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Daniel Bard

Mariners, Daniel Bard Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Mariners are in agreement with veteran reliever Daniel Bard, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI. The ISE Baseball client will head to the team’s Arizona complex for some work before reporting to Triple-A Tacoma. Bradford adds that the deal contains multiple opt-out dates if Bard isn’t called up to the big league roster.

Bard is a few weeks shy of his 40th birthday. He missed all of last season recovering from surgeries to address a meniscus tear in his left knee and, more concerningly, a flexor tendon tear in his forearm. It seemed the latter injury might end Bard’s career, but he embarked on a comeback effort and threw in front of roughly ten teams last month. The Mariners evidently liked what they saw.

It has been a winding career path. Bard was a quality setup man in Boston for a few seasons until running into significant command woes. He bounced around the minors and even retired for a time to take a non-playing role with the Diamondbacks. Bard announced he was making a comeback in 2020. It improbably kickstarted a second act with the Rockies, with whom he eventually emerged as closer. He combined for 54 saves between 2021-22, working to a 1.79 ERA in the latter season.

Colorado signed Bard to a two-year, $19MM extension shortly before the 2022 trade deadline. That didn’t pan out, as his control issues resurfaced the following year. He managed a 4.56 ERA across 49 1/3 innings while walking more than 21% of opposing hitters. The second season of the deal was wiped out by the aforementioned injuries. Bard is a much less risky flier for the Mariners, who will see how his stuff plays in Tacoma after his tune-up at the complex. His fastball still had good life before the flexor surgery, as he averaged 95 MPH on his sinker in 2023.

Daniel Bard Drawing Interest Following Recent Showcase

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Veteran right-hander Daniel Bard recently threw in front of scouts for around ten teams, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI. He’s drawing interest from a variety of clubs, including some West Division contenders in each league.

Bard, who’ll turn 40 next month, missed the 2024 season after undergoing a pair of surgeries: one to repair the meniscus in his left knee and a second, more serious procedure to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow. He told Bradford back in January that he was hoping to begin throwing off a mound in late February with an eye toward signing in late April. It seems that timetable wound up being a bit optimistic, but Bard’s recent showcase and interest from contending clubs seems to signify that he’s back to full strength.

As recently as 2022, Bard was one of the sport’s top relievers. He enjoyed a brilliant comeback effort with the Rockies that season and entered the trade deadline as one of the most widely anticipated trade candidates the market had to offer. The Rockies, ever marching to the beat of their own drum, felt differently and signed a then-37-year-old Bard to a two-year extension worth $19MM.

Bard dominated down the stretch for the Rox post-extension, finishing out the year with 34 saves (on a 68-win team), a 1.79 ERA and a 28.2% strikeout rate. He struggled in 2023, logging just 49 1/3 innings with a diminished 4.56 ERA, a 20.3% strikeout rate and a jarring 21.1% walk rate. His fastball, which averaged 97.9 mph in 2022, sat at 94.4 mph in 2023. Last year’s injury-lost season officially closed the book on that two-year, $19MM contract.

A comeback at age 40 might be something of a long shot, but that was also true when Bard returned from a six-year absence at age 35 in 2020. When the right-hander has been healthy, he’s generally been effective. In four seasons since returning to the majors, he’s pitched to a 3.83 ERA with a 25.1% strikeout rate and 13.5% walk rate (3.58 ERA, 26.9 K% and 10.8 BB% if we exclude that 2023 season when he did not seem to be pitching at full strength).

At this point of the MLB season, there aren’t many trade opportunities available to contending clubs looking to strengthen their roster — nor are there many free agent possibilities of note. Bard joins fellow elder statesman David Robertson — who’s about two and a half months older — as an exception to that line of thinking. Given that he’s looking to reestablish himself after a lost 2024 season while Robertson is seeking a notable salary on the heels of a terrific 2024 campaign, Bard stands as the clearly more affordable option of the two.

Whether Bard ultimately signs a minor league contract or a big league deal with a low base salary, two things will likely be true: the contract will be laden with incentives that boost his earning potential if he remains healthy, and he’ll likely need a tune-up in the minors before jumping directly into a major league bullpen. It’s hard to imagine him being a real option before mid-to-late June, but that still makes him a more immediate option than the majority of the arms who’ll change hands on the summer trade market.

Daniel Bard To Throw Off Mound In February, Planning To Sign In April

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Veteran right-hander Daniel Bard missed the 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow. He sat down with Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring Podcast eight months ago to discuss how the injury impacts his mindset, his daily routine and to give an inside look into the life of an injured pitcher. He also suggested within that his recovery would be about a full year. That timetable still seems largely the same. Bradford reports this morning that Bard is planning to resume throwing off a mound early next month. He’s hopeful of signing with a team in April and pitching in games not long after.

Bard’s surgery repaired only his flexor tendon and not his ulnar collateral ligament, the pitcher himself told Bradford in that interview. He’d been pitching through elbow pain for some time but reached a point where he could no longer complete a bullpen session. An MRI revealed the need for surgical repair.

Now 39 years old, Bard posted elite results as recently as 2022, when he notched a dominant 1.79 ERA with a 28.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate in 60 1/3 innings for the Rockies. His 34 saves that season were a career-high and ranked sixth in all of baseball. He was a heavily speculated trade candidate that summer, given his status as an impending free agent on a non-contending Colorado club, but the Rox inked Bard to a two-year, $19MM extension instead.

Clearly, that deal didn’t pan out. Bard was brilliant in April and May the following season before taking a step back in June/July and cratering in August and September. The righty told Bradford he was pitching through elbow pain for much of that 2023 season.

Since returning from a six-year absence in the major leagues back in 2020, Bard has been inconsistent but effective on the whole. He sports a 3.83 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and a bloated 13.5% walk rate that’s skewed by the 21.1% walk rate he logged in ’23 while pitching through elbow pain and anxiety. Bard attributed his dominant 2022 showing to scrapping his four-seamer and changing the arm slot on his sinker; if he can get back to anything close to that form, he’d be a bargain for anyone who signs him.

That’s far from a given, of course, but the most recently healthy version of Bard we saw was one of the best relievers in the sport. Given that he’s going to wait until he’s close to game-ready to sign, it’s possible Bard will sign a prorated big league deal and then consent to be optioned when April rolls around. Presumably, he’ll host a workout/showcase for interested teams at that point. He’s spent the past four years in the Rockies organization and spoke fondly of his time there and his teammates with the club, which could give the Rox a leg up if they’re interested in a reunion, but a healthy Bard should draw interest from a wide range of teams.

Daniel Bard Planning Comeback In 2025

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Daniel Bard is losing the entire 2024 season to injury. The Rockies reliever underwent arthroscopic surgery to fix a meniscus tear in his left knee in February. While rehabbing, he went down with a forearm injury and underwent a season-ending flexor tendon repair.

At the time of the arm surgery, the 38-year-old righty was noncommittal about whether he’d continue his career. Now that he’s six weeks removed from the procedure, Bard tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he plans to give it another go.

“Going into the surgery, I was probably 50-50,” Bard told Saunders over the weekend. “When you first find out you need surgery and you are going to miss 12 months, there is that moment of disappointment. You kind of get the wind knocked out of you. But having a few weeks to think about it and watch baseball, it really makes me want to see if I’ve got it next spring.”

Bard, who turns 39 in June, is in the second season of an extension he signed with the Rox. He was amidst a stellar 2022 season as Colorado’s closer when he and the team agreed on a two-year, $19MM deal covering the 2023-24 campaigns. The extension came together days before the ’22 trade deadline. Bard would have been one of the top rental relievers on the summer market, but a noncompetitive Colorado team elected to keep him around.

That decision didn’t work out at all as the Rox hoped. Bard began the 2023 season on the injured list after battling anxiety issues that had sidetracked his career in the mid-2010s. While he made it back to the mound, he had trouble finding the strike zone. Bard walked more than 21% of opposing hitters and spent the season working in the middle innings. He probably would have gotten another chance to compete for the closer role this spring, but the injuries wrecked that plan.

Saunders writes that Bard will spend his time on the injured list in Denver to serve as a mentor to Colorado’s younger bullpen mates. The Rox have had a very tough go in the late innings. Rockies relievers have allowed a league-worst 5.10 earned runs per nine. Jalen Beeks and Victor Vodnik have managed decent run prevention marks despite middling strikeout rates. The rest of Colorado’s bullpen has struggled, with particularly disappointing numbers from late-inning arms Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley.

Given the seemingly strong relationship between Bard and the Rockies, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Colorado keeps him around for his 2025 comeback attempt. He’ll be a free agent next offseason and will almost certainly need to take a minor league contract, but the Rox could have interest in such an arrangement.

Rockies Select Ty Blach

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The Rockies announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Ty Blach this morning. Right-hander Daniel Bard, who was sidelined for the season earlier this week by flexor tendon surgery, was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Colorado also announced that right-hander Noah Davis will join the club as a 27th man for today’s double-header against the Mariners.

Blach, 33, gears up for his seventh season in the majors and his third consecutive campaign in a Rockies uniform. The veteran southpaw was a fifth-round pick by the Giants in the 2012 draft and made his big league debut back in 2016. Over parts of four seasons in San Francisco, Blach proved to be a valuable swing man for the Giants with a 4.56 ERA (89 ERA+) and a 4.23 FIP in 87 appearances with the club, 39 of which were starts. Partway through the 2019 season, however, Blach was designated for assignment by the club and claimed off waivers by the Orioles. The lefty made five starts in Baltimore but struggled badly with an 11.32 ERA in 20 2/3 innings of work.

Blach found himself outrighted off the Orioles roster shortly thereafter but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal during the 2019-20 offseason. It appeared possible that Blach could make it back to the big leagues in Baltimore at some point during the 2020 campaign, but the season was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic and Blach ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery in July of that year, just before the abbreviated campaign began. Blach remained with the Orioles on a minor league pact in 2021 and spent the season rehabbing in the minor leagues. He didn’t make it back to the big leagues before the end of the season but looked good in 16 appearances at the lower levels of the minors.

That performance was enough to earn Blach a look from the Rockies on a minor league deal prior to the 2022 season. It was the first of three consecutive minor league deals with the club and he’s been called up to the big league roster early in the season each year since. The lefty has returned to his familiar role as a swingman in Colorado with a 5.66 ERA (89 ERA+) with a 4.99 FIP in 44 appearances, 14 of which were starts. While with the Rockies, Blach has seen his velocity tick up slightly, though his 90.1 mph average on his fastball is still well below the league average and his 14.5% strikeout rate over the last two years leaves much to be desired.

Nonetheless, he’ll once again be an option for the Rockies in a long relief role or perhaps at the back of the club’s rotation. In the near-term, he’ll provide the club with a multi-inning relief option in today’s doubleheader against the Mariners alongside Noah Davis, who has struggled to a career ERA of 9.00 in 31 innings of work at the big league level since first debuting with Colorado back in 2022.

Daniel Bard To Undergo Season-Ending Flexor Tendon Surgery

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6:24pm: Bard told the Colorado beat that he’ll rehab from the surgery before deciding next year whether he wants to continue his playing career (X link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post).

5:05pm: Rockies right-hander Daniel Bard will require surgery on the flexor tendon in his throwing arm and will miss the rest of the season. Thomas Harding of MLB.com was among those to relay the news. Bard is already on the 15-day injured list after undergoing an arthroscopic knee procedure in February but he’ll now be destined for the 60-day IL whenever the Rockies need his roster spot for someone else.

It’s an incredibly unfortunate development for both the pitcher and the team. Bard, 39 in June, is in the second season of a two-year, $19MM extension he signed with the Rockies, a pact that looks increasingly regrettable. Bard saw his previous anxiety and control problems return last year as he walked 21.1% of batters faced and saw his earned run average balloon to 4.56. He’ll now be on the shelf for the entire second half of that deal.

Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but there were reasons that contract was eyebrow-raising even at the time. Bard pitched for the Red Sox from 2009 to 2013 and looked like a dominant reliever at times before a case of the yips sent him out into the wilderness. He walked 15.5% of batters faced in 2012 then only tossed one inning in the majors in 2013.

From 2014 to 2017, he settled for minor league deals with the Cardinals, Mets and Rangers but the control problems followed him to all those stops. Over that period, he logged 13 innings on the farm but walked a massive 44.7% of batters faced and posted 24.23 ERA.

He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies prior to 2020 and was able to mount an incredible comeback. He got back to the big leagues with Colorado and posted a 3.65 ERA over his 23 appearances, keeping his walk rate down to 9.4% while striking out 25.5% of opponents. His ERA ticked up to 5.21 in 2021 but he dropped it all the way to 1.79 the year after. In that 2022 season, he struck out 28.2% of batters faced, walked 10.2% of them and got grounders on 51.7% of balls in play. He also did that in high-leverage situations, racking up 34 saves for Colorado.

It was right around that year’s trade deadline that the Rockies signed Bard to the aforementioned extension. Given Bard’s volatile career and the fact he was a 37-year-old impending free agent on a non-competitive club, there was an argument for the Rockies to put him on the trading block and grab whatever young talent they could. Instead, they doubled down on their relationship with Bard by extending it for another two seasons. But as mentioned, his struggles returned last year and now 2024 will go down as a total loss. Once transferred to the 60-day IL, he’ll spend the rest of the year there and become a free agent again this coming winter.

Rockies Notes: Lawrence, Kinley, Bard, Bouchard

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The Rockies are evaluating righties Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley as potential closing options in camp, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Both pitchers held the ninth inning at points last season and are battling for the job to open this year.

Colorado began last year with Pierce Johnson in the closing role. Johnson struggled and was bumped from the ninth inning before he was traded to Atlanta. Lawrence stepped into the role in June. He pitched well through the end of July but hit a skid in August, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings. Colorado activated Kinley from the injured list in August, the culmination of a year-long recovery from elbow surgery. Skipper Bud Black gave Kinley the ninth inning for the season’s final few weeks.

Despite the shaky finish, Lawrence is coming off the best season of his career. He logged a personal-high 75 innings and turned in a 3.72 ERA. He pairs a mid-90s sinker with a mid-80s slider, against which opponents hit only .149 last season. Lawrence has the raw stuff to hold a late-inning job, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll throw enough strikes to stick in the ninth.

Last season’s 11% walk rate was the best of his career but remains well higher than the league average. Lawrence’s low arm slot could also pose a platoon issue, as left-handed batters can pick up the ball early in his delivery. Southpaws didn’t have much success against him last season, hitting .221/.336/.361 in 149 plate appearances. Lawrence’s strikeout and walk profile was far better against righties, though. He fanned 27.7% and walked 10.2% of right-handed opponents; against lefties, those numbers sat at 19.5% and 12.1%, respectively.

Kinley has more major league experience than Lawrence, but he’d never closed until last fall. His results last season weren’t great. After returning from surgery, he tossed 16 1/3 innings of 11-run ball. His velocity came back stronger than ever, giving reason for optimism that he can find his pre-injury form after a healthy offseason. Kinley was amidst a breakout first half in 2022, turning in a 0.75 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate over 24 innings before going on the shelf.

Beyond that duo, Saunders indicates that Daniel Bard could work back into the closing picture once he’s healthy. He held the job in 2021-22, combining for 54 saves. Anxiety issues, which Bard has battled throughout his career, unfortunately resurfaced early in the ’23 season. While he was able to get back on the mound, he lost his feel for the strike zone. Bard walked more hitters than he struck out, knocking him down the leverage hierarchy.

His efforts at a rebound campaign are delayed after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee last week. While he didn’t need to undergo a meniscus repair as the team originally feared, his recovery timeline isn’t quite certain. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that Bard hasn’t been cleared to begin working from the mound.

On the other side of the ball, the Rox have most of their expected starting lineup penciled in to open the year. The biggest point of uncertainty is probably right field, although there seems an established frontrunner for that job. Both Saunders and Harding wrote this week that Sean Bouchard has the upper hand on right field early in camp.

Bouchard, who turns 28 in May, has shown well in limited playing time over the past two seasons. The UCLA product debuted midway through the 2022 campaign and hit .297/.454/.500 over 27 games. He had a shot at a starting job last spring but suffered a left biceps rupture that required surgery early in camp. That kept him on the injured list until mid-August. Colorado didn’t promote him back to the big leagues until September.

As he did during his debut season, Bouchard put up strong numbers in a small sample last September. He hit .316/.372/.684 through 43 plate appearances, albeit with 14 strikeouts. Bouchard isn’t regarded as a great defensive outfielder but owns a .276/.356/.492 batting line over six minor league seasons. Carrying over that on-base ability in an extended look against big league pitching would be a welcome boost for a lineup that had a subpar .310 OBP a year ago. Only five teams had a lower on-base mark even though the Rox play half their games at Coors Field.

With Kris Bryant moving to first base and Charlie Blackmon likely to see the bulk of his time at designated hitter, the Rockies are set to turn to Nolan Jones and defensive stalwart Brenton Doyle in the other two outfield spots. Highly-regarded prospect Yanquiel Fernandez is on the 40-man roster but will begin the season in the minors, likely at Double-A. Hunter Goodman is on hand as a first base/corner outfield option, while the Rox have Bradley Zimmer in camp on a non-roster deal.

Daniel Bard Undergoes Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

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February 15: While Bard did undergo an arthroscopic knee procedure, the injury did not require a meniscus repair as initially expected. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports that the Rox are hopeful that Bard could be back in around a month as opposed to the initial 5-7 week recovery timeline.

February 13: Rockies right-hander Daniel Bard tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee during a throwing session last week. He’s slated to undergo arthroscopic surgery today, meaning he’ll likely miss the entirety of spring training and be delayed in his start to the 2024 season.

Bard, 38, is entering the second season of a two-year, $19MM contract extension to which the Rockies signed him prior to the 2022 trade deadline. The Rox had received widespread interest in Bard, who was in the midst of a dominant comeback season, but opted to instead hang onto the righty for another two seasons. He finished out that ’22 campaign with a stellar 1.79 ERA, a 28.2% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and a hefty 34 saves. The contract extension has not played out as either party hoped, however.

Bard opened the 2023 season on the injured list while focusing on his long-running battle with anxiety. He returned in mid-April but experienced significant command issues similar those he’d faced nearly a decade ago, prior to his remarkable and inspiring late-30s comeback. The flamethrowing righty kept his ERA to a passable 4.56 in 2023 but did so in spite of a sky-high 21.1% walk rate that checked in higher than his diminished 20.3% strikeout rate. He finished out the season back on the injured list, this time owing to a flexor strain.

That injury didn’t require surgery, and Bard was expected to compete for a leverage role in camp with the Rockies this year. Instead, he’ll now presumably open the season on the injured list and ramp back up on a minor league rehab assignment once the 2024 campaign is underway. Righties Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley are the favorites for late-inning work in manager Bud Black’s bullpen, and Lawrence ought to have the leg up in terms of closing opportunities after saving 11 games in 2023 and posting a 3.72 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate in 75 innings of relief.

Rockies Place Daniel Bard On 15-Day IL, Activate Chase Anderson

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The Rockies announced that right-hander Daniel Bard was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 2) due to fatigue in his throwing forearm.  Bard’s spot on the active roster will be taken by Chase Anderson, who was activated from the 15-day IL and will start today’s game against the Blue Jays.

There isn’t yet any word on whether Bard’s forearm issue is serious or simply precautionary, though the “fatigue” wording seems to indicate the latter.  Nevertheless, given that it’s already September and that the Rockies are out of contention, it is quite possible the team might shut Bard down for the remainder of the season.

It has been a difficult year on and off the field for Bard, as he missed the first few weeks of the season due to anxiety issues.  While he was thankfully able to return to the mound, his numbers took a big dropoff from his excellent 2022 performance.  Bard has a 4.70 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate, and a whopping 20.8% walk rate over 46 innings this year, with that walk rate standing out as the highest in baseball for any hurler with at least 40 innings pitched.

As of July 25, Bard still had a 2.02 ERA, but a 13.94 ERA over his next 10 1/3 innings threw his season-long numbers into disarray.  This includes seven earned runs over his last two outings, which could be explained by the forearm problem.

Anderson hasn’t pitched since July 22 due to shoulder inflammation, and the veteran righty will now get back on the mound to try and salvage a strong finish to an underwhelming season.  One of many Colorado pitchers to struggle in 2023, Anderson has a 6.63 ERA over 55 2/3 innings since being claimed off waivers from the Rays in May.

Black: Rockies Could Be “More Active” On Summer Trade Market

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At 36-58, the Rockies sit at the bottom of the National League and have MLB’s third-worst record overall, leading only the A’s and Royals. While Colorado has developed a reputation for hanging onto potential trade candidates at the deadline instead of moving them at peak value, manager Bud Black said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today that the Rox will likely be more active in 2023 (audio link).

“I think there’s probably more potential this year,” Black told Power Alley hosts Jim Duquette and Mike Ferrin. “…This year is the year where, possibly, you could see more movement out of us. With the players that we have, and what we have going on in the second half of this year, and going into next year and the years beyond, it could make more sense to be a little bit more active.”

Unfortunately for the Rockies, a number of their would-be trade chips are on the injured list — many with serious injuries. German Marquez won’t pitch again this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He has a club option for next season, but that’ll likely be declined, as his recovery will span into next summer. Righty Antonio Senzatela is also set for Tommy John surgery, and lefty Kyle Freeland is on the IL with a subluxation in his non-throwing shoulder. Lefty reliever Brent Suter is a rental in the midst of a strong season, but he’s been out since late June with an oblique strain.

Others on the roster are sensible trade candidates from a contractual standpoint but aren’t performing well enough to maximize their value. Reliever Pierce Johnson is on a one-year, $5MM deal and is a natural candidate to change teams, but he’s also toting a grim 6.14 ERA and 13.2% walk rate. Daniel Bard, whom the Rockies extended in lieu of a trade last summer, has spent time on the injured list with anxiety issues. He’s seen a three mile per hour drop in velocity and has nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. C.J. Cron and Jurickson Profar are both free agents at season’s end, but both have played below replacement level in 2023.

The Rox do have a handful of interesting names to peddle. Veterans Randal Grichuk and Brad Hand are both impending free agents at season’s end and could draw interest. Hand was enjoying a strong rebound season before being tagged for seven runs across three recent appearances, sending his ERA ballooning up to 4.99. He’s still an affordable lefty with a 26.1% strikeout rate. If the Rockies aren’t afraid of dealing controllable relievers — particularly a pair who are of the late-blooming variety — both Justin Lawrence and Jake Bird should generate interest.

Catcher Elias Diaz, a first-time All-Star in 2023, is perhaps the team’s most appealing trade candidate, as I explored at greater length last week. Diaz is signed affordably through next season, and it’s unlikely Colorado will be in contention by the time his three-year, $14.5MM deal expires at the end of the 2024 campaign. There’s been no indication the Rockies would entertain offers on third baseman Ryan McMahon — at least not yet — but he’s signed through the 2027 season and is again playing superlative hot corner defense with solid offensive contributions as well (albeit in spite of a career-worst 31% strikeout rate that is an obvious red flag).

There’s sure to be some degree of frustration among Rockies fans to hear these types of comments in 2023 — when the Rockies have their worst roster in years — rather than in recent non-contending seasons. The Rockies, for instance, declined to trade either Trevor Story or Jon Gray when both were in their final seasons of club control. They received a compensatory draft pick when Story declined a qualifying offer but chose not to even make a QO to Gray, losing him with no compensation. GM Bill Schmidt recently suggested to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he simply didn’t receive “legitimate” offers.

It was a similar story last summer with Bard, who was in the middle of a dominant season and viewed as one of the top trade candidates on the market. Rather than trade the 37-year-old flamethrower a couple months ahead of him reaching the open market, Colorado inked him to a two-year, $19MM extension that has quickly gone south. The Rockies also held onto Cron at the ’21 deadline and later extended him on a two-year deal that looked good this time last summer. Again, however, they hung onto Cron and, as with Bard, have seen his trade value plummet.

Time will tell how aggressive the Rockies will be and how much interest the healthy players on their roster will draw. But it’s abundantly clear the team is in need of some changes. Colorado is 19th in the Majors with 411 runs scored and 24th with 89 total home runs. The Rockies rank 13th in MLB with a .253 batting average but are 22nd with a .313 OBP and 18th with a .403 slugging percentage.

The pitching has been even worse. Injuries have surely contributed, but the Rockies’ staff looked highly questionable even coming into the season. To this point, Colorado starters have baseball’s worst combined ERA (6.44), and their bullpen ranks 27th with a 4.81 mark. Colorado pitchers have MLB’s worst strikeout rate (18.3%) and fifth-highest walk rate (9.7%). Their 1.51 HR/9 mark is the worst in baseball as well.

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