SAN DIEGO — Aaron Cook loves pitching in San Diego. But more than anything, he loves pitching in Colorado.
The Rockies are the only organization Cook has ever known, and he wants to keep it that way. How much so? He insisted on a clause in his three- year, $30 million contract that increased his salary $1 million a season if he were traded.
It wasn’t about the money so much as Cook’s comfort level in Colorado.
“That’s as close as I could get to a no-trade,” Cook said. “It just proves I want to be here.”
Cook’s future looms as one of the more intriguing questions of the Rockies’ offseason. After piling up 27 victories in 2008-09, he has two road wins in 2010 and an ERA (5.21) reminiscent of the pre-humidor days at Coors Field.
Cook was eminently available before the trading deadline, but he’s hoping Friday night’s impressive performance at Petco Park, where he is 7-1, 2.21 in his career, leads to a strong finish to a disappointing season. If so, it could impact whether he stays or goes.
“I got my feet underneath me, got some traction moving in the right direction,” Cook said. “Let’s hope it’s something to keep building off.
“I don’t like losing, but I understand I’ve gone through a tough time this season. What am I going to do, bury my head in the sand? I’m just going to keep plugging away like I’ve done my whole career.”
Rogers to the pen.
The Rockies were waiting to see how Cook pitched to make it official, and now it is: Esmil Rogers has returned to the bullpen.
“It’s a nice fit for us because of the fact that the arm is resilient as all get out,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “His bounce-back capability is incredible.”
The Rockies needed an innings eater in the pen to give Tracy more flexibility. He reached the point Friday where he couldn’t use Joe Beimel, Matt Reynolds or Matt Belisle, forcing him to go with Samuel Deduno and Franklin Morales.
Footnotes.
Troy Tulowitzki has reached 414 plate appearances, putting him on pace to join the league leaders in a few days. Tulo went into Saturday hitting .319, which would have ranked him fourth in the league. . . . Rogers has a 6.55 ERA as a starter, 3.43 as a reliever. . . . Matt Daley was knocked around Friday night in his rehab outing with Colorado Springs, allowing three hits, including a home run, and two runs in two-thirds of an inning.
