The Rockies announced that right-hander Daniel Bard was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 2) due to fatigue in his throwing forearm. Bard’s spot on the active roster will be taken by Chase Anderson, who was activated from the 15-day IL and will start today’s game against the Blue Jays.
There isn’t yet any word on whether Bard’s forearm issue is serious or simply precautionary, though the “fatigue” wording seems to indicate the latter. Nevertheless, given that it’s already September and that the Rockies are out of contention, it is quite possible the team might shut Bard down for the remainder of the season.
It has been a difficult year on and off the field for Bard, as he missed the first few weeks of the season due to anxiety issues. While he was thankfully able to return to the mound, his numbers took a big dropoff from his excellent 2022 performance. Bard has a 4.70 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate, and a whopping 20.8% walk rate over 46 innings this year, with that walk rate standing out as the highest in baseball for any hurler with at least 40 innings pitched.
As of July 25, Bard still had a 2.02 ERA, but a 13.94 ERA over his next 10 1/3 innings threw his season-long numbers into disarray. This includes seven earned runs over his last two outings, which could be explained by the forearm problem.
Anderson hasn’t pitched since July 22 due to shoulder inflammation, and the veteran righty will now get back on the mound to try and salvage a strong finish to an underwhelming season. One of many Colorado pitchers to struggle in 2023, Anderson has a 6.63 ERA over 55 2/3 innings since being claimed off waivers from the Rays in May.
Arm fatigue at 38 might have a chance to end/derail his career, no?
He was out of baseball for 12 years so his arm doesn’t have the years on it but watching him pitch this year looks like he might have the “yips” again. Definitely didn’t have the control he had in 2022.
How the Rockies manage to avoid the abuse the A’s, Marlins and Pirates get is beyond me. A horrendous org who are awful at every single facet of managing a major league sports franchise.
Go ahead, beat them up here if it makes you feel better. Marlins and Pirates don’t deserve the lashings- they’re rebuilding “properly”
Exactly. Tell that to the ‘fans’ who think having a mid-tier payroll exempts an org from being awful. Rockies, Mets, Angels, Padres are all a laughing stock.
Hey, every team has ups and downs, sometimes more downs over the course of a season. It happens to every team… but some teams are mired in wallowing mediocrity. To be honest, I would only be concerned about the direction of “my” franchise if I were an A’s or Rockies fan. Every other franchise would seem to be steering the ship in the right direction, down season or not.
That’s exactly my point, but the A’s get a pass because of Fisher.
Are you some kind of bot that comments without really understanding the OP’s point?
Or is it me…. lol?
Oh it’s you, but carry on Champ.
So explain again please.
My original point was that the teams who try and develope players without overspending get a bad rap while the clueless teams who fritter away billions for no reason get a free ride.