Jeff Francis’ shoulder surgery drew a lot of attention, but Taylor Buchholz’s elbow injury has been more devastating.
Of all the reasons Clint Hurdle got fired Friday, the bullpen deserves plenty of blame. The Rockies’ relievers carried a 5.52 ERA into the San Diego series, unable to find a sturdy bridge to closer Huston Street. It’s why the Rockies will be looking for creative solutions when Franklin Morales returns from a rehab assignment. He will go out as a starter, but nothing has been ruled out at the big-league level.
“Franklin Morales could be back soon. That could change the dynamics of the bullpen. We could do a lot of different things with him and (Jorge) De La Rosa,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “We have to somehow piece this together and be more competitive than we are right now.”
In Francis’ case, the Rockies were prepared, trading for the effective Jason Marquis. But there was no answer when Buchholz went down in spring training. The only available free agent that would have been a fit was Juan Cruz, whose free agency was complicated by his Type A status that required draft-pick compensation.
Buchholz was arguably the top setup man in the National League last season, at least statistically. Buchholz will go on a rehab assignment soon, with a possible return in early July.
Manuel Corpas has pitched better during the past 10 days after nearly getting demoted to the minors earlier this season.
Alan Embree and Jason Grilli have been unable to steady the back end of the pen. They could get help soon from Matt Daley (ankle) and Ryan Speier (hamstring).
“It’s pushed guys into roles that we didn’t get them for,” O’Dowd said. “And we weren’t deep enough to absorb it.”
Footnotes.
Tracy altered the Rockies lineup a bit, dropping Troy Tulowitzki from the No. 2 hole to seventh. Clint Barmes batted second. Despite his season-long slump, Garrett Atkins was back in the cleanup role. . . . Brad Hawpe remained out of the starting lineup because of a strained groin. He remains day to day and has not started since Monday.
Troy E. Renck and Patrick Saunders
