Bullpen may start to receive assistance
ARIZ.» Manager SCOTTSDALE, Bud Black opened the door Thursday to the idea of putting one of his starting pitching candidates in the bullpen when the Rockies break camp next week.
There are six pitchers competing for five spots in the rotation — meaning the odd man out could become a reliever, at least for the short term. Right now, Antonio Senzatela appears to be that bullpen candidate, though he still has an outside shot at a starting job.
The starting rotation looks like this: Right-hander Jon Gray, lefty Tyler Anderson, righty German Marquez, righty Chad Bettis and lefty Kyle Freeland.
Senzatela pitched well against the Cubs’ High-A team Thursday. The righthander threw six innings (plus three batters), allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out 10 and walked two.
“We like the fact that we have six guys right now building their pitch counts, getting innings, and preparing for the season,” Black said. “We will go with a five-man rotation, so our decision will be whether we keep one of these fellows in the bullpen, or not.”
Currently, the Rockies’ long-relief pitcher is reliable lefty Chris Rusin, but right-hander Scott Oberg has also pitched more than one inning in games this spring.
Last season, Marquez failed to make the starting rotation out of spring. He stayed in the bullpen until April 9 before getting optioned to Triple-A when Rusin returned after recovering from a strained oblique. Marquez didn’t pitch a game for the Rockies out of the bullpen, but he was able to maintain his starter’s stamina when he was shipped to Triple-A.
Role playing. Although the back of the bullpen is set with right-hander Wade Davis as the closer and lefty Jake McGee and righty Bryan Shaw as the primary setup men, decisions still have to be made. Left-hander Zac Rosscup, acquired from the Cubs in a trade last June, has a shot to break camp with the bigleague club. He is out of options, so that will figure into Colorado’s decision.
Marquez update. The Rockies had Wednesday off, except for Marquez — who pitched in a back-field game. His line — 5L innings pitched, five runs (four earned) allowed on six hits, two walks, seven strikeouts and one home run — wasn’t impressive. Black, however, found something to like in the outing.
“His fastball had normal velocity and the breaking ball had good action on it,” Black said. “Plus, he worked up his pitch count, so overall it was a positive.”