Phoenix – September is not the best time for the Rockies to overhaul their pitching staff, not with a playoff pulse still detectable. But they have no choice.
The club lost opening-day starter Aaron Cook for the rest of the season after he reinjured a left rib cage muscle in a rehab start Saturday night. The team is also awaiting word on right-handed long reliever Taylor Buchholz. He didn’t throw this weekend because of soreness and inflammation in his right elbow. He will throw a bullpen session today to test it.
“I think it’s going to be OK,” Buchholz said. “It’s just a little sore and X-rays didn’t show any damage, so we’ll see.”
To bolster the bullpen, the Rockies called up right-handers Ryan Speier and Juan Morillo from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Cook last pitched a big-league game Aug. 10. After throwing a batting practice session Tuesday in San Francisco, Cook was confident he would be back for the stretch run. But he lasted only one inning while pitching for the Sky Sox at Tacoma on Saturday night.
“For it to flare back up like that again…that wasn’t long enough for him to recover,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Now we only have 29 days left, so he’s done. It’s unfortunate for him.”
Hurdle said there are no immediate plans to alter the starting rotation, even though fill-in starter Elmer Dessens was blasted for seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings Saturday night.
Cook finished the season 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA and had pitched very well since the all-star break, going 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA. The injury prevents Cook from reaching contract incentives for innings pitched, meaning the Rockies now have a club option for next season at $4.5 million instead of a vested option of $5 million. Given the asking price for starting pitching, it’s highly likely the club would pick up Cook’s option.
Silver lining
The injuries do have a bright side. They enabled starter Ubaldo Jimenez to move up from Triple-A and join the rotation, and he’s been the Rockies’ most dominant pitcher during the past month. The club is eager to see how Morillo performs under pressure.
The hard-throwing 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic was a combined 6-5 with a 2.55 ERA in 53 relief appearances for Double-A Tulsa (46 games) and Triple-A Colorado Springs (seven games). He drew high praise from Sky Sox manager Tom Runnels.
“Runnells says he’s pitching as well as he’s ever seen him,” Hurdle said. “Morillo actually pitches better when he’s under 100 (mph). When throwing the slider, 87-90 is better than 90-93. Every once in a while that extra adrenaline comes into play, and it’s not his friend.”
