ROCKIES PROP BULLPEN WITH RIGHT-HANDER OH
When he played baseball in Asia, Seunghwan Oh was so good he earned two nicknames: “Final Boss” and “Stone Buddah.” Now he’s a Rockie, and the club is counting on the veteran right-hander to prop up its bullpen.
Thursday, the Rockies officially acquired Oh from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minorleague infielder Chad Spanberger, minor-league outfielder Forrest Wall and a player to be named later.
Oh, 36, was 4-3 with two saves, a 2.68 ERA, 10 walks and 55 strikeouts in 48 relief appearances with the Blue Jays. Entering Thursday, his 48 appearances were tied for fifth in the American League, while his 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked 10th among AL relievers. He’s pitched well lately,
being scored upon just twice in his last 21 games since June 7, going 3-1 with one save and posting a 0.90 ERA.
In his two-plus seasons in the majors, Oh is 11-12 with a 2.81 ERA, 41 saves and a 1.091 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). He’s averaged 2.1 walks and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
Colorado also made another move Thursday in an effort to build up organizational bullpen depth. According to The Athletic, the Rockies signed veteran reliever Santiago Casilla to a minor-league deal. Casilla, 38, posted a 3.16 ERA in 31 L innings for Oakland this year, and has a 3.29 career ERA in 15 big-league seasons.
Oh is a relative bargain, because the Rockies will only have to pay him about $500,000 for the rest of this season. His total salary is $1.75 million, and his contract has a $2.5 million club option for 2019 that can automatically vest if he reaches 70 appearances. Additionally, Oh’s contract is under club control through 2021.
The Rockies invested heavily in their bullpen during the offseason, spending $106 million to sign righthanders Wade Davis and Bryan Shaw, and left-hander Jake McGee, to threeyear deals. But the bullpen has been the team’s weak link, even as it’s stayed in the playoff hunt. Rockies relievers have a 5.26 ERA, the second-worst mark in the majors behind Kansas City (5.46).
The addition of Oh does not solve Colorado’s lack of an effective left-hander in the bullpen. McGee (5.97 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) and Chris Rusin have been less than reliable, and Rusin went to the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with right foot plantar fasciitis. Lefty Harrison came off the DL on Tuesday (right hip flexor strain) and he’s shown glimpses that he can be effective vs. left-handers.
Still, the Rockies will look to Oh to get out both righthanders and lefties. Oh has limited right-handed batters to a .168 average this season, but lefties have hit .315 against him. However, his career numbers against left-handers (.257) are solid.
Oh throws a rising fourseam fastball that averages about 92 mph, and also throws a slider, a changeup and a curveball. According to Brooks Baseball, Oh’s rising fastball has been especially effective since June 7. He’s posted a 0.95 ERA and 1.53 FIP (fielding independent pitching) in 19 innings, allowing just one walk and one home run while striking out 25.
Spanberger, 22, a sixthround pick in the 2017 draft, is hitting .316 with 22 home runs and 75 RBIs for Class A Asheville.
Wall, 22, has split the season between High-A Lancaster and Double-A Hartford, batting a combined .260, with 70 runs, nine home runs, 17 doubles, six triples and 31 RBIs. He’s also stolen 28 bases in 93 games. He was selected with the 35th pick of the first round of the 2014 draft.