The end came because he wanted to start. Rodrigo Lopez had no interest in a bullpen role for the Baltimore Orioles. The Rockies desperately wanted a workhorse starter to ease the loss of Jason Jennings. On a busy Friday, they found a match.
The Rockies acquired Lopez for two minor-leaguers, made a stronger push for Brian Lawrence and were ironing out the final wrinkles on a contract with pinch-hit specialist John Mabry.
Colorado scouted Lopez heavily last season and landed the 31-year-old in exchange for Double-A relievers Jim Miller and Jason Burch. Lopez was available because he struggled last season – 9-18, 5.90 ERA – but desirable to the Rockies after averaging 182 innings the past five years while winning 15 games twice.
“We like to think that our rotation is better than this time last year,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said.
“There was real good familiarity with Rodrigo (from Rockies special assistant and former Orioles pitching coach Mark Wiley). Obviously, he didn’t have a good year last year, but you look at his last four years and he’s been durable and a solid middle-of-the-rotation guy.”
Lopez embraced his exit. He never clicked with new Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone and didn’t hide his disappointment about being skipped in the rotation and eventually landing in the bullpen. With the Orioles’ offseason acquisition of Jaret Wright, Lopez appeared the odd man out in Baltimore. He will make approximately $4 million in arbitration, money the Rockies freed up by trading Jennings.
“I let stuff affect me last season, rumors about being traded, going into the manager’s office, going to the bullpen,” Lopez said. “I was upset. I am anxious for a fresh start in a new place and look forward to going out there every five days for the Rockies.”
The arrival of Lopez, who went 60-58 with a 4.72 ERA over the past five seasons, went over well with Rockies’ players who were disappointed about losing Jennings. Said all-star outfielder Matt Holliday, “Any time you get a guy who has won 15 games for two minor-leaguers, that seems like a good deal.”
Adding Lopez won’t preclude the Rockies from signing Lawrence, which Colorado officials made clear to the right-hander’s agent on Friday. Colorado is offering Lawrence a 40-man roster spot, which could be the necessary perk to complete a deal. The Rockies are considered the favorite to land him as early next week.
“We are really trying to get something done (with Lawrence),” said O’Dowd, who envisions Lawrence being healthy a few weeks into the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
If nothing else, the Rockies have created competition. Their rotation includes Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook and Lopez, with Byung-Hyung Kim, Josh Fogg, Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz vying for the final spots. O’Dowd didn’t rule out the possibility of Colorado trading a back-end starter to address other needs.
Mabry’s agent Dale Reichley admitted recently that his client has long wanted to play in Colorado, a desire strengthened after a good talk with manager Clint Hurdle last winter. The Rockies expect the deal to be finished with the 36-year-old veteran this weekend.
“He has the highest batting average of any visiting player at Coors Field,” O’Dowd said.
Footnotes
The Rockies have made progress on arbitration contracts for Cory Sullivan, Jeremy Affeldt and Fogg, while inching along with Holliday. The sides have to submit salary figures to their arbitration players by Tuesday. … Fox Sports Rocky Mountain is considering using Eric Hillman, a former pitcher with the Mets, for pregame and postgame work, though no decisions have been made. FSN will use a three-man booth for select games in Boston and Baltimore, with Jeff Huson joining Drew Goodman and George Frazier. Huson was playing third base for the Orioles when Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games played record.
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
