’ pitching staff. The good news: Southpaw Framber Valdez is making tremendous progress from a left ring finger injury and could rejoin their rotation sometime in June, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic relays. Valdez turned in a stellar performance in 2020, but he hasn’t gotten a chance to follow up on it this year. As for the bad news, righty reliever Pedro Baez has halted his throwing program on account of lingering shoulder soreness. The Astros transferred Baez from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday, meaning he won’t make his first appearance with the club until June 9 at the earliest. Houston signed the former Dodger to a two-year, $12.5MM guarantee over the winter.
  • Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland said Tuesday that he will “absolutely” pitch in the majors this season, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Freeland, a little over a month removed from suffering a strained pitching shoulder, had an “outstanding” bullpen session on Tuesday and could throw a sim game next week, according to manager Bud Black. However, there’s still no clear timetable for a potential 2021 debut for Freeland, who finished third on the Rockies in innings (70 2/3) and recorded a 4.33 ERA/4.95 SIERA with a 51.5 percent groundball rate last season.

Yonder Alonso Joins MLB Network

By | at

Recently retired slugger Yonder Alonso has joined the MLB Network as an on-air analyst, the network announced in a Tuesday press release. He’ll debut as a guest co-host on Intentional Talk this Friday.

“I am beyond thankful to be joining MLB Network’s team, and I can’t thank everybody enough that has helped me get to this point,” Alonso said in today’s press release. “Having just retired, I look forward to having fun and contributing new insights about the game to baseball fans all over the world.”

The 34-year-old Alonso announced his retirement back in November after a 10-year big league career split between the Padres, Athletics, Reds, Rockies, Indians, Mariners and White Sox. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 draft, Alonso finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting with the Padres in 2012 and was an All-Star with the 2017 A’s. He finished up his playing days with a career .259/.332/.404 batting line and an even 100 home runs.

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