Estevez illustrates bullpen woes
The Rockies’ bullpen has played musical chairs in 2020 and that’s one of the main reasons why the team must put together a sizzling finish in its last seven games to have any chance to be one of the National League’s eight playoff teams.
No other reliever illustrates Colorado’s bullpen woes more than Carlos Estevez, a powerful right- hander with plus stuff who started strong only to falter over the last month.
“The pitching coaches and I are perplexed, for sure,” manager Bud Black said. “I agree on the abundance of talent that Carlos has, and I do think he’s going to regain that confidence.
“You’re going to see good pitching from Carlos, hopefully, in whatever number of appearances he has the rest of the year. And I think in the future.”
But with the Rockies needing every win they can get, will Estevez be called upon again late in a tight game? Especially after Estevez gave up another home run in the seventh inning of Colorado’s 7- 2 win over the Giants on Monday night?
Entering Tuesday night’s game at San Francisco, Rockies relievers owned a 6.89 ERA, the secondworst in the majors behind Philadelphia ( 7.11), and by far the worst in franchise history. Colorado’s previous worst was the 5.53 ERA posted by the 2004 team.
This shortened season, of course, skews the numbers but there’s no question that bullpen meltdowns have been one of the biggest reasons for Colorado’s tumble from an 11- 3 start to a 13- 26 record over their next 39 games. The other culprit is the Rockies’. 257 batting average, the thirdlowest in franchise history.
The relievers’ relative inability to strike out hitters has hurt, too. The bullpen’s 7.79 strikeouts per nine innings ranks 29th in the majors.
Way back in spring training, before the coronavirus pandemic shut down baseball, Black said he was counting on right- handers Wade Davis and Scott Oberg as the likely closers. But Oberg was lost for the season because of blood clots in his right arm, and then Davis suffered a shoulder injury, was ineffective when he returned, and finally, was released on Monday.
Before right- hander Daniel Bard emerged as the primary closer, before the club acquired Mychal Givens at the trade deadline and before Yency Almonte blossomed into a dependable option, Black was targeting righthander Jairo Diaz and Estevez as late- game relievers. Despite their ability to throw 98- 99 mph fastballs, neither pitcher has delivered on a consistent basis.
Diaz owns a 7.13 ERA with a 2.26 WHIP and a .355 batting average against. Estevez’s ERA is 8.06 with a 1.79 WHIP and a .327 batting average against.
Black has a theory about what’s gone wrong with Estevez.
“The thing that has stood out for me is that he’s become a little emotional when things have gone awry in his inning,” Black said. “I think he’s gone from a guy that I thought was developing as a pitcher, to, at times, becoming a thrower.
“I think he sort of reverts to that when things have gone sideways for him. He tries to overpower the fastball; tries to make the breaking ball too nasty, and you can’t do that.
Estevez’s slide has been dramatic. In four appearances in July, Estevez had a 0.00 ERA and a .133 batting average against. In 12 games in August, the right- hander had a 5.11 ERA and a .308 average against. In eight games in September he has a 20.65 ERA with a .452 average against.
Footnotes. Black said that top pitching prospect Ryan Rolison will not make his big- league debut with the Rockies this season, even though the team needs a starter for Friday’s doubleheader at Arizona. Rolison will pitch during the Arizona instructional league this fall. … Black also said he probably won’t start right- hander Jeff Hoffman on Friday, though he didn’t rule out using Antonio Santos. … Ryan McMahon, who’s subbing for the injured Nolan Arenado at third, provided an honest assessment about how he feels about playing third. “I love third base. I think of myself as a third baseman playing second base,” he said.