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Rockies Notes: Marquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Bryant

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Pitching injuries defined the Rockies’ 103-loss 2023 season, as the team had a seemingly endless string of hurlers missing time with both minor and major ailments.  The top of the rotation was hit particularly hard, with German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela both undergoing Tommy John surgeries that will stretch their time on the injured list into 2024.

Rockies GM Bill Schmidt provided some updates (to Patrick Lyons and other reporters) on the two right-handers at the team’s Fan Fest event this weekend.  The club is hopeful Marquez can return sometime after the All-Star break, which fits the normal TJ recovery timeline given that Marquez underwent his procedure last May.

Unfortunately, that same timeline puts Senzatela’s entire 2024 season in doubt.  Senzatela had his surgery in July, and thus Schmidt doesn’t “anticipate [him] up here” on Colorado’s active roster.  If all goes well, Senzatela will be able to pitch for the Rockies’ Triple-A team near the end of the minor league season, with an eye towards the righty banking some innings and gaining some peace of mind ahead of a more normal offseason.

Colorado has invested heavily in both pitchers as part of its eternal search for rotation stability.  Marquez signed a five-year, $43MM extension that covered the 2019-23 seasons, and also included a $16MM club option for 2024.  Rather than buy out that option for $2.5MM in the wake of Marquez’s TJ surgery, the Rox instead worked out a new two-year extension that will pay Marquez $20MM over the next two seasons, with another $10MM available in bonuses based on roster time and innings pitched.

Senzatela inked a five-year, $50.5MM extension in October 2021 that also included a club option ($14MM in 2027).  Senzatela was already under arbitration control through 2023, so had that deal not been signed, the righty might’ve been in free agency right now and facing an uncertain near future as he recovered from his surgery.  The Rockies haven’t gotten much return on their investment since Senzatela has thrown only 100 innings over the last two seasons — his 2022 campaign was also cut short by a torn ACL.

Since it remains to be seen how much Marquez or Senzatela will factor into the 2024 season, the Rockies face an even greater pressure to fill innings.  The Rox signed Dakota Hudson and acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Guardians, but they’ll also be relying on in-house options to contribute, none moreso than de facto staff ace Kyle Freeland.  However, it has been some time since Freeland has looked like a true frontline pitcher — after finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018, the southpaw has battled injuries while posting a 4.96 ERA over 626 innings from 2019-23.

That includes a 5.03 ERA in 155 2/3 frames last season, as Freeland missed time with a separated shoulder and then an oblique strain that ultimately ended his season.  The good news is that Freeland is now feeling recovered from more than just his 2023 injury woes.

“I told [manager Bud Black] and a couple of our other coaches how my arm and my body really hasn’t felt this good since 2021,” Freeland told reporters at Fan Fest, including Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette.  “It’s very exciting for me.  We discussed my velocity last year, and one thing I really tried to work on this offseason is trying to get that back — doing stuff for my shoulder and stuff like that to make sure that I’m as healthy as possible going into camp.”

Kris Bryant is looking to avoid the injured list and tally his first full season in a Colorado uniform.  Since signing his seven-year, $182MM contract during the 2021-22 offseason, Bryant has played in just 122 of 324 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a bruised left heel, and a fractured finger.

“I feel fortunate that I’m healthy right now and the offseason has been great,” Bryant told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.  In terms of his frustration over the last two seasons, Bryant said that “when I’m not performing to my standard it eats at me….When you play this game this long, certain things are going to happen, but I know that there are much better days ahead in my future.”

It remains to be seen if Bryant can ever regain his old MVP form, and while Bryant’s numbers haven’t been good over the last two years, the injuries provide a natural context for his struggles.  Bryant hit .306/.376/.475 over 181 plate appearances in 2022, but then only .233/.313/.367 in 335 PA last season.  Looking ahead to 2024, the Rockies intend to use Bryant primarily as a first baseman in order to help keep him healthy, but he’ll also get some work as a DH and right fielder.  Bryant might possibly also see the odd game in left field when a left-hander is on the mound, but Nolan Jones is slated to take the bulk of work as Colorado’s regular left fielder.

Rockies Re-Sign Josh Rogers

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The Rockies have signed Josh Rogers to a new minor league deal, according to Rogers’ MLB.com profile page.  The left-hander has now signed minors contracts with the Rox in each of the last two offseasons.

Even though Colorado was beset by pitching injuries in 2023, Rogers didn’t get any big league action during his first year in the organization.  Rogers had his own struggles to worry about, as he posted an 8.02 ERA over 104 1/3 innings (starting 13 of 30 games) for Triple-A Albuquerque.  The southpaw had only a 13.1% strikeout rate, and opposing batters had a whopping 22.8% homer-to-fly ball rate.

Even accounting for the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League, Rogers’ 31 home runs allowed is an eye-popping number, and it continues the extreme homer problems that have plagued Rogers for the better part of five years.  Rogers underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2019 that sidelined him for most of that season and all of the 2020 season, and he simply hasn’t been able to keep the ball in the park since his return.

Since his fastball barely cracks the 90mph threshold, Rogers doesn’t have much margin for error with his pitches, leaving him susceptible to heavy damage if a batter guesses correctly.  The introduction of the three-batter rule may have also cursed Rogers’ career — left-handed batters have a .411 OPS over 121 plate appearances against Rogers in the majors, while right-handed hitters have an absurd 1.048 OPS against Rogers in 268 PA.

An 11th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2015 draft, Rogers was dealt to the Orioles as part of the Zack Britton trade in July 2018, and Rogers ended up making his MLB debut with Baltimore about a month later.  Rogers has a 5.42 ERA over 88 career innings with the Orioles and Nationals at the big league level, with 22 homers surrendered in that pretty brief sample size.  His last MLB appearance came on June 2, 2022 with Washington, and after being released by the Nats, Rogers didn’t get a call-up during a brief stint in the Marlins’ minor league system.

The PCL isn’t exactly the best place for a homer-prone pitcher to find his form, but Rogers will return for another season as a depth option for Colorado.  Rogers has started 12 of his 30 career Major League games and 117 of his 142 minor league games, though his extreme splits suggest that a relief role might be best so Rogers’ team can shield him as best they can from right-handed batters.

Rockies Sign John Curtiss To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have signed veteran righty reliever John Curtiss to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, MLBTR has learned. He’ll compete for a job in manager Bud Black’s bullpen this spring.

Curtiss, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons but didn’t break out until a terrific 2020 showing with the Rays (1.80 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, 3% walk rate in 25 innings). Tampa Bay traded him to the Marlins the following offseason, and Miami flipped him to the Brewers after a strong start to his 2021 campaign. Unfortunately for both Curtiss and the Brewers, the right-hander suffered a torn ligament in his elbow just two weeks after being acquired and wound up undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The Mets signed Curtis after the Brewers non-tendered him, knowing he’d miss his first season with the team. That pact included a club option that the Mets exercised, and Curtiss returned to pitch 19 2/3 frames for New York this past season. His 4.58 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate were all down relative to his 2020-21 seasons, however, and Curtiss wound up hitting the injured list with discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow. His ligament remained intact, but the right-hander still required surgery to remove loose bodies from the elbow. The Mets announced at the time of the procedure that he was expected to be ready for spring training.

Despite that favorable timeline, the Mets removed Curtiss from the 40-man roster following the season. He elected free agency, as is his right as a player with more than three years of MLB service.

If Curtiss is back at full strength, he’ll likely have a good chance to break a thin Rockies bullpen. The righty’s track record is fairly limited, but from 2020-23 he pitched 89 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with a combined 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 40.8% ground-ball rate. Curtiss’ 94.5 mph average fastball with the Mets in 2023 was right in line with his pre-surgery levels from 2020-21. There’s some unknown now that he’s undergone a second elbow operation, of course, but it’s encouraging that he’d regained his velocity following the Tommy John procedure.

As things stand, the Rockies’ bullpen is practically wide open. Right-hander Justin Lawrence is the favorite to close games after notching 11 saves and logging a 3.72 ERA in 75 innings out of the ’pen last year. Jake Bird should have a spot locked down after recording a team-high 84 1/3 innings with a respectable 4.27 ERA. Beyond that, things are murky. The Rockies let Brent Suter, their top 2023 performer, depart in free agency. He signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Reds. Veterans Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand were traded at last year’s deadline.

Right-hander Daniel Bard is still under contract for another season, but he followed his All-Star 2022 campaign with a tough 2023 season that saw him return to the injured list owing to a long-running battle with anxiety that has at multiple points led to the yips. Bard eventually pitched 49 1/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA but did so with nearly a walk per inning and with more total walks issued than strikeouts recorded. Tyler Kinley posted a 6.06 ERA in his return from elbow surgery, albeit in a sample of just 16 1/3 innings. The Rox picked up veteran lefty Jalen Beeks in November after the Rays placed him on waivers, and he’ll look to bounce back after a down showing in 2023.

Other options in the Colorado ’pen include Nick Mears, Gavin Hollowell and Rule 5 pickup Anthony Molina. Curtiss will compete with that group as well as a slate of non-roster veterans including Ty Blach, Matt Koch and Chance Adams. If Curtiss makes the club and finds success in that harsh pitching environment, he can be controlled through the 2026 season via arbitration.

Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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The Hall of Fame announced this evening that Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton have been elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America. They will be elected alongside Jim Leyland, who was selected by the Era Committee last month.

Beltré received 95.1% of the vote, Helton 79.7% and Mauer 76.1%. Billy Wagner got 73.8%, just shy of the 75% threshold. This was his ninth year on the ballot, meaning next year will be his last. Gary Sheffield received 63.9% of the vote in his 10th year on the ballot and will therefore not be present on next year’s. The full results can be found at this link from the BBWAA.

Beltré was an international signing of the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted in the majors in 1998 when still just 19 years old. Though it took him some time to realize his full potential, he would eventually go on to have an incredible career in just about every respect.

He eventually played in parts of 21 seasons with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers. In 2,933 career games, he had 3,166 hits, which included 636 doubles, 38 triples and 477 home runs. He was also considered to be an excellent third baseman, tallying 200 Defensive Runs Saved even though that metric didn’t exist for the first few years of his career. He also stole 121 bases over the years.

Due to the combination of his offense, defense and longevity, he produced 83.8 wins above replacement in eyes of FanGraphs while Baseball Reference has him a 93.5. He was on four All-Star teams, won five Gold Glove awards and four Silver Slugger Awards. This was his first year on the ballot.

Mauer’s career exploits were many, but there was also a poetic connective tissue in that he was so specifically tied to one franchise. Born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he entered the 2001 Major League Baseball draft and the Twins used the first overall pick to select him.

He would go on to play his entire career for the Twins, which lasted from his 2004 debut through the 2018 season. He played in 1,858 games, with injuries reducing his playing time and eventually moving him from catcher to first base. But he still managed to notch 2,123 hits and finish his career with a .306 batting average.

Of the seven batting titles won by catchers, Mauer has three of them. That included his 2009 season, wherein he hit .365 and won Most Valuable Player in the American League. He finished his career with 53 fWAR and 55.2 bWAR. He was selected to six All-Star teams, won three Gold Glove awards and five Silver Slugger Awards. This was his first year on the ballot.

Todd Helton

Helton also spent his entire career with one organization, having been drafted eighth overall by the Rockies in 1995. He would make his major league debut in 1997 and stick with the Rockies through 2013.

In his 2,247 games, he tallied 2,519 hits, including 1,521 doubles and 369 home runs. In 2000, he hit .372 with 40 home runs, then followed that up by hitting 49 homers with a .336 batting average the year after. He made five All-Star teams, won three Gold Glove awards and five Silver Sluggers. He has career tallies of 54.9 fWAR and 61.8 bWAR. This was his sixth year on the ballot.

Per the BBWAA, this was the 10th time they elected three players, the last being when Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Iván Rodríguez were elected in 2017.

Collin McHugh Announces Retirement

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Veteran right-hander Collin McHugh announced his retirement from the game Monday (Instagram link). The 36-year-old pitched in parts of 11 MLB seasons from 2012-23 and accrued more than nine years of big league service along the way.

“I was never the best player on any team I played for,” McHugh wrote in his announcement. “Including my 7th grade church league team, on which I played catcher. I never did travel baseball. I went to a small private high school and a small NAIA college. I got drafted in the 18th round by the Mets, most likely as a favor to my college coach. I threw 90 mph. I was NEVER supposed to make it out of A ball. 16 years later, it’s finally time for me to hang ‘em up. And as cringey as it might sound, I’m proud of myself. Proud that I didn’t give up. Proud of the clubhouses I’ve been lucky enough to have a locker in. Proud to be a member of the MLBPA alongside this generation of amazing ballplayers. To the Mets, Rockies, Astros, Red Sox, Rays, and my hometown Braves: Thanks for taking a chance on a kid like me. I’ll never forget it. And don’t worry, I’m pretty sure I’ll be around the game forever. So if we see each other at a park near you, come say hey!”

McHugh, indeed, was never regarded as a top prospect. He debuted with the 2012 Mets and was tagged for a 7.59 ERA in 21 1/3 frames as a rookie. His struggles in Queens continued into the following season, and McHugh was traded to the Rockies in exchange for outfielder Eric Young Jr., who’d been designated for assignment in Colorado. Things didn’t pan out at Coors Field either; McHugh was torched for 21 runs in 19 innings as a Rockie.

Despite the lack of success, the Astros both tried to trade for McHugh prior to his Rockies acquisition and then later claimed him off waivers when Colorado removed him from its 40-man roster. That interest and subsequent acquisition came back in 2013, prior to the public advent of a great deal of pitching data that is now commonplace. At the time, the high spin rate on McHugh’s curveball gave the Astros confidence that with some tweaks to his repertoire and general approach to hitters on the mound, that could be a plus breaking pitch that fueled a breakout for the little-known righty.

Houston’s interest proved prescient. In 2014, McHugh stepped into the Astros’ rotation and made 25 starts while working to an excellent 2.74 ERA over 154 2/3 frames. He fanned just over a quarter of his opponents against a tidy 6.6% walk rate while keeping the ball on the ground at a roughly average clip. A year later, McHugh followed up with a career-high 203 2/3 innings, pitching to a 3.89 ERA in a full slate of 32 trips to the hill.

McHugh finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting during that 2014 breakout and was eighth in Cy Young voting during his followup effort. He made another 33 starts for Houston during the 2016 season before sustaining a shoulder injury that limited him to 12 starts of 3.55 ERA ball in 2017. McHugh returned as a reliever in 2018 and went from a key member of the Houston rotation to a similarly important reliever; he fired 72 1/3 innings of 1.99 ERA ball in 2018 before struggling to more pedestrian results in a 2019 campaign split between the rotation and bullpen.

Overall, McHugh went from a nondescript late-round pick to a clear-cut big leaguer during his time in Houston. He pitched 753 1/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball there before hitting free agency and taking a one-year deal with the Red Sox that was wiped out by injury and the pandemic-shortened schedule. McHugh landed with the Rays in 2021 and bounced back in a major way: a 1.55 ERA in 64 innings. That prompted a two-year deal with the Braves — a homecoming for a pitcher who went to high school in Lilburn and college in Mount Berry — where McHugh went on to throw another 128 innings of 3.38 ERA ball.

All told, McHugh’s career will draw to a close with a 71-47 record, 46 holds, one save and a 3.72 ERA in 992 2/3 innings at the MLB level. He struck out 967 hitters against 280 walks and added another 27 innings of 4.00 ERA performance in the postseason. McHugh won a World Series ring with the controversial 2017 Astros club that is now infamous for its sign-stealing setup. FanGraphs valued McHugh’s career at nearly 16 wins above replacement, while Baseball-Reference pegged him at 12.4 WAR in a career that netted him just under $27MM in earnings. Few 18th-round signees can boast anything close to that type of success; McHugh and Mike Cameron stand as two of the best ever selected in that round. McHugh’s comment about being “around the game forever” seems to leave the door open for some kind of role with a team in the future. Best wishes to the righty on whatever the next step may be.

Tony Wolters Announces Retirement

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After playing in parts of seven Major League seasons, Tony Wolters has officially retired.  The catcher made the announcement on his Instagram page, and noted that he’ll be joining the Rockies in a coaching capacity.  MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes that Wolters will be the bench coach for the Rockies’ rookie ball affiliate in the Arizona Complex League.

“There have been countless moments in my career that have been etched in my memory, as if they happened just yesterday,” Wolters said as part of his Instagram message.  “Those moments will be experiences that I will never take for granted and still wonder how I became so lucky to be apart of them.  Today, after 13 years of being a professional baseball player, I have made the decision to retire from the sport that gave me so many incredible experiences.  I feel an immense amount of gratitude towards the game and all the people that it brought into my life.”

Cleveland selected Wolters in the third round of the 2010 draft, and after the Rockies claimed the catcher off waivers in February 2016, Wolters made his MLB debut in a Colorado uniform less than two months later.  That kicked off a five-season run for Wolters in Denver, as the left-handed hitter paired with such righty-swinging backstops as Nick Hundley, Jonathan Lucroy, Chris Iannetta, Elias Diaz, and others in a backup capacity or in a more steady platoon.

There was some fluctuation in Wolters’ year-to-year glovework metrics, but by and large, he was considered a strong defensive catcher.  He finished his career with +24 Defensive Runs Saved, and the Statcast numbers gave him positive grades for his pitch-framing and throwing.  Wolters threw out 65 of 213 baserunners, for an impressive 30.52% caught stealing rate over his career.

Known more for his glove than his bat, Wolters hit .235/.321/.314 over 1266 career plate appearances.  However, the signature moment of his career happened at the plate, when Wolters drove in the winning run in the 2018 wild card game.  With the Rockies and Cubs tied 1-1 in the top of the 13th inning, Wolters sent a single up the middle to score Trevor Story from third base, giving the Rox a 2-1 lead that held through the bottom of the inning.  That game stands out as the Rockies’ most recent postseason victory, as the Brewers then swept the Rox in three games in the NLDS.

After Wolters was non-tendered following the 2020 season, he landed with the Pirates, Cubs, Dodgers, and Twins on a series of deals (all minors contracts except for a big league deal with Chicago) over the last three years.  Wolters appeared 14 MLB games with the Cubs in 2021, two games with the Dodgers in 2022, and his minor league pact with the Twins last winter was entirely spent at the Triple-A level.

Wolters is still just 31 years old, but he’ll now hang up his glove for a new path as a coach.  We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Wolters all the best in his post-playing endeavors, and congratulate him on a fine career on the field.

Latest Details On Diamond Bankruptcy

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The Diamond Sports Group saga took another turn yesterday when the broadcasting company announced a restructuring agreement that’d see debt holders invest $450MM to keep the company afloat. As part of the deal, Amazon would receive streaming rights for the NBA, NHL and MLB teams for which Diamond currently holds those rights.

While there’s an agreement in place between Diamond and Amazon, it’s worth emphasizing that the plan can’t become official without approval from the bankruptcy court. That’ll take time as the court and Diamond’s creditors sort through the details.

Evan Drellich and Mike Vorkunov of the Athletic report that Amazon would pay $115MM, with an additional $50MM investment possible. While that’d entitle them to streaming rights for every NBA and NHL team that contracts with Diamond, it’s only applicable to five MLB teams. Diamond has streaming rights for the Royals, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers and Rays. Those clubs would still be broadcast on cable on Diamond’s Bally Sports networks, but in-market streaming access would move to Prime Video. MLB has opposed selling additional streaming rights to Diamond, but Alden González of ESPN reports that Amazon’s involvement is not conditional on further streaming acquisitions.

Until this week, it had seemed likely Diamond would abandon the regional sports network entirely after the 2024 MLB season. The agreement with Amazon represents a significant shift and leaves a few MLB teams in a state of continued uncertainty.

Diamond holds broadcasting deals with 11 MLB teams. The corporation’s attorney said yesterday that nine of those clubs — the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals and Tigers — will be paid in full for the ’24 campaign (relayed by González). The company is seeking to renegotiate its deals with two others, the Guardians and Rangers, at lesser fees. It is also in discussions with the Twins, whose previous contract with Diamond expired at the end of last season — leaving them as something of a broadcasting free agent.

The Diamond attorney informed the court yesterday that the company has offered terms to each of the Cleveland, Texas and Minnesota organizations to continue broadcasting their games in 2024 (via The Athletic). He said the company expects answers from all three franchises by the start of February. A hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning has been postponed indefinitely so the sides can review the framework of the streaming deal, per Drellich and Vorkunov.

None of the Rangers, Guardians or Twins are obligated to accept reduced rights fees. If they decline, however, it seems likely Diamond will drop the Texas and Cleveland contracts and leave Minnesota without a deal. Diamond already showed a willingness to abandon unprofitable terms during the 2023 season, when it dropped agreements with the Padres and Diamondbacks.

That leaves Texas, Cleveland and Minnesota without a ton of leverage. Diamond’s attorney said one of the organizations (without specifying which) plans to negotiate a deal that would even extend beyond next season, as relayed by The Athletic.

The uncertainty has been reflected in those franchises’ activity, or lack thereof, in free agency. Minnesota declared they were cutting payroll at the start of the offseason. They allowed Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda to depart and have thus far signed one free agent to a major league contract. That was a $950K guarantee for reliever Josh Staumont, who is rehabbing from thoracic outlet surgery.

Texas is coming off a World Series that’d normally spur a team to act aggressively in the offseason. Instead, GM Chris Young indicated they wouldn’t be as active as they’d been in previous winters. The Rangers have signed a few free agents — most notably a two-year, $22MM pact for Tyler Mahle — but they haven’t splurged at the top of the class. The broadcasting situation is commonly cited as a reason they haven’t brought back Jordan Montgomery, who remains on the open market.

Cleveland is never a big spender, so the lack of activity on their end is characteristic. Still, the club is seemingly operating with limited flexibility. They’ve taken on some salary in the Scott Barlow trade and signed Austin Hedges to a $4MM free agent deal.

Whether all those teams can reach a new contract with Diamond should become clear in the next few weeks. Even if they stay on the networks for next season (and potentially beyond), it’d come with some kind of hit to their revenues. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reported the Guardians made $55MM in local rights fees last season. It was a similar amount for Minnesota, whom Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports received $54MM in 2023. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wrote yesterday the Rangers’ deal has paid around $111MM annually.

If any of those teams don’t reach an agreement, they’d join a trio of clubs likely to operate without an RSN deal this year. MLB stepped in to handle in-market broadcasting for Arizona and San Diego last season. While MLB subsidized a portion of the D-Backs and Padres deals last season, commissioner Rob Manfred has made clear they won’t do so next season. Allowing MLB to handle the broadcasts would likely be less profitable for the teams than if they land a new deal with Diamond.

It seems MLB is also going to handle broadcasts for the Rockies, whose contract was dropped by AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain at the end of 2023. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reported this month that MLB is expected to stream Colorado games in-market on its MLB.tv platform, as it is doing with the D-Backs and Padres. The Rockies made roughly $57MM off their broadcasting deal a year ago, Saunders adds.

Rockies, Cal Quantrill Avoid Arbitration

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The Rockies and right-hander Cal Quantrill have avoided arbitration, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The righty will make $6.55MM in the upcoming campaign.

Quantrill, 29 in February, spent the past three and a half years with Cleveland. He first qualified for arbitration for the 2022 season as a Super Two player. He made $2.51MM that year and then $5.55MM last year. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a raise to $6.6MM in 2024 but the Guards decided to move on, designating him for assignment in November to open a roster spot prior to the Rule 5 draft. Shortly thereafter, he was acquired by the Rockies, with minor league catcher Kody Huff going the other way.

Friday is the deadline for clubs and arbitration-eligible players to submit salary figures, with hearings set to take place in late January. Many cases will be resolved as that deadline approaches, such as this case, with Quantrill agreeing to a salary just a shade below the projection.

Quantrill is coming off a frustrating season but had a solid run over the three prior campaigns. From 2020 to 2022, the righty tossed 368 innings with an earned run average of 3.08. His 18.4% strikeout rate was subpar, but he limited walks to a 6.7% rate, got grounders at a 42.7% clip and generally limited hard contact. Last year, however, his ERA shot up to 5.24 in a season where he twice went to the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. His walk rate was still good but his punchouts dropped to 13.1% as his hard hit rate and barrel rate both ticked up.

The Rockies are almost always in need of pitching and that’s especially been the case lately. Attracting free agents to the hitter-friendly environs of Coors Field is always a challenge and significant injuries have hit incumbents arms, with each of Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. Quantrill should be locked into a rotation spot to start the year alongside Kyle Freeland, with pitchers like Dakota Hudson, Ryan Feltner, Austin Gomber, Peter Lambert and Noah Davis also in the mix.

If Quantrill is able to have a bounceback season in 2024, he can be retained via arbitration in 2025. That could be by the Rockies or perhaps some other club, if Quantrill is throwing well enough to be a midseason trade candidate.

Rockies Looking For Left-Handed-Hitting Outfielder

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The Rockies deepened their rotation and catching corps late last week with signings of Dakota Hudson and Jacob Stallings, and their next move could be of similar scope in the outfield. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the Rox are looking for a “depth outfielder” — ideally someone who can handle all three positions while hitting from the left side of the dish.

As things stand, the Rockies have a largely right-handed outfield mix. Left fielder Nolan Jones bats left handed, but each of Brenton Doyle, Sean Bouchard and Hunter Goodman is right-handed — as are the bulk of the team’s upper-minors options (with the notable exceptions of top organizational prospects Zac Veen and Yanquiel Fernandez, though both are likely more than a year from the Majors still). Colorado re-signed franchise stalwart Charlie Blackmon earlier in the offseason, but he’s expected to reprise his role as the team’s primary designated hitter in 2024.

Adding some outfield depth from the left side makes a good bit of sense then, although the free-agent market is pretty light. It’d be a shock to see the Rockies spend at the levels necessary to sign Cody Bellinger, and the options beyond him aren’t exactly plentiful. Joey Gallo would make an interesting upside play at Coors Field, but his production has been in a free-fall since the 2021 trade sending him from Texas to the Bronx. Travis Jankowski and old friends Raimel Tapia and Rafael Ortega could make sense, with the latter two in particular likely to be available on minor league contracts.

Trade scenarios for this type of player abound. There are too many to list in full, though reasonable on-paper trade partners include the Royals (Kyle Isbel, Drew Waters), Mariners (Cade Marlowe, Taylor Trammell, Zach DeLoach) and Tigers (Akil Baddoo). It’s also possible that the Rox could simply fill the need with a spring waiver claim or deal for an out-of-options player who’s been squeezed out of a roster spot with his current team (e.g. Nick Gordon, Jake Cave).

The extent to which the Rockies can add to their payroll remains unclear. Colorado has added around $9-10MM in salary with the offseason pickups of Hudson ($1.5MM), Stallings ($1.5MM) and Cal Quantrill (projected $6.6MM salary in arbitration, via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). That said, the Rox still appear headed toward a reduced budget for the 2024 season. They didn’t lose much in the way of free agency — lefty Brent Suter being their lone departure of note — but GM Bill Schmidt traded away veterans like C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, Brad Hand and Pierce Johnson at the deadline. That group combined to help push Colorado’s 2023 Opening Day payroll to a franchise-record $172MM, but they’re currently about $30MM shy of that total.

Like so many other clubs in MLB at the moment, the Rockies face ample uncertainty regarding their 2024 television broadcasts — and thus, their revenue. AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, the RSN that previously broadcast the team’s games, is ceasing operations in 2024 (as first reported by Kyle Newman and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post back in September). Saunders reported in a mailbag column over the weekend that MLB may step in to handle the Rockies’ broadcasts in 2024, but there’s yet to be a formal announcement on that matter.

However their broadcast situation plays out, it’s quite likely to adversely impact the team’s revenue. Couple that with the Rockies’ extreme longshot postseason odds, and it’s unsurprising (though surely still frustrating for their fans) that the team has had a rather quiet offseason and instead appears to be focusing on in-house development with an eye toward 2025 and beyond.

MLB May Broadcast Rockies Games In 2024

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  • It appears as though Major League Baseball could be handling Rockies broadcasts next season, according to The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.  An official announcement could come as early as this week, though it isn’t yet clear if the Rox or the league have found a local cable partner to carry games on actual television, as opposed to just online availability on MLB.tv.  Colorado’s games used to be shown on the AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain regional sports network, though since that network is ceasing operations, the Rockies are in need of a new broadcasting partner for 2024 and beyond.
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