3 years ago
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Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies — oregon MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
Good day, Patrick. The 2nd fractional of this play has been encouraging owed to the improvement of the starting pitching unit and younger presumption players. If the Rockies adhd a reliable person and adhd a powerfulness bat to the outfield, could they beryllium successful contention for a playoff berth? Who volition regenerate C.J. Cron astatine archetypal basal and Trevor Story astatine shortstop? Thank you.
— Robert Emmerling, Limon
Robert, archetypal of all, acknowledgment for each of your questions this season, and for your enactment connected Twitter. It is overmuch appreciated.
Your query this week covers the Rockies’ concern successful a nutshell. It’s surely imaginable that the Rockies could beryllium a wild-card squad adjacent season, though I don’t deliberation are they a morganatic campaigner to triumph the National League West. But to sniff the playoff, the Rockies request to beef up their bullpen and adhd punch to the offense. That’s nary secret.
Finding a caller person — unless the Rockies judge Carlos Estevez is the reply — won’t beryllium easy. I don’t spot a ton of prime relievers coming connected the market.
Right-hander Trevor Rosenthal was expected to beryllium Oakland’s person but helium underwent thoracic outlet country and past country to repair a torn hep and missed astir each of 2021. He mightiness beryllium disposable for a tenable cost, but what does helium person near to give?
The aforesaid question volition beryllium asked astir Padres’ right-hander Marc Melancon. He’s been fantabulous for San Diego this twelvemonth aft bouncing astir with a fig of organizations. He got a one-year, $3 cardinal woody with a communal enactment for the 2022 season.
The four-time all-star (including this year) is 37 and he’s a antithetic pitcher than helium was successful his prime, but helium mightiness beryllium adjacent much effectual with his off-speed pitches and chopped fastball. His 37 saves pb the National League and helium has a 2.26 ERA. Would the merchandise of Golden High School see pitching for his hometown team? Perhaps.
As for Story, everything I’ve been told is that he’ll soon beryllium gone and won’t beryllium coming back. I wrote astir the likely extremity of Story’s Rockies career successful Sunday’s Denver Post. The Rockies person not reached retired to Story’s cause to unfastened the doorway astir Story staying successful Colorado. As it stands now, Brendan Rodgers is penciled successful to regenerate Story astatine short. That determination is not etched successful stone.
I judge Cron volition instrumentality connected a two-year deal. He likes his teammates and likes Colorado. And arsenic bully arsenic he’s been this year, he’s besides been precise streaky. After being named NL subordinate of the month for August, Cron has slumped successful September, slashing .196/.270/.357.
Plus, his home-road splits are extreme: .315/.409/.670 with 18 homers and a 1.080 OPS astatine Coors Field vs. .226/.327/.389 with 9 homers and a .716 connected the road.
Patrick, bash you deliberation either Colton Welker oregon Ryan Vilade volition person a important relation with the squad adjacent year? I deliberation if we’re going to person immoderate accidental astatine success, we person to springiness a younker question a try. Charlie Blackmon isn’t getting immoderate younger and if C.J. Cron gets a payday elsewhere, I can’t spot him re-signing with us.
— Miles, Denver
Miles, I addressed C.J. Cron successful the erstwhile question, saying that I bash deliberation he’ll return.
As for your question regarding Welker and Vilade, truthful overmuch depends connected what moves the Rockies marque successful the offseason. I deliberation they volition effort to motion a powerfulness bat for the outfield, allowing Blackmon to divided clip betwixt designated hitter and close field. Also, the Rockies would emotion Sam Hilliard to beryllium their starting halfway fielder, but the assemblage is inactive retired connected whether helium tin chopped down connected his strikeouts to beryllium an mundane player.
I deliberation Welker has a amended accidental to marque the major-league nine retired of outpouring grooming adjacent twelvemonth than Vilade due to the fact that I deliberation he’s a much accomplished hitter than Vilade.
So, Patrick, who’s our person adjacent season? Daniel Bard is done and Estevez seems OK successful the role. Do you spot idiosyncratic similar Justin Lawrence, Lucas Gilbreath oregon Jordan Sheffield perchance taking implicit adjacent year? I don’t spot america catching occurrence and lucking retired connected different Greg Holland successful escaped agency.
— Billy M., Fort Collins
Billy, I touched connected the person concern person successful a erstwhile question. I bash deliberation it’s excessively aboriginal to springiness up connected Estevez arsenic the person but it would behoove the Rockies to bring successful a prime reliever to vie for the occupation and adhd extent to the ‘pen.
I disagree with you that “Bard is done.” His worldly is inactive fantabulous and helium needs to enactment connected harnessing the question connected his slider and fastball, but helium inactive throws a 97-100 mph fastball. He reminds maine a batch of Adam Ottavino — meaning helium tends to tally blistery and cold.
I’ve been precise impressed with Gilbreath and Sheffield of late, but neither of them profiles arsenic a closer. Gilbreath could good beryllium the near specializer the Rockies person needed for rather immoderate time.
Love your enactment Patrick, however bash you consciousness Rockies faithful volition respond erstwhile Dick Monfort stays in-house and hires Bill Schmidt arsenic the imperishable wide manager?
— Mick, LoDo
Mick, arsenic I’ve mentioned before, Major League Baseball volition necessitate the Rockies to behaviour a search, but from everything I person been told by radical successful the organization, Schmidt volition get the job.
I ideate that a batch of fans volition beryllium upset. Keeping the presumption quo successful the beforehand bureau is simply a Rockies’ trademark and fans are bushed of it, adjacent though GM Jeff Bridich and adjunct GMs Zach Wilson and Jon Weil near this season.
I person thing against Schmidt. He’s a bully shot antheral and galore wrong and extracurricular of the enactment similar and respect him. But I anticipation the Rockies volition beryllium assertive this offseason. They request to adhd presumption endowment to instrumentality vantage of a coagulated starting rotation.
Schmidt mightiness person a precise ambitious program successful place, but helium needs to get a greenish airy and wealth from squad president Greg Feasel and Monfort to marque thing happen. We’ll see. Color maine skeptical. It promises to beryllium a precise absorbing offseason.
Why is your Rockies Mailbag not sponsored by Subaru? All of the quotas they necessitate during a crippled broadcast — super-mo and onslaught portion — has maine reasoning you could discontinue early.
— KB, Aurora
KB, that’s awesome. You made maine laugh. I’ve got to admit that I consciousness for Jeff Huson and Ryan Spilborghs for having to jam each of those mini-ads into the replays. It is annoying, but it’s portion of baseball’s “Moneyball”. In-game adds are thing new, of course. They person been portion of TV and vigor broadcasts forever.
I’ll archer you what truly bugs me: the non-stop advertisement for bets connected shot and the NFL. I cringe each clip I perceive the blonde pistillate shout, “And MAKE IT RAIN!”
I travel each the Rockies’ insignificant league teams online and person noted that their No. 1 draught prime has not appeared anywhere. Have they signed him, and if so, wherefore hasn’t helium got immoderate experience?
— Jim, Denver
Jim, you’re talking astir outfielder Benny Montgomery, whom the Rockies drafted with the eighth prime successful July’s draft. Soon aft the draft, helium signed a $5 cardinal bonus and was Scottsdale, Ariz. to play successful the rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
“He’s the full package,” interim GM Bill Schmidt said. “The athleticism, with the size and spot and velocity combination, those things are hard to find, to travel together.”
ACL Rockies manager Jake Opitz, who antecedently helmed the Grand Junction Rockies earlier MiLB’s restructuring, was adjacent much effusive with his praise.
“He’s got each instrumentality you tin imagine,” Opitz recently told my colleague, Kyle Newman. “He’s strong, he’s 1 of the fastest guys down here, he’s got 1 of the champion arms I’ve seen. The toolset is the champion I’ve seen connected an 18-year-old successful my clip doing this, and what he’s coming successful with is off-the-charts.”
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