SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — “Well, I rolled and I tumbled, cried the whole night long.”
Muddy Waters wasn’t singing about the Rockies’ bullpen blues. But if the song fits …”
A case in point: On Oct. 2 of last season, Colorado took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. But then the bullpen imploded. The Rockies not only tied a franchise record by issuing six walks in the inning, but they also walked five straight to open the inning, the first time that’s happened in franchise history. The Rockies lost, 6-4.
“That was not a major league inning, I’ll put it that way,” manager Bud Black said at the time.
But hope always blooms in spring training and Black believes the bullpen will be better this season, even though it lost set-up man Carlos Estevez via free agency. The veteran right-hander signed a two-year, $13.5 million deal with the Angels.
As Estevez departed, the Rockies signed right-hander Pierce Johnson to a one-year, $5 million deal. Johnson, 31, a graduate of Arvada’s Faith Christian Academy, spent the past three seasons with the Padres, posting a nifty 3.39 ERA. Johnson might have earned himself a multi-year contract this winter had he not spent most of the 2022 season on the injured list. He landed on the IL in April with tendinitis in his throwing elbow and was sidelined until mid-September. When healthy, the right-hander was a solid middle reliever.
Colorado also claimed left-hander Brent Suter off waivers from the Brewers and quickly signed Suter to a one-year, $3.2 million deal to avoid arbitration. Suter, 33, went 5-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 54 appearances last season. He struck out 53 and walked 22 in 66 2/3 innings.
“Johnson and Suter are guys that strengthen our pen,” Black said Wednesday. “Carlos had a really good second half, though his first half was a little rocky. Those two guys that we picked up will help offset the loss of (Estevez).”
Johnson and Suter are projected to team with closer Daniel Bard to form the backbone of Colorado’s bullpen. Bard was excellent last season, notching a career-high 34 saves, and his 91.9 save percentage (34 saves, 37 opportunities) was the best in the major leagues. But as a whole, Colorado’s bullpen needs to greatly improve to help lift the team out of the National League West basement. That means that relievers such as right-handers Dinelson Lament and Justin Lawrence, and left-hander Lucas Gilbreath need to take big strides forward.
Last season, the Rockies’ 4.82 bullpen ERA was the worst in the majors, their 8.46 strikeouts per nine innings ranked 23rd and their 3.90 walks per nine innings was the fifth-highest. Add in the Coors Field factor and it was all too apparent that the Rockies walked a tightrope far too often.
Lowing the number of walks and raising the number of strikeouts has become a major point of emphasis.
“We have paid more attention to the strikeout rate, as all teams have, in the last couple of years, especially out of the bullpen,” Black said. “You would like to have high strikeouts with a low walk (rate) and that’s something we have addressed with our pitchers.”
Black added that he can’t force all of his relievers to transform into K machines, but he’s made it clear that walks are his pet peeve.
“I will never go to a pitcher and I say, ‘I want you to strike more guys out,’ ” Black said. “That’s dependent, a lot of times, on the hitter. But the walks? That’s something you control.”
Suter’s career strikeout rate is 20.7%, below the big-league average of 22.3%, but his 6.0% walk rate is better than the league average (8.5%). Johnson’s walk rate is 11.5%, while his strikeout rate is 28.1%.
When Suter became available on the waiver wire, Black quickly place a call to general manager Bill Schmidt, lobbying Schmidt to sign him.
“I said, ‘It’s your call, but I’m in on this guy, if it works,’ ” Black recalled. “I have just always liked him, and so do our scouts and front office.”
Black understands, of course, that statistics will be skewed by high-altitude baseball. What he wants, and what he hopes the Rockies have found in Johnson and Suter, are thick-skinned relievers.
“We want to make sure we get the right guys to pitch in our environment,” Black said. “For me, there’s got to be a mental requirement … that mental toughness, the wherewithal of how the player is built to be able to pitch in Colorado.”
