ST. LOUIS — It says something positive about the current state of the Rockies’ rotation that veteran right-hander is being considered for a bullpen role.
Bettis, on the 10-day disabled list since July 3 with a blister on his right middle finger, is scheduled make a rehab start at Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday. Bettis said Monday that he thinks he’s capable of throwing up to 110 pitches.
If that game goes well and the blister doesn’t flare up, Bettis would be in line to return to the Rockies. The question is, in what role? The current five starters have been pitching very well, so Bettis might be utilized as a reliever. Entering Monday night’s game vs. the Cardinals, Colorado’s starters had a 2.41 ERA in July as the club went 16-5. At , they have posted a 1.71 earned run average in July at Coors Field, the lowest ERA by starters at home in a single month in franchise history.
“We feel good about the aptitude and focus of Chad pitching in relief,” manager Bud Black said Monday. “Itap something he hasn’t done a lot, but we feel he can handle it. So we’ll see. He’s three or four days away from his start in Triple-A, and a couple days of recovery depending on his pitch count.”
Having a veteran like Bettis, who could be a starter or a reliever during the second half of the season, would provide Colorado with some quality depth. Bettis is 5-1 with a 5.10 ERA in 17 starts.
In his rehab start at Triple-A on Saturday, he pitched four innings, allowing two runs on six hits with two strikeouts before his outing was shortened by rain. He threw 74 pitches.
“The hope is that Chad goes to Triple-A without any weather delays and without any tenderness occurring in his finger, and hopefully he can throw a good game, whatever that might be,” Black said. “Build a pitch count, get to 90, 95, 100 pitches and feel really confident about the way his finger feels.”
Black cautioned that a number of scenarios could unfold regarding Colorado’s rotation in the final two months of the season.
“Each day, each week, each couple of weeks, there’s always an evolving situation,” he said. “It could be such that Chad doesn’t fold back into the rotation. It might make sense for him to fortify our bullpen, like what (left-hander) has done in the past — provide us a little length (in the bullpen).”
