After 2020, bullpen needs to improve
Rebound performances are needed from right-hand pitchers Carlos Estevez, Jairo Diaz
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Let’s begin by stating the obvious. The Rockies’ bullpen was bad in 2020.
Let us count the ways:
• 6.77 ERA, the worst in franchise histor y.
• Rockies relievers allowed 40% of inherited runners to score, worst in the NL.
• The “hard-hit” percentage against relievers was 40.5%, according to FanGraphs, the highest in the NL.
• The bullpen ser ved up 38 homers (third-most in the NL), had a .300 batting average against (second highest) and a 1.67 WHIP (second-highest).
There are more bad numbers, but you get the picture.
So how can the Rockies fix one of their biggest weaknesses with essentially the same group of pitchers?
“Consistency, overall, is going to be needed,” manager Bud Black said. “The guys that we have projected in our bullpen have shown the ability to per form over a long stretch of time and even over an entire season. We have seen legitimate big-league per formances.
“But some of the guys had tough years and we need a bounce-back from some of those fellas, specifically Carlos (Estevez) and Jairo (Diaz).”
Obscured by last season’s overall poor performance was the fact that the Rockies did a decent job of closing games thanks to the emergence of Daniel Bard, who recorded six saves in six chances while posting a 3.65 ERA. Colorado’s 16 saves were tied for secondmost in the NL.
If right-hander Scott Oberg (14-2, 2.35 ERA in 2018-20) can stay healthy — he’s returning from thoracic outlet surger y that will, the Rockies hope, prevent blood clots from returning in his right arm — the ninth inning should be in good hands.
But it’s middle-inning relief, as well as the shaky bridge to the ninth, that must be shored up.
It’s early in camp, and there are a number of relievers who could emerge, including lefties Phillip Diehl and Ben Bowden, and right-hander Robert Stephenson, acquired from Cincinnati in the trade for Jeff Hoffman.
Following is a look at the essential relievers, apart from Bard and Oberg, who are on the hot seat:
RHP Yency Almonte: His 2.93 ERA was best among Rockies relievers last year and he showed, in Black’s parlance, “good pitchability.” He projects to be one of the team’s most dependable arms.
Almonte only walked 2.0 batters per nine innings, the best on the team. Plus,
he ser ved up only two home runs, going 19 consecutive outings without giving up a homer, the longest streak by a Rockies reliever in 2020.
“I need to stay consistent and stay with what I did last year,” Almonte said. “I felt like I found a rhythm and had a routine that worked for me. I threw my changeup more (to left-handed hitters) and I felt comfor table with it.
“I’m no longer just a two-pitch pitcher. In years past, with just my slider and fastball, if they were missing, it was hard. Now I can keep (hitters) guessing.”
RHP Carlos Estevez: Colorado’s hardest-throwing reliever was excellent in 2019, making a careerhigh 71 appearances with a solid 3.75 ERA. But 2020 was a disaster: 7.50 ERA, 1.75 WHIP.
Estevez, however, revealed early in spring training that an injur y messed up his 2020 season. The comebacker that smacked the back of his hand on Aug. 16 af fected him the rest of the season.
“I lost my slider and I was getting an impingement in my fingers ever y once in a while while I was throwing,” Estevez said. “I would throw three good pitches and then the next two I would have, like a shock down my fingers. It was pretty tough.”
Black believes in Estevez.
“He threw really well in ’19, touching 100 at times and consistently in the upper-90s,” Black said. “He showed a lot of grit last year, with that hand. It was pitchable, but he lost his feel … he just wasn’t quite the same.”
RHP Jairo Diaz: A few things stand out. His ERA soared to 7.65, his walk rate spiked from 2.97 to 6.30, and right-handers hit .400 against him. A bout with COVID-19 — he caught the virus in summer camp — sapped his strength and gave him a late star t.
“It was a struggling year, overall,” Diaz said.
“It was a rough, short season. I was wrong with my pitch location with cer tain pitches.”
According to Black, Diaz’s mechanics were out of whack.
“He was tr ying to overcompensate and then he overthrew the ball when he wasn’t in the game shape he needed to be in,” Black said. “What we are doing now is tr ying to solidify his mechanics to make sure that ever ything is in order.”
RHP Mychal Givens: When the Rockies acquired Givens from Baltimore at the trade deadline, it looked like a sweet deal. After all, Givens had allowed only two runs in 13 innings for the Orioles and owned a 3.32 career ERA in six seasons in Baltimore.
But the first impression in Colorado was not good: a 6.75 ERA in 9 1/3 innings; two blown saves; and four home runs allowed. Black believes that was an aberration.
“Mychal’s a ver y solid pro, and he’s had a ver y solid career,” he said.
“Our expectation is that he will perform to his track record as a major league relief pitcher.”