Colorado Rockies Tab Greg Holland to Lead Talented Bullpen
A Deep Bullpen
While the Rockies weren’t the ridiculously bad Cincinnati Reds 2016 bullpen, they did have the worst overall bullpen ERA in all of baseball in 2016, and the team made intentional moves to correct that in the offseason.
The primary set up man behind Holland will be a fellow injury returnee, Adam Ottavino, who returned from Tommy John over July 4 weekend to post a 2.67 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over 34 appearances with a 7/35 BB/K ratio in 2016.
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Lefty Jake McGee will serve as the primary left-hander out of the bullpen after the Rockies traded for him before the 2016 season. His first season was by far his worst, but he really struggled in the closer role and once Ottavino was back, he moved into a more comfortable setup role and had half the ERA in the second half as he posted in the first half.
Jason Motte also fought injuries throughout 2016 and was not his normal self when healthy in the Rockies pen. He’s hoping for a bounce-back in 2017.
Outside of Holland, the Rockies also brought in lefty Mike Dunn to add depth to their bullpen as an outside addition on the season. Dunn will be the LOOGY, and he’s a good one at that, but gets miscast when expected to work against both sides of the plate.
38-year-old veteran Chad Qualls returns for his 14th major league season, and he’ll work as a ROOGY, which he’s shown a proclivity for in his last few seasons.
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The Rockies also have a collection of solid arms that could take a spot in the bullpen, both prospects and “retreads” in Jordan Lyles, German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Carlos Estevez and Miguel Castro.
It should be a much better season for the Colorado bullpen, and with their leader now chosen, they can focus on surprising the rest of baseball and pulling off a winning season.