Saturday, August 02

CLEVELAND -- Even with the occasional rough moments, the Rockies believe the introduction of young relief pitchers has been a bright spot in a difficult season.

Their Trade Deadline activity assured that they will keep introducing relievers to the Majors.

Tyler Kinley, 34, packed his 319 appearances over eight seasons when traded to the Braves, while Jake Bird, 29 and with 188 appearances over four seasons with the Rockies, went to the Yankees. 

These trades and the deal that sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Yankees netted five prospects -- with second baseman Roc Riggio, lefty starting pitcher Ben Shields and righty reliever Austin Smith headed for Double-A Hartford, and lefty starter Griffin Herring and righty starter Josh Grosz joining High-A Spokane.

It means that Jimmy Herget, 31, with 167 Major League appearances, is far and away the leader in experience in the Rockies’ pen. But general manager Bill Schmidt believes the talent of the current group will pay off for the Rockies.

"They have good arms,” Schmidt said. “You lose Bird and Kinley that brought experience. Our most experienced guy is Jimmy Herget. There are guys in the bullpen right now that have real, physical ability.

Seth Halvorsen, the closer, and Victor Vodnik, the primary setup man, were popular requests from other teams before Thursday’s deadline, and Juan Mejia attracted scouting attention. But there wasn’t the ransom that the Athletics received for Mason Miller -- the only MLB reliever who has thrown harder than Halvorsen this year -- and lefty JP Sears. The A’s received No. 3 overall MLB Pipeline prospect Leo De Vries, plus three other prospects, from San Diego.

“Victor Vodnik has two years of experience. Seth Halvorsen has a year. So there will be some growing pains, but we do think the upside is pretty good. There are some other guys coming, too, that we like.”

Part-time starters at third base Kyle Farmer (35 on Aug. 17) and Orlando Arcia (31 on Monday) are the only starters in their 30s. The Rockies hold a 2026 club option on Farmer and second baseman Thairo Estrada’s option is mutual, while Arcia and backup catcher Austin Nola (35) will be free agents.

So there is a real possibility that none of the position players who return will be over 28 next season. Catcher Hunter Goodman is the only active player under club control next year who has been to so much as one All-Star Game.

Can the Rockies add seasoning, either in age or in accomplishment, to their roster of position players this winter? They saved around $34.2 million on the final two-plus years of McMahon’s contract, as well as money on a club option for Kinley and an arbitration-enhanced salary for Bird.

“It gives us some payroll flexibility that we’ll use this offseason,” Schmidt said.

There is $27 million next year and each of the following two years going to designated hitter, 2016 NL MVP and four-time All-Star Kris Bryant, but his longtime back issues have made him a rare participant since he signed before the 2022 season.

With Kinley and Bird traded the last two days, the Rockies will need to fill out their bullpen.

Lefty Carson Palmquist, a former starter who transitioned to the bullpen recently at Triple-A Albuquerque, is likely to join a bullpen that went without a lefty after optioning Ryan Rolison to Albuquerque on Monday. Beyond Palmquist, the choice is not obvious.

When Warming Bernabel shows up and goes 7-for-18 with two home runs and two doubles in his first five Major League games, folks want to know.

"My dad’s nickname was ‘Warner,’ and my grandfather was ‘Ming,’ so they combined both names,” Bernabel said in Spanish, with third-base coach Andy González interpreting.

Bernabel, 23, has had an eventful path to the Rockies. There was a back injury, then an incident in the Dominican Republic after the 2023 season when he -- an innocent bystander at a restaurant robbery -- was shot in the back, with the bullet passing through skin on both sides of his vertebrae and striking his wife in the biceps. 

Last season, however, Bernabel regained career traction at Double-A Hartford. While his .655 OPS didn’t turn heads, manager Bobby Meacham noted before the Eastern League playoffs that Bernabel had become a leader and was dependable in the clutch.

The clutch trait shows in the fact he is 5-for-8 with two doubles and a home run when behind in the count early in his Major League career.

It turned out those Spring Trainings in Major League camp had an effect.

“Early in my career, I was the opposite of all that,” Bernabel said. “In 2024 Spring Training, I started watching guys in the big league camp. The older guys, how do they go about their business?

“A fine example was [shortstop Ezequiel] Tovar. I tried to mimic that. I appreciate that Bobby mentioned that about me.”

The breakout season that Rockies righty Ryan Feltner was anticipating has been stymied by injury. First, a back problem pushed him out of the rotation in late April, flared during his rehab assignment and eventually led the Rockies to option him to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Now Feltner, 0-3 with an 8.57 ERA at Albuquerque, is on the Triple-A injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

"We want to be smart about it,” player development director Chris Forbes said.

• Check out how Rockies No. 10 prospect Zac Veen is trending at Triple-A Albuquerque More >>

• Kyle Freeland took ill and took a loss. More >>

• No. 4 prospect Brody Brecht deals in his latest start for Fresno. More >>

• Bradley Blalock’s stop for coffee restarted his pitching form. More >>

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