ST. LOUIS — Rumors ran rampant and the Twittersphere overheated Tuesday as the nonwaiver trade deadline came and went. The sky was falling for fans in some locales, including Colorado, while salvation was suddenly at hand in other places.
But inside the visitors clubhouse at Busch Stadium, the reaction from the Rockies was ho-hum. There was no gnashing of teeth because the club didn’t make a move, even though National League West rivals Los Angeles and Arizona made themselves better.
Asked if the pieces are already in place for the Rockies to stay in contention and win their first National League West title, veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez replied: “Absolutely. This team has been ready from the get-go, from spring training on. We are playing really good baseball.
“I just feel like when it comes to the trade deadline, everybody feels like everybody has to make a move. But if you are playing good baseball and you’re confident with the guys you have, there is no problem staying the same.”
Maybe, maybe not.
The Rockies have been red hot, going 16-6 in July and sitting just one game behind the division-leading Dodgers and a half game behind the Diamondbacks entering Colorado’s Tuesday night game against the Cardinals. But the Rockies have a glaring problem, and it was on full display in 5-4 walk-off loss to St. Louis on Monday night when left-handed reliever Jake McGee served up a home run in the 10th inning.
Simply put, Colorado’s left-handed relievers have been awful. McGee has a 6.11 ERA and has served up seven home runs over 35⅔ innings. Chris Rusin, currently on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis, is carrying a 6.81 ERA with seven homers given up in 39⅔ innings. Mike Dunn (9.00 ERA) is on the 60-day disabled list. He might be back in September, if he comes back at all. Harrison Musgrave (4.76 ERA) has been OK, but he’s untested.
Arizona, meanwhile, didn’t stand pat. The Diamondbacks traded with Texas for left-hander Jake Diekman, who had a 3.69 ERA in 47 appearances for the Rangers this season, with an 11.1 strikeout rate per nine innings. Diekman is set to enter free agency in the offseason, so he’s a short-term rental. The D-backs also reunited with right-handed reliever Brad Ziegler. Their strong bullpen just got stronger.
Rockies manager Bud Black, however, seemed unconcerned that his club didn’t make a bold deadline move Tuesday, noting that the Rockies already acquired veteran right-hander Seunghwan Oh on Saturday.
“Our guys need to perform better, and they would be the first to tell you that,” Black said when I asked him about the bullpen woes. “It’s no secret. Do we need them to throw the ball well? Yes, we do. Because we need all 13 guys (in the bullpen) to do their jobs.”
Oh, while effective against right-handers, will not being counted on to battle left-handers in key moments. Right-hander Bryan Shaw, who signed a three-year, $27 million deal this winter, was supposed to match up well vs. either side. But Shaw — 7.08 ERA with a .327 batting average against — has been a huge disappointment and can’t be trusted in crunchtime.
The Dodgers, winners of five consecutive NL West titles, made two bold deadline moves. They added star shortstop/third base Manny Machado last week and acquired second baseman Brian Dozier from the Twins on Tuesday. They needed to do something at second base, where a mix-and-match trio had a collective slash line of .211/.309/.315 with just seven homers this season. Dozier is batting just .224, but has 16 home runs and 52 RBIs.
Black explained that the Rockies’ front office worked the phones hard and made some pitches for trades, but in the end, there wasn’t a “right fit.” Last week, general manager Jeff Bridich explained his trade philosophy.
“I think honest and accurate self-evaluation is critical,” he said. “So you have to accurately look around and say: ‘OK, what do you have? Am I (as a GM) going to make us better? Are we going to be a better organization being reactionary, or are we going to consider what we already have, the people we have in place?’ Those are critical pieces to any sort of decision-making, especially this time of year.”
The NL West standings on Sept. 30 will tell us whether the Rockies were prudent or overly cautious on July 31.
Looking ahead
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (9-6, 3.13 ERA) at Cardinals RHP Luke Weaver (6-9, 4.70), 6:15 p.m., Wednesday, ATTRM; 850 AM
Freeland has grow into Colorado’s most consistent and dependable starter. The Rockies have won his last five starts, with Freeland going 2-0 with a 2.54 ERA. Even when the lefty doesn’t have his best stuff, he has found ways to give his team a chance to win. In his last start, against Oakland at Coors Field, he pitched six scoreless innings and was able to get big groundball outs when he needed them. He’ll face the Cardinals for the second time in his career, having pitched against them May 27, 2017, allowing three runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings in the Rockies’ 3-0 loss. Weaver has been erratic this season, but he returned to the big-league club and was solid in his last start, notching a win against the Cubs. He gave up two earned runs on eight hits over six innings, striking out five and walking none in St. Louis’ 5-2 victory. He’ll make his second career start vs. Colorado. His first start against Colorado came in 2016 at Coors Field, and it was a disaster. Weaver lasted just two innings and gave up a grand slam to Nolan Arenado in the second inning.
Thursday: Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (4-3, 5.01 ERA) at Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (10-3, 2.82), 11:15 a.m., no TV
Friday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (6-7, 3.43) at Brewers RHP Junior Guerra (6-7, 3.43), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Saturday: Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (6-3, 3.69) at Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (4-2, 3.61), 5:10 p.m., ATTRM
