Moving on: Rockies part with closer John Axford and slugger Wilin Rosario
It’s often difficult to figure out which direction the Colorado Rockies are headed, mainly because the Rockies themselves rarely have a firm plan in place.
Though they’re usually open to locking up superstar caliber players with big-money extensions, the Rockies don’t spend a ton of money. They don’t like to rebuild either, despite the fact they’ve been non-competitive in nearly 75 percent of their seasons. For the lack of better terminology, they’re just happy to exist and turn profit in an ultra-competitive landscape that seemingly passes them by more each year.
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The operation isn’t exactly inspiring for fans, but perhaps Friday’s series of surprising roster decisions finally gives some indication they’re committed to flushing out the system and starting over, which should in turn give fans some hope.
The Rockies designated four players for assignment, including closer John Axford, former first-round draft pick Rex Brothers, positionless power hitter Wilin Rosario and reliever Tommy Kahnle. The moves were made to free up spots on their 40-man roster. Still, we label them surprising because the first three let go figured to be in the Rockies plans for next season. It’s also surprising because it leaves the Rockies bullpen depth thinner than the air in Denver.
The organization that brought us both a four-man rotation and a six-man rotation in the last 10 years may indeed go with the zero reliever approach. Or maybe not, but they obviously feel they’re better off going young and cheap after investing in the bullpen didn’t lead to results either.
According to Nick Groke of the Denver Post, Colorado will save around $6 million in projected arbitration salary on Axford alone, which isn’t bad business.
Axford was in and out of Colorado’s closer role, finishing with 25 saves and a 4.20 ERA over 55.2 innings.
Overall, the Rockies will save over $10 million in projected. Perhaps that frees up money to acquire a starting pitcher, or perhaps they’ll just set that aside, content to have trimmed some roster fat.
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One thing that seems clear about the players going out is that all four should draw a decent amount of interest. Axford for his closing experience. Brothers for his upside as a left-handed power arm in the bullpen. Kahle because he too possesses upside with some refinement as a reliever. But the most intriguing player might be Rosario, the former catcher who can mash but is totally unusable in the field.
The Rockies gave up on Rosario as a full-time catcher two years ago and hoped he could transition to first base. That hasn’t happened, so their options became limited. He’s not the type of hitter you can sit on the bench all week and hope he remains productive. He needs at-bats and seems like a worthwhile investment for an American League team with a DH opening. Rosario is a .273 career hitter, and possesses 25-30 home run potential as a full-time player.
A lot goes into making these types of decisions. There’s business, finances and hopefully honest assessments of talent. Still, it’s definitely confusing that a team like the Rockies, which needs contributors across the board, would part with interesting players for nothing in return. Then again, sometimes you just have to move forward, no questions asked, and that seems like the Rockies gameplan here.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
