Byung-Hyun Kim’s return to the Rockies’ clubhouse Sunday morning was a layover between flights. A few hours after predicting he wouldn’t pitch for Colorado again, Kim was shipped to the Florida Marlins for reliever Jorge Julio.
Neither pitcher has performed well this season, so when salaries were evened out, both clubs were willing to take a shot that a new address would bring back old results.
“We are trying to get some experience in our bullpen. Julio needs to be fixed, but he had 16 saves last season,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “Walks and home runs are the issue, but durability and strikeouts are not.”
Julio, 0-2 with a 12.54 ERA, represents the first brick in “Extreme Makeover: Bullpen Edition.”
Ramon Ramirez will rejoin the Rockies on Tuesday, followed by LaTroy Hawkins later in the week. To make room, Alberto Arias and Denny Bautista were farmed out.
Mark Wiley, O’Dowd’s special assistant and Julio’s one-time pitching coach in Baltimore, will be used to ease the right-hander’s transition. Julio worked as an effective closer under Wiley.
“He still throws hard,” Wiley said. “He has mechanical issues at times that cause him to flatten out in the zone. It’s hard to tell what he’s going through until we talk with him. But we think we can get him turned around and help us.”
Julio, acquired to be the Marlins’ closer in March, slumped and lost his spot before landing on the disabled list with a calf strain. Kim, 1-2 with a 10.50 ERA, also failed to gain traction after being banished to the bullpen. He had been hoping for a trade, knowing he had no future with the Rockies when he returned from the disabled list.
“They told me they couldn’t wait a couple of days for my (injured) hand to be ready, that they needed bullpen help now, so it would be better for me to go on the DL for 30 days to show other teams what I could do,” said Kim, who has been starting on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
“It upset me a little bit. They didn’t want me so I thought it might be uncomfortable if I (ever) came back.”
Bittersweet day
Mother’s Day hit Jamey Carroll hard Sunday as he walked through the clubhouse. He lost his mom 18 months ago to pneumonia, her sudden and unexpected passing still difficult to understand.
“It’s still raw, fresh in my mind. It’s a sad day,” Carroll said. “Eventually it will be stories of happiness about her, but it’s going to take time.”
Carroll had hoped to use a pink bat in his pinch-hit appearance, but the ones he ordered weren’t shipped in time. He lost an aunt to breast cancer in 1996 two days after he was drafted.
Rockies on the mend
As the Rockies sank deeper into last place during their worst performance of the year, there was news of potential life preservers. Second baseman Kaz Matsui could be back in as early as 10 days after beginning a rehab assignment today. Matsui is eager to see how his back responds to diving in the field and sliding.
“It’s not 100 percent, but I can play,” Matsui said.
Starter Rodrigo Lopez, out with a strained forearm/elbow, will throw 45 pitches in extended spring training Tuesday. Said Lopez, “I want to be back as soon as possible, but I don’t want to rush, either, and have a setback.”
