Shaw returns to bullpen after trip to DL

Reliever Bryan Shaw, a disappointment thus far in a Rockies uniform, is getting a fresh start. For the sake of team’s postseason aspirations, Shaw had better make the most of his chance.

“I’m healthy, and I’ve got my mechanics kind of tightened back up,” the veteran righthander said before Wednesday’s game against Arizona. He has returned from the disabled list, where he was healing a strained right calf muscle. “I think the mechanical difficulties were the product of the leg, and then my arm being tired. I think, maybe, my results were the byproduct of those things.”

Shaw predicted that, eventually, he’ll work his way back to a key role in the bullpen.

“My goal is to get back to where I was before it all went awry,” he said. “My confidence is always high. The confidence is there; it was more about frustration with what had been going on.

Manager Bud Black declined to discuss specifically which bullpen role Shaw will fill right now, but Shaw doesn’t foresee himself pitching in highleverage situations, at least not initially.

“I’m assuming if we are up or down by a lot, that’s when I’ll be in there,” he said. “Then I’ll work my way back into the role I previously had.

“Listen, I’m not expecting to hear, ‘Hey, it’s bases loaded in the seventh, go ahead and go get them.’ I’m assuming that’s not my role right now, but if it is, I’ll do it.”

Colorado projected Shaw to be a strongassteel addition to their bullpen. To that end, they gave him a threeyear, $27 million contract, with high expectations he would be part of the bridge to closer Wade Davis.

Those plans collapsed under the weight of Shaw’s inconsistent mechanics, too many pitches left up in the zone and a propensity to serve up home runs. Before going on the disabled list June 24, he was 35 with a 7.57 ERA, 20 walks and 34 strikeouts in 41 appearances. He has already allowed a careerhightying eight home runs this season.

Shaw pitched in two games — an inning each — during his rehab assignment at TripleA Albuquerque. Friday, he struggled, giving up two runs on two hits, including a home run. Sunday, he pitched better, getting three groundball out and issuing one walk.

Black expressed confidence that Shaw will return to the form that made him an effective reliever at Cleveland from 201317, when he posted a 3.11 ERA.

“We expect the Bryan Shaw performance that has happened over the last five years,” Black said. “That’s our expectation, because he’s done it for a long time. So our expectation is that he’s going to return to form.

“I’m sort of anxious to see it. Because we need all of these guys (in the bullpen). Bryan has been a quality (relief) pitcher for a long time, on playoff teams, on a World Series team. So there is no reason to believe he cannot get back to that. If you grade him out on a scouting scale, his stuff is there. He just hasn’t made enough pitches.”