The cellar-dwelling Colorado Rockies figure to be sellers at the trade deadline.
They got down to the business of that Saturday with their first deal ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, sending right-handed reliever Nick Mears to Milwaukee in exchange for right-handed pitching prospects Bradley Blalock and Yujanyer Herrera.
With Mears going away, Blalock will be added to the 40-man roster, the team announced. The right-hander has just one major league appearance to his name: a scoreless inning of relief against the San Diego Padres on June 20.
Blalock, 23, has been a starter throughout his career in the minors. This season with Double-A Biloxi, he’s gone 5-2 over 16 starts with a 4.08 ERA, 64 strikeouts and 27 walks in 75 innings pitched. Originally selected in the 32nd round of the 2019 draft by Boston out of Grayson High School, the 6-foot-2 Georgia native is 14-11 over four minor league seasons with a 3.87 ERA in 58 games (57 starts). MLB.com had him as the 17th-ranked prospect in Milwaukee’s farm system.
Herrera, 20, was signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela in August 2019. He’s been sensational this season between Single-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin, compiling a 9-1 record with a 2.91 ERA, 77 strikeouts and 23 walks in 68 innings pitched. Herrera has started nine of the 16 games he’s appeared in. He began his pro career as a 17-year-old in 2021, and appears to have turned a corner this year after struggling over his first three seasons.
Mears had made 41 appearances for the Rockies this year, posting a 5.56 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 21 walks over 45 1/3 innings pitched.
In other moves, the Rockies recalled right-handed pitchers Tanner Gordon and Jake Bird from Triple-A Albuquerque, purchased the contract of righty John Curtiss from Albuquerque and designed left-hander Ty Blach for assignment.
