Bridich's bold bullpen objective is booming

DENVER – On Dec. 6, 2016, news broke that the San Francisco Giants had signed Colorado-native and top reliever Mark Melancon and the accusations began to fly that Colorado Rockies GM Jeff Bridich had missed the best opportunity to add major value to the area of his team that needed it the most.

Nine days later, the Rockies handed out the biggest contract they’d ever given a reliever … and it was to lefty Mike Dunn. BSN Denver wrote about Dunn as a potential target two months prior but didn’t expect him to be the primary offseason contingency plan for the ‘pen. Turns out, he wasn’t. Or, at least, he wasn’t the whole thing.

12 days after that, we became the first to report the club’s interest in former Kansas City Royals reliever Greg Holland. Then about a month later, we learned he had officially signed with the Rockies.

And while our sources were telling us that Holland was looking a lot like his old self — a two-time All-Star with 145 career saves and a 2.39 ERA — many remained understandably skeptical of a guy who hadn’t thrown a competitive pitch in well over a year being immediately counted on at the back end.

But now we are a week into the season and the new-and-improved, though still somewhat maligned, Rockies bullpen has put up the best first week of any collection of relievers in MLB, according to the Game Score stat.

“I think both Greg [Holland] and Mike Dunn have been fabulous in regards to I think the mentality of the bullpen,” manager Bud Black said before the Rockies game against the Padres on Monday. [Their experience] has made a marked difference. There’s no question that Greg and Mike set the standard.”

The manager later went on to include a Bridich acquisition and an extension from the offseason prior to the 2016 season. “A healthy [Jake] McGee, a full year of Ottavino. I think those four guys have done a really nice job.”

You could say that Bridich’s bold objective to better a blundering bullpen is booming. But has he banged the bull’s eye? Beware … but be emboldened. Let’s break it down.

Eight Men In

The Rockies chose to begin the season with eight men in the bullpen, something Black says Bridich talked him into before the season. This gives them just four on the bench so it was not an easy decision.

German Marquez was essentially holding a place for the return of Chris Rusin and never entered a game before being optioned back down to Triple-A to get stretched back out as a starter.

So, here are the eight men who’ve made up the ‘pen so far.

Greg Holland: Holland has completed four saves in four opportunities. He has struck out six batters and walked just one; the only baserunner he has allowed. The Rox couldn’t have asked for a better start for the man asked to finish games. He is well on his way to earning his incentive-laced contract. More on this later.

Adam Ottavino: The Rockies closer before he needed Tommy John surgery, and for a little while after he came back, has looked both shaky and dominant at times in the early going. His mechanics and release point have been inconsistent, but his stuff remains filthy and he is tightening things up each time out.

Otto has allowed one earned run, on a home run, which was one of only two balls that have been hit hard against him this season. His struggle has been in the command department where he has issued three free passes. That might not sound like a ton over 3.2 innings, but it is for him. His five strikeouts have resulted in three holds (did we mention his filthy stuff?) and he’s feeling good, telling us recently that this bullpen is “The best thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

Jake McGee: Once considered a Top 10 reliever in baseball, McGee fell out of favor with Rockies fans after losing velocity and effectiveness due to injury on the way to a career-low year in 2016.

But he’s healthy now and if he truly is back to his old self, it could mean the Rockies have one of the best bullpens in the National League.

“We have really good chemistry down there,” McGee told us. “Everyone as a group, no one wants to be better than anyone else. Everyone just wants to work together and win the game.”

Carlos Estevez: Estevez has become the workhorse in the early going, pitching in each of the team’s first four games, getting a day off, and then coming back to pitch multiple innings his next time out. The 24-year-old has allowed one earned run over five innings while striking out five and walking one. He has three holds already.

His efforts so far have really helped keep the other guys in the bullpen well rested, something his manager told us is “huge” especially going forward.

Mike Dunn: Dunn has allowed just one hit and walked a pair over his five innings of work so far in 2017. He has struck out eight of the 17 batters he has faced and has yet to allow a run, oddly enough earning two “wins” already.

Scott Oberg: At one point during his minor league career, Oberg looked like a potential late-inning guy at the MLB level. A lot of that shine wore off when he got knocked around after a surprisingly early call-up. But after tweaking his delivery some, Oberg was ending the 2016 season on a strong note, even picking up his first career save, before being sidelined with blood clot issues.

But he bounced back and more than any other player on the current 25-man roster, he won his spot this spring, beating out former closer and veteran reliever Jason Motte, who was owed much more money.

“I think with Scott, we’ve simplified a few things mechanically and even pitch-selection-wise that I think will help him. He has a lot of different weapons,” said Black. Jake Shapiro talked to Oberg about his journey back and we will have that report for you soon.

Chris Rusin: Rusin made his return to action on Sunday against the Dodgers and pitched two innings, allowing four hits but no earned runs, striking out a pair without walking anyone. He was fantastic for the Rockies in 2016 in the clutch and also as a long man and it looks like he will be asked to do a little of both again in 2017.

Jordan Lyles: Lyles has been the one member of the ‘pen who’s gotten touched up, having given up five earned runs in three innings of work. This also comes on the heels of him putting up a 6.75 ERA over 12 innings this spring training.

He clearly hasn’t been good yet but he also hasn’t been the reason the Rockies have lost any games, coming into contests when his club was down and the offense was showing little fight. The club clearly sees something in Lyles because he keeps getting opportunities, but one would have to think he’s on a pretty short leash at this point.

Not So Little Big League

The Rockies have a number of interesting options in the minors who could be called upon at any time. Harrison Musgrave showed himself to be an intriguing swingman candidate this spring. Jairo Diaz and Matt Carisiti have big league fastballs and big league experience. Shane Carle could step right into the long man role if Lyles doesn’t right the ship. So could Zach Jemiola.

The team remains open to using either Marquez or Jeff Hoffman — two top prospects who have traditionally been starters — if the need arises.

Apparently, the Rockies thought they had enough depth at reliever in the minors to trade Miguel Castro — a key component of the Troy Tulowitzki trade — to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later or cash. While that move remains difficult to justify, it’s hard to argue against the talent remaining in the system.

Playing Moneyball?

Bridich has been willing to spend money on the bullpen. For all the grief he caught post-Melancon, going back to extending Ottavino, a lot of coin has been put toward relief arms … though, at first, that backfired.

The aforementioned Motte, and Chad Qualls, were on contracts still worth a combined $8 million and neither performed up to expectations a year ago. They’ve parted ways with Motte, but Qualls remains in the picture. Bridich has shown here that he is willing to eat bad money in order to carry a more promising roster, but hasn’t gone full throttle yet with Qualls and Lyles still around.

The Dunn deal could go either way.

This is why so much relies upon the young guys like Estevez, Diaz, etc to keep getting better, the money has been spent.

But almost all of that will be a side note in history if the Holland contract, ironically, ends up being worth the $35 million he could get and not just the $7 million he is guaranteed. It sounds counter-intuitive to say that a team looks forward to spending more on a player, but the Holland contract is so littered with incentives that if he fulfills its full potential, the Rockies will be making their money back in postseason ticket sales.

‘Pen of Dreams

There’s a long road ahead, but it is paved with remarkable potential. Even Superman has Kryptonite, though, and for MLB bullpens, that comes in the form of being worked too hard, too early, and too often.

“I think that’s going to be critical going forward,” said Black. “It’s important for your starting pitching to pitch as deep as possible each and every night. The more that happens, the less strain it is on the bullpen. Our guys have been taxed a bit over this first week. And they’ve responded. But [workload] is going to be a challenge and we’ve talked about that. I think [the starting rotation] is up to the challenge.”

Nothing is a guarantee in this game. But the Rockies have arguably the best collection of talent in the bullpen that they’ve had in their history. And just the man to lead them. “They think of me as a 59-year-old teammate,” said Black. So you can add a yet another crafty left-hander to the roster.