MLB Team Report – Colorado Rockies – INSIDE PITCH
Coming off a season when they lost a franchise-record 98 games, the Rockies are unlikely to be worse this year. Realistically, 2013 can be a transitional season leading to better days, but for any significant strides to be made this year, the starting pitching will have to be notably better.
And in particular, the Rockies will need contributions from Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa and Juan Nicasio, each of whom missed significant time due to injury last season.
“For us to make any noise and to be taken seriously, we have to have those guys go to the post consistently,” manager Walt Weiss said.
The trio combined to make a mere 28 starts and pitch just 137 2/3 innings in 2012.
Last year, the Rockies starters went 29-68 with a 5.81 ERA. At Coors Field, the starters’ ERA was an even more unsightly 6.70 ERA.
Chacin would appear to offer the best reason for hope this year. He came off the disabled list on Aug. 21 after nearly a three-month stay with nerve irritation in his right pectoral muscle, and in his final nine starts had a 2.84 ERA in 44 1/3 innings.
Chacin was eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, and the Rockies rewarded him with a two-year, $6.5 million contract. His status has changed immeasurably from a year earlier, when general manager Dan O’Dowd was critical of Chacin’s offseason conditioning. The right-hander tried unsuccessfully to pitch through spring training and the first month of the season with the injury that resulted in his lengthy stay on the disabled list.
Chacin, who turned 25 last month, has made 67 career starts and pitched in 82 major league games.
“I think the next step for him, as it is for a lot of big-leaguers, is consistency,” Weiss said. “It’s about putting together numerous (good) starts, and that’s easier said than done. But he has a bit of a track record and has dominated some good lineups for a period of time.”
De La Rosa, whose $11 million salary is the highest on the team, made three starts for the Rockies in September after finally working his way back from Tommy John surgery in June 2011. Understandably, De La Rosa was rusty and inconsistent and admitted he became very tentative, particularly with breaking balls, and didn’t feel comfortable throwing any pitch. But in November, De La Rosa, who turns 32 in April, said he finally felt normal and threw his breaking pitches with confidence and without pain.
“We all know the type of arm he has,” Weiss said. “It’s electric stuff. But the fact is, he hasn’t been out there a lot in the year and a half (since his surgery). There’s going to be a period to get him back on track. We are really counting on him to be a top-of-the rotation guy.”
Nicasio, 26, met with misfortune for the second consecutive season, albeit nothing as serious as in August 2011, when he was hit in the right temple with a line drive off the bat of the Nationals’ Ian Desmond and suffered a broken neck and fractured skull. On June 2, 2012, he twisted his left knee reaching to his right for a ball hit past him. Six weeks later, he underwent season-ending surgery to have four bone chips removed as well as a microfracture procedure.
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MLB Team Report – Colorado Rockies – NOTES, QUOTES
–INF Reid Brignac was acquired by the Rockies from the Rays on Feb. 14 for a player to be named and cash considerations. Brignac, 27, was designated for assignment Feb. 5 by Tampa Bay. In 256 games in the majors, all with the Rays, Brignac has hit .227 with 10 homers and 67 RBI. He played 16 games for the Rays last year, going 2-for-21 (.095) with one RBI, and 99 with Class AAA Durham, hitting .231 with eight homers and 46 RBI.
Brignac, 27, a left-handed hitter, is out of minor league options. He formerly started at shortstop for the Rays, and because he can play that position, his value with the Rockies is enhanced as possible protection if Troy Tulowitzki again gets injured.
The Rockies have a host of infielders, including Chris Nelson (who is also out of options), Jordan Pacheco, Josh Rutledge, DJ LeMahieu, Jonathan Herrera and Ryan Wheeler in addition to Tulowitzki and Brignac. Assuming Rutledge wins the second base job over LeMahieu, and that Nelson remains on the team even if he loses the third base job, Brignac likely will end up competing with LeMahieu, Herrera and Wheeler for a utility job. With the Rays, Brignac played very well defensively, but his offense regressed after he hit .256 with eight homers and 45 RBI in 301 at-bats in 2010.
“I’m excited,” Brignac said. “Everything is a new start for me, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m not concerned about hitting for a certain average or doing a certain thing. I’m just going to go out there and show what I can do on a baseball field. I hope that’s going to be enough.”
–LHP Edwar Cabrera was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a left shoulder impingement. The move made room on the Rockies’ 40-man roster for INF Reid Brignac. Last season at Class AA Tulsa and Class AAA Cabrera, 25, went a combined 11-5 with a 3.05 ERA and 35 walks and 121 strikeouts in 129 2/3 innings. He made two starts for the Rockies on June 27 and July 24, going 0-2 with an 11.12 ERA. Had he been healthy, Cabrera likely would have been on Colorado Springs’ roster on Opening Day.
Cabrera said his left elbow bothered him during the minicamp the Rockies held in the Dominican Republic shortly before spring training. He had already contracted a virus and lost weight, and then he experienced shoulder pain that kept him from throwing. He has been shut down for two weeks.
–CF Dexter Fowler agreed to a two-year, $11.6 million contract, becoming the second arbitration-eligible player to accept a multiyear deal from the Rockies. RHP Jhoulys Chacin came to terms on a two-year, $6.5 million contract.
Fowler, who turns 27 on March 22, was the last of six Rockies players eligible for arbitration to avoid that process. In addition to receiving a $1 million bonus, Fowler will make $3.25 million this season and $7.35 million in 2014. He will have one year of arbitration remaining before becoming eligible for free agency after the 2015 season.
Fowler was a Super-2 player after the 2011 season, which made him arbitration eligible and brought him a $2.35 million salary in 2012. That proved to be a breakthrough season for Fowler, who in 143 games hit .300 with 18 doubles, 11 triples, 13 homers, 53 RBI, 72 runs and a .389 on-base percentage.
When Fowler and the Rockies exchanged figures this winter, he asked for $5.15 million, and the club offered $4.25 million, creating a mid-point of $4.7 million. With his bonus and salary this year, Fowler will make the $4.25 million that the Rockies had offered. However, he gets the security of a second season. In turn, the Rockies get the cost certainty of having Fowler under contract for two years. The Rockies listened to offers during the winter for Fowler, but they set the asking price high and never engaged in serious talks about trading him.
–RHP Tyler Chatwood will be a candidate for the rotation and for a middle-relief spot, manager Walt Weiss said. LHP Josh Outman, who started and relieved last year, is seen strictly as reliever and a candidate to fill the spot created by the trade of LHP Matt Reynolds to the Diamondbacks.
–RHP Chad Bettis, one of the better pitching prospects in the system who missed the entire 2012 season due to a shoulder injury, will be stretched out as a starter this spring. He’s likely to begin the season at Class AA Tulsa, where he had been scheduled to pitch last year. Bettis, who turns 24 on April 25, was in big-league camp last year, and he hurt his shoulder in his second Cactus League appearance. Ultimately he might be moved to the bullpen, where he has the stuff, mentality and command to be a closer or setup man. However, keeping Bettis a starter is a way for him to ease back into competition without having to adjust to a new role. It gives him the opportunity to continue to try to develop his changeup, a pitch he would need as a starter in addition to his fastball and slider, both plus pitches.
–C Ramon Hernandez weighed 232 pounds in September when he tore a tendon in his left hamstring. He came to camp weighing 217. Hernandez, who turns 37 on May 20, was the starting catcher a year ago and new to the Rockies after signing a two-year, $6.4 million contract. Now he’s making $3.2 million and backing up Wilin Rosario, although minor league free agent Yorvit Torrealba is competing for that job.
Hernandez missed six weeks during the first half of last season with a left hand strain and ended up hitting .217 in 52 games.
“I went down to 210, which is definitely too light,” Hernandez said. “I hadn’t weighed 210 since 1999, and I don’t know how to play that light. But between 215 and 220 is good for my legs and my knees.”
Hernandez will miss time this spring to again play for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He views it as an honor and not an experience to pass up, even though staying in camp might work to his advantage with the Rockies.
“I always like to go,” Hernandez said. “If I’ve got a chance to represent my country, especially at my age, it might be my last one, why not? I went to the last two. It’s a great feeling when you listen to your anthem and the people in the stands from your country are wearing your flag. It’s an exciting experience. If it’s in your hands and you can do it, why miss it?”
–Courtesy of RF Michael Cuddyer, the Rockies players found purple T-shirts in their lockers on the morning of the first workout for pitchers and catchers. The front of the shirt reads, “Beat Their Ass” in large, white letters. The back reads, “Not Our Own!”
Cuddyer, who bought 100 of the shirts, said, “It’s well documented that we struggled last year because too often we beat ourselves. This is a reminder that we need to change that.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 17 — Home runs by Rockies first basemen last season, which ranked 12th in the National League. The 17 homers included seven by Todd Helton, which tied his career low for a full season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “He’s a professional hitter, so you have to find a way to get him on the field.” — Manager Walt Weiss, on Jordan Pacheco, who in addition to playing third base and first base is the third catcher. As a rookie last year, Pacheco hit .309 with 32 doubles, five homers and 54 RBI in 475 at-bats.
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MLB Team Report – Colorado Rockies – ROSTER REPORT
PROJECTED ROTATION:
1. RHP Jhoulys Chacin
2. LHP Jorge De La Rosa
3. RHP Juan Nicasio
4. LHP Drew Pomeranz
5. LHP Jeff Francis
Injuries limited Chacin, De La Rosa and Nicasio to a combined total of 28 starts last year. Chacin pitched very well in nine starts after returning in August and is less of a question mark than De La Rosa, who was understandably inconsistent in three September starts as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery performed in June 2011. Nicasio didn’t pitch after suffering a left knee sprain June 2 that resulted in arthroscopic surgery and a microfracture procedure. A breakthrough in his third professional season by Pomeranz, 24, is conceivable and would greatly help the rotation. Francis provides a veteran presence and dependability to the back of the rotation.
RHP Chris Volstad, signed to a minor league contract, will compete for a spot in the rotation along with RHP Tyler Chatwood and LHP Christian Friedrich.
PROJECTED BULLPEN:
RHP Rafael Betancourt (closer)
RHP Matt Belisle
LHP Rex Brothers
RHP Wilton Lopez
RHP Adam Ottavino
RHP Miguel Batista
LHP Josh Outman
Betancourt did well last year in his first full season as a closer, but he turns 38 on April 29. Lopez, acquired from the Astros in December, closed the final two months last year and could step in for Betancourt, if need be. Regardless, the back end of the bullpen should be strong with Lopez, Belisle and Brothers setting up for Betancourt.
The Rockies again are expected to have three hybrid relievers, as they call them, coming in after the starters reach their limit of about 90 pitches. Ottavino was effective in that role last year. Newly acquired Batista should be able to handle the job, although his age (41) is a concern. Outman, Danny Rosenbaum, taken in the Rule 5 draft from the Nationals, or Erick Threets would give the Rockies a second left-hander in the bullpen. RHPs Manuel Corpas, Rob Scahill and Edgmer Escalona also will compete for bullpen spots.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. 2B Josh Rutledge
3. LF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. RF Michael Cuddyer
7. C Wilin Rosario
8. 3B Jordan Pacheco
Getting Tulowitzki, Helton and Cuddyer back from injuries lengthens what was a very weak lineup after the three were sidelined for long stretches last year. Tulowitzki didn’t play after May 30, Helton made six starts after July 8, and Cuddyer played three games after July 31.
Their presence will help Gonzalez, who could approach the heights of his 2010 breakout season. Rosario, who led the team with 28 homers as a rookie last year, brings power toward the bottom of the lineup. He could move up if others falter. Pacheco handles the bat well and doesn’t strike out a lot. He could hit second at times.
TOP ROOKIES: RHP Rob Scahill, who has a power arm, posted a 1.04 ERA in six September appearances. He has swing-and-miss stuff and can pitch multiple innings, which makes him suited for one of the Rockies’ hybrid relief roles, but he must improve his control (74 walks and 159 strikeouts in 152 innings at Class AAA last season). 3B Nolan Arenado, who hit .285 with 12 homers and 56 RBI last year in Class AA, likely will start the season at Class AAA but could earn a promotion and the opportunity to play regularly at a position where the Rockies are seeking someone long-term.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–LHP Edwar Cabrera (left shoulder impingement) went on the 60-day disabled list Feb. 14. He likely would have started the season in Class AAA had he been healthy.
–RHP Juan Nicasio (left knee microfracture surgery in July 2012) hopes to be back in the rotation in 2013.
–1B Todd Helton (right hip surgery in August 2012, arthroscopic left knee surgery in November 2012) expects to be ready for spring training.
–SS Troy Tulowitzki (left groin surgery in June 2012) expects to be completely recovered for spring training.
–C Ramon Hernandez (left hamstring surgery in September 2012) expects to be ready for spring training.
–OF Eric Young Jr. (left ribcage muscle strain) should be ready for spring training.
–CF Dexter Fowler (left wrist tendinitis) should be ready for spring training.
–LF Carlos Gonzalez (left hamstring strain) should be ready for spring training.
–RF Michael Cuddyer (right oblique strain) should be ready for spring training.
