MEDIA CLIPS – July 24th, 2018 Inbox: Should Rox pursue reliever at Deadline? Beat reporter Thomas Harding answers questions from Colorado fans By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Jul. 23rd, 2018 DENVER -- The most likely way the Rockies will pick to keep their surge going is to improve the bullpen by the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline -- or at least that's the way I'm answering the first question in the Edward Jones Beat Reporter's Inbox. Thomas Harding ✔@harding_at_mlb Please tweet me here with your questions for the next @EdwardJones #Rockies Beat Reporter's Inbox. Eric Swanson@Eric_C_Swanson With all the money spent on the bullpen this offseason, yet it still seems to be a need for this team; is there any chance they make a move to acquire a reliever at the deadline? 7:08 AM - Jul 23, 2018 This question is the biggest one that the Rockies are likely to address. In doing so, let's address exactly what the need is. First, I'll determine what's pertinent, and any stat for any reliever that takes into account the season is not. I'm going to look at the Rockies' bullpen starting June 28, the beginning of the club's current 15-4 run. The full bullpen is 7- 2 with a 3.34 ERA over that period, but even that doesn't tell us the exact areas of strength and need. 1 Let's zero in on key individuals, working from the ninth inning to earlier innings (more or less), starting June 28: • Closer Wade Davis: nine innings pitched, 1.00 ERA, .129 batting average against, 11 strikeouts, two walks • Righty Adam Ottavino: 10 2/3 IP, 3.38 ERA, .318 BAA, 14 SO, 5 BB • Righty Scott Oberg: 10 IP, 1.80 ERA, .278 BAA, 10 SO, 1 BB • Righty Bryan Shaw: 4 1/3 IP (since his return from a right calf strain), 2.08 ERA, .188 BAA, 6 SO, 2 BB • Lefty Chris Rusin: 7 1/3 IP, 6.14 ERA, .323 BAA, 4 SO, 3 BB • Lefty Jake McGee: 5 2/3 IP, 6.35 ERA, .273 BA, 6 SO, 3 BB (.905 OPS against) So this gives the Rockies two ways to shore up the back end of the bullpen. Rusin and McGee so far haven't found consistency. One boost could be lefty Harrison Musgrave when he returns from a right hip flexor issue. He's a rookie who doesn't have great command, but he has held lefties to a .209 average and righties to .186. Or the Rockies could seek experience in a trade. A bigger move would be to acquire another team's primary setup man or closer. No one expected Ottavino to keep up his incredible first half, and the numbers lately could merely be a natural difficult patch. Nonetheless, Ottavino, Oberg and Shaw could benefit from another experienced setup man. Hard-throwing but relatively inexperienced Carlos Estevez is an option at Triple-A Albuquerque. Casey monaghan@Caseymonaghan5 @harding_at_mlb I feel missing the playoffs this year makes Nolan’s free agent departure almost certain. That said, shouldn’t Bridich think big at the deadline, like Realmuto or DeGrom big? At worst it doesn’t work they can just trade Arenado next year and re-load the farm 3:28 PM - Jul 22, 2018 As the Rockies showed last year by relying on homegrown pitching depth and are showing now by getting contributions from homegrown bench players (and, they hope, fill-in second baseman Garrett Hampson), their multiple spare parts are valuable. So giving up multiple players for one has to be done carefully. 2 If Jacob deGrom is truly available, the Rockies owe it to themselves to explore -- but do it with their depth in mind. Catching is difficult to acquire and J.T. Realmuto seems to be available, but it's the same story. As for how this fits with Nolan Arenado, who is eligible for free agency after next season, that can't be the front-burner issue. That's simply because Arenado has every right to let the next year-plus play out, and he could test the market even if the Rockies win both World Series. And the Rockies must look at him in an overall payroll context, meaning they have to see what the cost would be and could they continue to be competitive after committing to it. Look at the Royals teams that played in the 2015 World Series and won it in '16. Many of those guys aren't there anymore. The Rockies' priorities have to be protecting their competitive window as long as possible, whether or not they can retain Arenado. Thomas Harding ✔@harding_at_mlb Please tweet me your questions for the next #Rockies @EdwardJones Beat Reporter's Inbox Meredith Wills@Bbl_Astrophyscs Assuming he keeps doing what he did last night, where do you see Hampson fitting in once LeMahieu comes off the DL? 2:14 PM - Jul 22, 2018 Saturday was an impressive debut for Hampson, just up from Albuquerque, and the Rockies hope his offensive approach and speed will help tide the lineup over until DJ LeMahieu can return. No telling if any holes will materialize between now and when LeMahieu returns. But the Rockies prepared Hampson for a multi-position role at Double-A Hartford and Albuquerque by playing him for 48 combined games (all starts) at second base, 37 games (all starts) at shortstop and eight games (six starts) in center field. Those are positions where the Rockies have mainstay players, but the depth paid off when LeMahieu suffered his injury. Also, last season, manager Bud Black used Raimel Tapia and Mike Tauchman as reserves for hitting and baserunning, and running is one of the right-handed-hitting Hampson's strengths. So there would still be use for him after LeMahieu returns. 3 Bryan Shaw thinks he can be the solution to Rockies’ bullpen woes By PATRICK SAUNDERS | [email protected] | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: July 23, 2018 at 3:12 pm | UPDATED: July 23, 2018 at 3:16 pm As the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline nears, questions swirl around the Rockies’ shopping list. It’s clear that shoring up their suspect bullpen should be their top priority, but it’s unclear how active the Rockies will be. Will they stand pat? Will they get into a bidding war with other teams for the services of Baltimore left-hander Zach Britton, who would be a half-season rental? Or does the solution already reside in Colorado’s bullpen? Right-hander Bryan Shaw believes the latter is the case. He believes he can be the solution. “I’m healthy now, and if I put up the numbers I have in my career, it’s basically like getting a new person,” Shaw said upon his return from the disabled list on July 11. Manager Bud Black won’t go that far, but he believes a rejuvenated Shaw could provide a huge boost to a bullpen that carries a 5.17 ERA, the worst in the National League. “No doubt, but there are a lot of appearances left … Hopefully things will turn for Bryan,” Black said. Black is leaning on Shaw’s career track record with Cleveland, as well as Shaw’s performance in a handful of appearances since he came off the disabled list. Yet there is plenty to doubt about Shaw’s ability to be the bridge the Rockies need to reach dependable eighth-inning set-up man Adam Ottavino. Before going on the disabled list June 24 with a strained right calf muscle, Shaw’s season was in shambles. A day before he went on the DL, the reliever served up a grand slam to Miami’s J.T. Realmuto in a 6-2 loss. It was the low point for Shaw, 30, who signed a three-year, $27 million contract in the offseason. After Realmuto’s grand slam, his ERA spiked to 7.57. After 41 appearances, Shaw had already allowed eight home runs, matching career highs of 2015 (74 appearances) and 2016 (in 75). Since coming off the DL and making two rehab appearance at Triple-A Albuquerque, Shaw has pitched better. The Rockies have eased him back into the picture, but the numbers are encouraging. In four appearances (4 ⅓ innings), he’s given up one earned run on three hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. 4 In Colorado’s dramatic 11-10 victory at Arizona on Friday night, Shaw was thrust into a late-game role because closer Wade Davis was out with food poisoning. Shaw pitched the seventh inning and got two outs in the eighth, giving up one run, on one hit, while striking out four and walking none. “What we saw from Bryan, and what we saw in his couple of rehab outings, gave us an indication that we think the tide is turning for Bryan,” Black said. “We saw some great fastballs, with cutting action. His delivery looked much better and under better control.” Shaw’s bread-and-butter pitch is his cutter, and while lack of velocity has not been a problem, the location of the pitch has. Black, however, thinks that problem is close to being fixed, noting the Shaw is beginning to command his cutter down and underneath the hands of left-handed batters, and down and away to right-handers. “What I liked more than anything was the controlled effort through the delivery,” Black said. “It did not look like he was overthrowing the ball. It did not look like he was muscling his pitches.